Strength and conditioning coaches are the ones who usually have their hands directly on the pulse of a team.
As players cycle in and out of the complex and weight room, the strength coaches await each one. They aren’t position exclusive or reside in a coaching ivory tower. There’s no other coach who's around the players more. They get the first sense of the camaraderie, the leadership, the identity and work ethic. Even as the season opener has yet to even settle on the horizon, strength coaches have a feel for how the fall might unfold.
So when Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher received word from Vic Viloria a few weeks ago that there were more Seminoles blowing past 300 pounds on a telling exercise -- the power clean -- he knew it could be a harbinger to a playoff run.