“It was kind of a concerted effort by the coaching staff, both starting with (Offensive Coordinator) Frank Smith and (Defensive Coordinator) Josh Boyer, but trickling down to each and every position coach and their assistants that the idea is to show them a vision of what we want to be,” McDaniel said. “On both sides of the ball in both retrospects, it behooves a player to be at the maximum athleticism – their maximum explosion, their maximum speed with flexibility, all of those things. We did, I think, a good job in the offseason kind of really painting that picture for them, and it’s to the player’s credit.”

Players are probably appreciative of that work now, as they’re stepping on a field that’s close to 100 degrees every single day. However, they’ll be even more appreciative if they can outrun and out-burst their opponents on gamedays.