At the beginning of fall camp, head coach Kirby Smart made note that ensuring senior linebacker Lorenzo Carter maintained his playing weight of 250 pounds would be one of his staff’s top priorities.
Smart made no secret about his desire to put more muscle on Carter to help him stay more physical at the point of attack, one of the areas even the Norcross native will tell you he needed to improve.
In regards to keeping the weight on, so far, so good.
“It’s been great. Surprisingly great, in trying to keep weight on, make sure that I eat,” Carter said. “Sidney (Sidney Smith, Director of Football Performance Nutrition) stays on top of me making sure I keep pounding calories, keep calories in me. I think I’m doing pretty well.”
Carter, who played at approximately 240 pounds last fall, said he’s noticed a difference.
“I feel heavier, and I don’t feel that I’m slower,” he said. “I have more muscle, more mass. I like it a lot.”
The trick is to keep it on.
Although Carter said he’s basically been given the green light to eat “whatever he can,” he and Georgia’s staff must pay close attention to ensure the weight stays on.
To help accomplish this, Ron Courson and Bulldog trainers implement a GPS system that is attached to players, which can track everything from acceleration rates, heart rates, and speed.
Carter is one of a number of Bulldogs who wear the device.
“They track our GPS numbers pretty closely, so I know if my GPS is too high, we’ll cut back on the reps some,” Carter said. “But that’s not a problem for me. I can go pretty much all day.”
Having a new indoor athletic facility to work in hasn’t hurt, either.
Of Georgia 16 fall practices, three have been held inside the spacious $30 million-dollar building, which has helped Carter.
“I sweat a lot. I lose almost 12 pounds in practice, 10 pounds in practice. So being able to go in the indoor some days is great,” Carter said. “But we don’t play football indoors. We play football outside. So for the young guys, we want to make sure they know we’re going to be out there conditioning in the heat. They’d better get used to it.”
