Hello There, Guest! (LoginRegister)

      
Post Reply 
Greg Blair down 15 pounds
Author Message
Bookmark and Share
BearcatBeta Offline
All American
*

Posts: 3,842
Joined: Mar 2004
Reputation: 74
I Root For: $ in my mailbox
Location: Mt Mitchell, NC
Post: #1
Greg Blair down 15 pounds
Cincinnati linebacker Greg Blair had a head-turning 2012 campaign in his first season as a starter, answering all questions about how the Bearcats would replace All-Big East man in the middle JK Schaffer.

Indeed, Blair followed exactly where Schaffer left off, racking up a league-leading 138 tackles en route to Big East first-team honors himself, a year after knee and weight issues limited him to just one game.

But there was a slight problem. Blair was overweight for nearly all of last season, getting as high as 265 pounds -- some 25 pounds more than his desired weight. New coach Tommy Tuberville sat Blair down shortly after arriving in Cincinnati and laid out a new workout and meal plan.

Blair was not surprised. After being granted a sixth year of eligibility, he had already promised himself he would shed weight in order to make himself better.

Now that the Bearcats opened spring ball, Blair already has dropped 15 pounds en route to his target weight of 240.

"I went with whatever he wanted me to do," Blair said in a recent phone interview. "I’m a team player and I know they’re going to be counting on me to make plays. I just kept thinking, 'If I made plays like that last year at the weight I was at, imagine how many more plays I could have made at 12 pounds lighter."

Blair brings up an excellent point. How exactly did he make all those plays last year with a little extra weight on him?

"Physically, I wasn’t where I wanted to be at, but I guess it all fell in my favor," Blair said. "I watched a lot of film on the teams that I played, and that put me in a position where I could make a lot of plays and that’s what I did."

Blair returns as one of the top preseason candidates for Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors after his breakout season, a goal he would love to reach. But Blair also has learned how to stay humble given everything he has had to overcome in his career -- starting out at junior college, working through eligibility issues, knee and weight problems.

"I just feel like nothing else can faze me," Blair said. "I’ve been through so many obstacles in my life that it can’t get worse it can only get better. I have a big faith in God. He brought me through the tough times, starting off at junior college and then the injury when I first came here.

"When I was getting discouraged, I went back to my junior college days. And I just knew I was going to persevere through anything."

Blair has made it, and is now seen as one of the unquestioned leaders on defense, given the way he stepped up in that department when Walter Stewart got hurt last year. His experiences make him a guy that is easy to follow, and Tuberville knows that -- even though he has only known Blair for a few months.

That leadership, coupled with a streamlined look, make Blair a player with the potential to be even better his final season.

"He’s a good football player," Tuberville said. "He can play on the next level. He just had to get his weight down, and he's worked hard at it. I’m excited about what he’s going to do this spring because he’s in very good shape."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/i...slims-down
 
03-06-2013 10:22 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


CliftonAve Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 21,880
Joined: May 2012
Reputation: 1171
I Root For: Jimmy Nippert
Location:
Post: #2
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
IIRC, Blair lost weight prior to the 2012 season as well. I remember reading him saying he has always had a weight problem and struggled to keep off the lbs.
 
03-06-2013 10:25 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
bearcatmark Online
Moderator
*

Posts: 30,727
Joined: Dec 2006
Reputation: 800
I Root For: the Deliverator
Location:
Post: #3
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
(03-06-2013 10:25 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  IIRC, Blair lost weight prior to the 2012 season as well. I remember reading him saying he has always had a weight problem and struggled to keep off the lbs.

The Blair family just puts on weight easily
 
03-06-2013 10:30 AM
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


SuperFlyBCat Offline
Banned

Posts: 49,583
Joined: Mar 2005
I Root For: America and UC
Location: Cincinnati
Post: #4
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
He is going to have a hell of a season.
 
03-06-2013 10:32 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
MickMack Offline
All American
*

Posts: 4,499
Joined: Sep 2011
Reputation: 335
I Root For: UC!
Location:
Post: #5
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
(03-06-2013 10:32 AM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  He is going to have a hell of a season.

I'm expecting big things from our LB. Very excited.
 
03-06-2013 10:42 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


BearcatMan Offline
Kicking Connoisseur/Occasional Man Crush
*

Posts: 24,159
Joined: Jan 2009
Reputation: 585
I Root For: Cincinnati
Location:
Post: #6
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
From what I've been hearing regarding practices, he and Luc look to already be hitting it off, and are one hell of a tag team in the middle of the field.
 
03-06-2013 08:22 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
ctipton Offline
Jersey Retired
Jersey Retired

Posts: 32,482
Joined: Mar 2004
Reputation: 140
I Root For: UC and the Reds
Location: Cincinnati West Side

DonatorsDonators
Post: #7
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
I thought the article I read on GoBearcats (I can't find it now) said that he had lost 25 lbs down from 265 to 240. No?
 
03-06-2013 08:37 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


CliftonAve Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 21,880
Joined: May 2012
Reputation: 1171
I Root For: Jimmy Nippert
Location:
Post: #8
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
(03-06-2013 08:37 PM)ctipton Wrote:  I thought the article I read on GoBearcats (I can't find it now) said that he had lost 25 lbs down from 265 to 240. No?

240 is his goal. He was 265 at one point last year and right now has lost 15 lbs., thus putting him at 250 right now.
 
03-06-2013 08:39 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
BearcatShane09 Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 2,466
Joined: Nov 2006
Reputation: 61
I Root For: UC
Location: Cincinnati
Post: #9
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
Blair, Luc and Temple have a chance to be one of the better linebacking cores in the country (top 15-20) if Luc is as advertised. Blair has a serious chance to be a first round pick in my opinion. As long as he doesn't drop off and with the weight loss gaines a little speed.
 
(This post was last modified: 03-06-2013 08:51 PM by BearcatShane09.)
03-06-2013 08:50 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


Bearcats#1 Online
Ad nauseam King
*

Posts: 45,310
Joined: Jun 2005
Reputation: 1224
I Root For: Pony94
Location: In your head.
Post: #10
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
Our linebackers should be a wrecking crew this year....can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
03-10-2013 08:03 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Ring of Black Offline
Official Person to Blame
*

Posts: 28,421
Joined: Mar 2004
Reputation: 722
I Root For: Cincy Bearcats
Location: Wichita, KS
Post: #11
RE: Greg Blair down 15 pounds
His latest interview w/ Scott Springer says 248.
 
03-10-2013 05:43 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 




User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


Copyright © 2002-2024 Collegiate Sports Nation Bulletin Board System (CSNbbs), All Rights Reserved.
CSNbbs is an independent fan site and is in no way affiliated to the NCAA or any of the schools and conferences it represents.
This site monetizes links. FTC Disclosure.
We allow third-party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org.
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.