LINCOLN, NE - DECEMBER 5: Mike Riley, newly hired head football coach at the University of Nebraska, talks with members of the media during a press conference inside Memorial Stadium December 5, 2014 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images)

Reports from Nebraska football coaches and players about what the previous staff did or didn’t do when it came to developing the team continue to astound.

Since Scott Frost and his staff have been in charge of Nebraska football there have been little comments and stories about what the players were accustomed to under former head coach Mike Riley.

While quite a few of those comments sounded an awful lot like a new staff trying to show how good it was, there have been others that just seem to ridiculous to not be true.

When the new staff claimed the Cornhuskers’ offensive line didn’t do squats, that sounded like a new staff was just bad mouthing the old staff. Now defensive lineman Peyton Newell has come forward with a claim that simply can’t be ignored.

Nebraska defensive tackle Peyton Newell says last year he gained one pound of muscle. Under @zduval1, Newell says he's gained 23 pounds of muscle in 7 weeks while losing 3% body fat. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/ofI0p562kG — Dan Corey (@DanCorey1011) April 7, 2018

The defensive player claims he gained exactly one pound of muscle over the last year under Riley. On the flipside, he claims in just seven weeks of Strength and Conditioning coach Zach Duval’s program has helped him add 23 pounds of muscle.

Let that sink in. Last year, he gained a pound. This year, in less than two months, he’s put on 23 pounds.

As a topper, Newell says he’s lost three percent of his body fat. Those who watched the team play certainly didn’t see a team that was a lean mean fighting machine.

The question now that needs to be asked is if all of these things are true, just what was Mike Riley doing? This wasn’t a rookie coach who had no idea how to run a department.

This was a coach who has run several. Say what you will about his record at San Diego State and Oregon State. This is a guy that is well respected in football.

Did he just not realize bigger and better strength and conditioning gains were possible? Are we witnessing the real difference between programs like Oregon State and Nebraska?

Newell isn’t the only Husker who has talked about massive gains in strength and development in body type. There’s a long list of Nebraska football players that have said they have gotten bigger, badder and faster. The flipside of that is that the team is going to have very few excuses if they start off looking similar to they did last season. If those gains were the problem though, this season could be special.