Tag: Justin Tress

Ben Herbert says nothing’s changed about Michigan football strength program

This is extremely encouraging! #GoBlue

INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan football’s biggest and secret weapon in the three-year College Football Playoff run was strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert. Because of Herbert, other teams would eventually tap out, and the Wolverines earned the reputation of being a “boa constrictor.”

With Sherrone Moore taking over the program after Jim Harbaugh bolted for the NFL, Michigan fans waited with bated breath to find out whether or not Herbert would remain in Ann Arbor or follow Harbaugh to the professional ranks. It took some time, but ultimately, Herbert joined Harbaugh in Los Angeles, much to the chagrin of the maize and blue faithful.

But perhaps not all was lost.

Moore elevated Herbert’s right-hand man, Justin Tress, to the post of director of strength and conditioning. Tress followed Herbert from his stint at Arkansas and was privy to his methods for the past eight years. So he has a good grasp on what’s worked and how to deploy that which has been successful in Ann Arbor.

And Moore said at Big Ten media days on Thursday that, according to Herbert himself, there’s no difference in terms of results.

“Yeah, so coach Herb actually came to a practice or a walkthrough-ish thing that we can have — per NCAA rules we can do stuff without going against the defense all that. And Herb said nothing changed,” Moore said. “So for him to say that and to watch the guys work out, I think that speaks volumes to what J. Tress and what that crew’s done. They’ve done an outstanding job, along with Abigail O’Connor and their staff, of keeping the intensity, the attention to detail where it needs to be for us to do what we need to do.”

That’s a great vote of confidence from the man who built the team into an elite program behind the scenes. Though Herbert certainly knows what he’s looking at and it may be all good and well in a walkthrough, the real verdict will come when the 2024 season approaches, and it will do so rather quickly with Texas coming to Ann Arbor in Week 2.

Sherrone Moore discusses Michigan football losing Ben Herbert to the NFL

OK, he’s got us fired up over the new strength coach! #GoBlue

It was the shot heard ’round all of Michigan when strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert was revealed to be leaving the program, following Jim Harbaugh to the NFL.

Herbert has been considered the backbone of the Wolverines during this past three-year run, and he was widely expected to remain with the program. But Harbaugh apparently made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and just like that, he was gone.

More so than Harbaugh leaving for the NFL, Michigan football fans melted down spectacularly, but new head coach Sherrone Moore is still confident in the direction of the program. Appearing on the Pat McAfee show on Thursday, Moore spoke for the first time about losing Herbert, but he also shared he’s excited about his replacement, Justin Tress.

“I think anytime when you lose somebody that’s been with you — I mean he has been there since I’ve been there for six years — so he’s definitely put his footprints and handprints on the program,” Moore said. “But it’s gonna be a loss but we think the guy that elevated, Justin Tress, is gonna do unbelievable job. He’s been with him side by side this whole time. He’s had stints there, had stints at Alabama so he’s seen really, really top-notch strength coaches in his time.”

So why is Tress the right hire to replace a legend in Herbert?

Moore notes that Tress has been the protege to Herbert, much like he himself was to Jim Harbaugh. But more than anything, he feels like the whole group of assistants to Herbert — who, from the sounds of it, will remain in Ann Arbor — have a certain swagger to them.

“We’re really excited about Justin Tress and the opportunity for him to lead the strength program,” Moore said. “And you know, those guys are awesome. That whole group, he has them — they all were black, they all travel together. And he’s — you see one of them, you see all five of them. So we’re excited about the future with those guys.”

Michigan football announces two retained staffers under Sherrone Moore

It’s starting to come together. #GoBlue

The Michigan football world was rocked on Monday morning with the news that six-year strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert would follow Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers instead of remaining in Ann Arbor.

Much beloved by players and other staffers, and highly praised by the media, Herbert was the glue for a team that had reached the pinnacle in the past three years. He was widely expected to remain with the program.

In the wake of Herbert’s departure, the rumor was new head coach Sherrone Moore was elevating his protege, Justin Tress, to the role. That became official on Monday evening. Equally as pivotal, Moore managed to hang on to team dietician Abigail O’Connor, who has been retained as the team’s director of football performance nutrition.

Full release

University of Michigan J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Sherrone Moore announced Monday (Jan. 29) the hiring of Justin Tress as the program’s Director of Strength and Conditioning. Tress takes over for his long-time mentor, Ben Herbert. In addition, Moore announced that the team’s Director of Performance Nutrition, Abigail O’Connor, will remain with the program.

“I am honored to represent the football program in this new role and appreciate Coach Sherrone Moore’s belief in my abilities and Coach Herbert’s endorsement,” said Tress. “It means a great deal to have both of these leaders showing faith in me and my abilities as a strength coach.

“I look forward to leading the strength and conditioning program with an exceptionally talented group of coaches,” added Tress. “We will continue to work together to develop our student-athletes’ bodies and minds for the field of competition. The roadmap has been created and we will work hard to pursue outstanding results in the weight room, with the goal of putting our players in the best position to succeed on the football field.”

“I am excited that both Justin and Abigail will remain an integral part of our program,” said Moore. “They have been key ingredients in our success, and we look forward to their leadership as we move forward as a program. Justin is being passed the torch by his long-time mentor, Ben Herbert, and we know Justin, the strength staff and their work with Abigail will continue to be a centerpiece of our player development. The collective and collaborative work done by our strength staff, nutrition staff and athletic training staff has been critical to the championship culture that exists in Schembechler Hall.

“I have known Coach Tress since 2014 and have worked in lockstep with him since 2017,” said Herbert. “For the past seven years Justin and I have worked side-by-side through the highest of highs and lowest of lows. I have never once seen his commitment to me or to Michigan Football waiver. Justin is an incredible representation of intelligence, consistency and commitment. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he will continue to build upon the legacy we have established with Michigan Football.”

“Any time there is transition, great people make decisions that are in the best interest of their family,” added Moore. “We appreciate all that Coach Herb did for the program and wish him well in his next coaching opportunity. He developed a great staff that remains together in Ann Arbor. We know this group will flourish.”

Tress has spent the last six years (2018-present) as a member of the Michigan Football Strength and Conditioning staff, including the 2023 season as the team’s associate director. He also spent two years as a member of Herbert’s staff at Arkansas before joining the Wolverines’ staff. Prior to working with the Razorbacks, Tress was a member of the University of Alabama strength and conditioning staff when the program played in the CFP National Championship Game, winning the title in 2015 while losing in the 2016 contest.

Tress, 28, is a former defensive back at Kent State. He earned his degree in exercise science from Kent State in 2015. A native of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, Tress attended Blackhawk High School where he was a captain and earned all-conference honors. He was a three-year letterman in football and two-year letterman in track and field.

O’Connor has been Michigan Football’s Director of Performance Nutrition for the past six seasons (2018-present) and will continue her role as the program’s leader in that area. O’Connor worked at the University of Houston (2016-17) and spent the 2017 season as the football dietitian at the University of Minnesota before joining the Wolverines’ staff.

She graduated with a master’s degree in nutrition sciences from Texas A&M University in 2015 after receiving her undergraduate degree in biology from Southwestern University in 2013. O’Connor is a board-certified specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) and a registered dietitian (RD/RDN).

“I walked inside these doors of Schembechler Hall with Justin Tress and Sherrone Moore in 2018 and have worked closely with them ever since,” said O’Connor. “Fostering the development of our student-athletes is something that has always been a priority of this program, and I am confident that we will continue to be elite in that area under all of our leadership.”