New UM coach explains a unique part of his plan. And Canes looking for help on both lines
New UM strength and conditioning coach Aaron Feld won’t simply be training Canes players physically.
He’s also going to try to change the way they think with the game on the line.
“It all starts in the mind,” Feld told WQAM’s Don Bailey Jr. on Wednesday night in discussing some of his plans.
“In the military, they have a phrase ‘Hope is not a good option.’ We don’t want to hope they have the right focus late in the game with the game on the line.”
Feld plans to do mental training with UM players once a week in the coming months.
“We call it mindset training,” he said. “We are going to sit down and talk about how to think properly for elite level performance.
“Before people think it’s checking a box, [allow me to explain]. When your body is reacting to what’s going on around you, it’s a mixture of preparation, being calm, [being] in the moment.
“To get to that flow state, we teach three behaviors: neutral thinking, neutral self talk and conscious visualization. If you can become a neutral thinker, you will have the ability to talk to yourself [neutrally] and consciously visualize things before they happen.
Feld explained that “neutral thinking is go to the facts. A negative mindset is fourth and 1 [thinking], ‘If we don’t get this stop, we lose the game.’ A positive mindset is ‘fourth and 1, we get the stop, we win the game.‘”
But Feld said “the negative and positive versions have nothing to do with winning the football game. Staying neutral is, ‘I need a stop, here’s the play call, this is the stance I’m in, this is my eye discipline....’
“You have all of these habits and plans and plays you study and prepare for. You access that memory in your game. So you can get the positive outcome you want.”
Feld said it has always been “trendy to have a strength coach. Until you had elite level human beings like coach [Mario] Cristobal to develop it into what it’s supposed to be, it’s a thing you have because everybody else has it.”
Cristobal discussed some of the conditioning tenets he took away from his stint working on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff.
Feld, a handlebar-mustachioed dynamo of energy, came to the Ducks in 2018 from the University of Georgia, where he spent three years as the assistant director of strength and conditioning. Feld worked with Cristobal at Alabama, where he was a volunteer strength coach in 2013-14.
A former long snapper at Mississippi State, Feld replaces David Feeley, who’s now at Duke.
THIS AND THAT
Besides pursuing several front seven defensive players in the transfer portal, UM also is seeking defensive line help from the prep ranks.
One big answer will come this weekend, when four-star Las Vegas-based Class of 2022 defensive end Cyrus Moss will announce his college choice; UM is a finalist.
In the meantime, the Canes have offered Jacksonville-based three-star defensive end Jack Pyburn, a nonbinding Minnesota commitment.
Pyburn, who hopes to visit UM this month, had 110 tackles (32 for losses) and 15 sacks last season.
▪ The Canes also continue to pursue several Class of 2022 offensive linemen, including St. John’s, Florida-based three-star tackle Mathew McCoy (who will visit later this month), Seattle-based four-star tackle Josh Conerly and Washington-based four-star guard Dave Iuli.
McCoy on Wednesday included UM among his six finalists. UM also is believed to have a decent chance to land Iuli.
▪ UCF middle linebacker Tatum Bethune, who was pursued by UM, announced he’s transferring to FSU.
▪ One person in touch with several UM juniors said his understanding is that left tackle Zion Nelson and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson hadn’t decided, as of Tuesday, whether to turn pro. That person said they’re giving very strong thought to returning to school.
▪ My expectation is that tight end coach Stephen Field will have the opportunity to remain with the program.
Field has done excellent work recruiting and developing players.
Field - who previously worked with Mario Cristobal at Oregon - played a major role in persuading four-star tight end Jaleel Skinner to flip from Alabama to Miami.
▪ Though noting is official, my sense is that defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson, an excellent recruiter, can stay on if he chooses.
But Cristobal hasn’t publicly said anything about his staff beyond the hiring of co-offensive coordinator/wide receiver coach Bryan McClendon and strength and conditioning coach Aaron Feld.
Also, Mississippi running backs coach Kevin Smith and Boston College associate head coach and defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim are interviewing for jobs on UM’s staff, per 247 Sports.
Joe Salave’a, who worked with Cristobal at UM, is expected to be UM’s defensive line coach.
▪ Local businessman John Ruiz, who has gained prominence for his pursuit of a new stadium for UM football, and his family announced they’re donating $2 million to construct a strength and conditioning complex at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
The Ruiz Family Strength and Conditioning Complex will be an approximately 1,600-square-foot expansion to the current weight room, which sits at the entrance of Alex Rodriguez Park.
Ruiz graduated from UM; he and Mayra’s sons Johnny and Alex played for UM’s baseball program and daughter Cristy was a member of UM’s dance team….
Left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist was named a preseason All-American by Perfect Game. He was one of two relievers named to the first team.
The Fort Myers, Fla., native led the ACC with 14 saves, which ranked third nationally. Palmquist closed last season with a 2.22 ERA, with 75 strikeouts in 44 ⅔ innings.
