Judging success in the strength and conditioning community can be tricky. For the general public and even some head coaches, it can be anecdotal. Not having a clear metric to judge success along with personal branding via social media can muddy the waters a bit when it comes to figuring out which strength coaches are actually doing the best work on an athlete to athlete basis. “The great new strength coach” is among the offseason cliches in college football, largely because nobody knows which ones are the best.

In addition to injury prevention, athletic testing data from the NFL Draft process can provide some keen insight into which college football programs – and strength and conditioning staffs – are developing top athletes at the highest rate.

The NFL Combine broadcast mostly focuses on the 40-yard dash and field drills. This is only a fraction of the overall athletic testing data that is generated throughout the process. We have five other tests in addition to the 40 and data from pro days, as well. Using weight-adjusted composite scores via 3sigmaathlete.com, we have a good picture of the athletic profiles for NFL prospects from the past seven years.

So which college football strength coaches are doing the best job at developing athletes over that time period? Here’s four who stand out.

DWIGHT GALT, PENN STATE

Galt’s resume as a strength and conditioning coach is unimpeachable. Over the seven year sample, Galt has trained 33 above-average NFL athletes (50th percentile or higher for their position) — the most of any strength coach in the country over that time period. He’s also trained the most elite NFL athletes (90th percentile or higher) over that sample with nine.

In 2018, Penn State produced the three top performers at the NFL Combine – a remarkable feat for one school – with running back Saquon Barkley, tight end Mike Gesicki and safety Troy Apke. Gesicki and Apke were in the 99th percentile for their positions while Barkley was in the 98th. There’s no doubt all three were talented athletes prior to their time at State College, but the improvements each made under Galt are hard to ignore. For example, Barkley trimmed .25 seconds off his 40, .26 seconds off his short shuttle and added five inches to his vertical between his senior year of high school and the combine. That type of improvement is atypical among top prospects. Barkley’s high school track and combine numbers, while good, were not among the best in the nation for his recruiting cycle.

Of the nine elite athletes trained by Galt, three were ranked as four-stars and five were three-stars according to the 247Sports Composite with one being a walk-on.

Galt’s success also predates the pre-draft data sample we’re using. As the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Maryland from 1993-2011, Galt was pumping out combine freaks on a near yearly basis, especially during the Ralph Friedgen era. His Maryland pupils include Vernon Davis, Shawne Merriman, Torrey Smith and Darrius Heyward-Bey – some of the more athletic prospects at their respective positions in years.

Few, if any strength coaches can match Galt’s body of work when it comes to developing top athletes. Given Penn State’s roster, he’s probably not slowing down anytime soon.

CHRIS DOYLE, IOWA

At last check, Doyle is the highest paid strength coach in the nation ... and with good reason. The work of Doyle and his staff is a core tenet of Kirk Ferentz’s Hawkeye program. Over the last seven draft cycles, Doyle has trained 25 above-average NFL athletes and seven who are in the 90th percentile or higher. The seven elite athletes ties for second most among active strength coaches in college football over that time span.

The Iowa staff prides itself on finding and developing big-framed, jumbo athletes. Five of the seven top athletes from our sample are offensive linemen and tight ends. Iowa was responsible for the top athlete at this year’s combine, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, who had the best showing we’ve seen at the position since Lane Johnson in 2013.

In 2019, Iowa produced the two most athletic tight ends in the draft in Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson. Both were taken in the first round with Hockenson going No. 8 to the Detroit Lions and Fant No. 20 to the Denver Broncos. Oh, yeah: The top tight end in the NFL, George Kittle, also played at Iowa! Fant and Kittle are the second- and third-most athletic tight ends in the last seven draft cycles.

Doyle’s work becomes even more impressive when you look at the individual improvements of players like Kittle, Hockenson, Wirfs and cornerback Josh Jackson.

Kittle entered Iowa as a 6-foot-4, 205 pound former receiver who was headed to Weber State before receiving an offer from Iowa on National Signing Day. As a high school prospect he had a verified 4.86 second 40-yard dash and 27.5 inch vertical. At the combine, he ran a 4.52 40 and jumped 38.5 inches, helping him to be the most athletic tight end in a draft that included other top athletes like David Njoku and OJ Howard.

Hockenson was 6-foot-5, 222 pounds in high school with a 4.94 40 and 26.1 inch vertical. He was 251 at the combine and shaved .24 seconds off his 40 time (4.70) and added 11.4 inches to the vertical (37.5).

Wirfs’ multi-sport athletic profile was as good as it gets upon entering the Iowa program as an elite wrestler and thrower in track. Even then, he still saw incredible improvements from his high school to combine numbers, shaving .44 seconds off his 40, .35 seconds off his shuttle and increased his vertical by 11.5 inches.

Jackson was a low three-star cornerback who had a verified 4.96 second 40, 4.41 second shuttle and 29.8 inch vertical. He trimmed nearly half a second off his 40 (4.48), .38 seconds off his shuttle (4.03) and boosted his vertical by 10.2 inches (40).

Iowa and Doyle are churning out these athletes in spite of recruiting rankings. Wirfs is the lone elite athlete to be ranked as a four-star by the 247Sports Composite with the rest being three-stars, two-stars or walk-ons.

MATT BALIS, NOTRE DAME

There are currently five “3-sigma athletes.” That is, an athlete whose composite score is at least three standard deviations above the standard for his respective position. These are the best athletes in the NFL. Balis has had a hand in training three of them over his time at Notre Dame and UConn: Byron Jones, Obi Melionfwu and Miles Boykin. The other two 3-sigma athletes in the NFL are JJ Watt and Lane Johnson, both perennial Pro-Bowlers.

In addition to the three 3-sigmas, Balis has training three more athletes who tested in the 90th percentile or higher at their positions, including Chase Claypool who had one of the better over combine showings last week.

In Boykin and Claypool, Balis has trained two of the more athletic big wide receivers in recent memory. Both were very good athletes upon enrolling at Notre Dame, but left as truly elite for the position. In 2019, Boykin turned in the best combine performance from a receiver since Calvin Johnson. Between high school and last weekend, Claypool added 24 pounds ( up to 238) while cutting .18 seconds off his 40 (4.42) and adding 7.7 inches to his vertical (40.5).

Balis also helped mold former walk-on wide receiver Chris Finke into an above average NFL athlete for the position (projected 70.7 percentile) with a 40-inch vertical.

Brian Kelly hired Balis from UConn on the heels of a 4-8 season in 2016. While wins and losses are far from an ideal metric for judging strength and conditioning coaches, it’s probably worth noting the Fighting Irish are 33-6 since Balis arrived in South Bend.

MICKEY MAROTTI, OHIO STATE

Perhaps the most well-known name on this list, Marotti has been established as one of the nation’s top strength coaches as one of the Urban Meyer’s longest-tenured assistants, dating to Meyer’s first year at Florida in 2005. Several of Marotti’s former assistants have gone on to become head strength coaches elsewhere, including Matt Balis.

Marotti has trained 32 above average NFL athletes in the last seven draft cycles, the second most among all college football strength coaches. He’s also helped produce seven elite athletes during that span, with the majority being wide receivers or cornerbacks – four who ran 40-yard dashes between 4.31 and 4.36 seconds. Ohio State seemingly produces a first-round cornerback every draft cycle. This year it’s Jeffrey Okudah, who likely cemented his status as a top 5 prospect with a combine showing that projects him in the 99th percentile at the position.

There’s no doubt Marotti has had the benefit of working with players who were already elite athletes upon entering Ohio State’s program. But that shouldn’t discount his work, though as the Buckeyes annually produce top athletes at rates higher than other blue-blood programs.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS

- The sample size for this draft cycle will expand as players participate in pro days. But based on the combine, it looks like Michigan and Clemson were the programs with the best overall showings.

Clemson has three athletes (Isaiah Simmons, K’Von Wallace, Tanner Muse) projected in the 90+ percentile pending more tests, which is more than the last six years combined (2). Along with AJ Terrell (86.8), four of the top 36 athletes at this year’s combine were playing in the Tigers’ secondary. Of the six Clemson players to test at the combine, five project as above average NFL athletes at their position. Dabo Swinney and Clemson have put recent resources into their cutting-edge sports science program. Could this uptick in combine performance be among the benefits?

The sample size is probably too small to make a conclusive call given he’s been in Ann Arbor for two years, but Michigan has been producing some top athletes under new strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert. The Wolverines have produced four elite athletes over the last two draft cycles alone — Donovan Peoples-Jones, Devin Bush, Rashan Gary and David Long. Three of the four were top athletes as high school recruits, but Michigan is certainly worth monitoring moving forward to see if Herbert can keep it up.

- Among SEC programs, Ole Miss and Auburn have produced the most elite and above average NFL athletes over this seven year sample. Under Paul Jackson who was hired by South Carolina this offseason, Ole Miss leads the way with six elite athletes with DK Metcalf, Evan Engram and Robert Nkemdiche among the notable names. At Auburn, Ryan Russell has trained the most above average NFL athletes in the conference with 24.

- In combing over the seven-year data sample, two strength coaches who are no longer currently working at the college level also jumped out.

During his time at Boston College, Frank Piraino trained the second-most elite athletes (9) to Penn State. He’d be on this list had he not been hired by the Tennessee Titans last year. Odds are Mike Vrabel saw Piraino’s work first hand; Vrabel’s son is the starting left tackle for Boston College and went from 255 to 310 pounds after a redshirt year in Piraino’s program. Like Matt Balis, Piraino was also an assistant for Mickey Marotti at Florida.

Shannon Turley was considered to be among the better strength coaches in the nation prior to being dismissed by Stanford in 2019, reportedly due to a player complaint. In addition to rapidly decreasing the Cardinal’s number of injuries Turley trained 23 above average NFL athletes, with six registering as elite.