[bears9]

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Last season the University of Iowa had 31 first-year student-athletes see game action. The most recent spring depth chart lists the names of 28 redshirt freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep roster.

Although still a youthful lot, it is a group that has spent the bulk of its off-season becoming stronger and more powerful.

"Our guys made a lot of progress from a strength perspective," UI strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle said. "The intensity was excellent, the attitude and effort was great out of the guys and I'm really excited about moving into the next phase which is spring ball."

Doyle said the emphasis during spring ball is to "ramp up the conditioning" and then during a three-week span after the spring game, the Hawkeyes will work on gaining peak speed. During the summer months, the emphasis will switch again, this time to focus on peak conditioning.

Hawkeyes gaining strength at a very fast rate :: Gridders benefit from an off-season of strength and conditioning