Ezekiel Elliott’s offseason work has already started to pay dividends – and not just because he looks leaner and meaner than he did last season.
Last year, the Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed by the Green Bay Packers. They were down 24-6 in the 3rd quarter and ended up losing 42-24. Things were so bad that head coach Jason Garrett was fired on the Monday after the game. This is where Ezekiel Elliott comes in. He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2015 and many analysts think he could be even more valuable in 2016.
Ezekiel Elliott has been working this offseason to get in better shape, as everyone knows. The running back’s summer workouts are paying off, and the latest evidence of that is in a video of him showing off his lower body at the Cowboys’ camp in Oxnard, California. As you can see, the Cowboys’ #21 has a much lower body fat percentage this offseason, which isn’t a surprise since the Ohio State product spent time working on his core and cardiovascular fitness.. Read more about ezekiel elliott training 2021 and let us know what you think.
OXNARD (California) — End of the defense As Ezekiel Elliott, the Dallas Cowboys’ rushing back, took a handoff, Tarell Basham was in prime position for the tackle for loss. Basham was there for a while, and then he wasn’t.
During the Cowboys’ first training camp session of 2021, Elliott altered direction, got up to full speed, and burst loose to the left side of the field for a big gain.
Elliott may not have made that decision a year ago, and possibly not even two years ago.
It’s too early to predict what would have occurred in a game or even a fully padded training camp session, but we’re seeing a different Elliott here.
He’s slimmer now, weighing in at 218 pounds for the first time since his rookie year at Ohio State in 2013. And, perhaps most importantly, he is driven by his less-than-stellar 2020 season, in which he rushed for a career-low 979 yards and those who doubt his ability to remain the NFL’s best running back. Elliott led the league in running with 1,434 yards on 304 carries only three years ago during the 2018 season.
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“You have to go through the lows to appreciate the highs,” Elliott remarked. “I experienced some lows last year, so I’m looking forward to some highs this year.”
During the Cowboys’ 6-10 season in 2020, the 26-year-old didn’t have many highs. After quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury, and tackles Tyrel Smith (two games) and La’el Collins missed most or all of the season due to injuries, life was tough. Zack Martin, an All-Pro guard, missed six games due to a concussion and calf injury.
Elliott was dealing with hamstring and calf issues that restricted his practice time.
“The most important thing for Zeke, and I’ve known him from his first day here, is to just be himself. He’ll seize the chances that come his way “Mike McCarthy, the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, said. “I understand his statistics aren’t [what they were] last year compared to previous years and the bar he set for himself, but he does so much more for us than simply run the football. On the field, production is unaffected. With the chance, the production will be there.”
Elliott began his effort to reclaim his form by contacting Josh Hicks, a Dallas-based trainer who had worked with Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette before to the 2020 season. Elliott talked with Fournette, who set up a text message line between Hicks and Elliott. Soon after the talks started, the trainer and the Cowboys running back were at Prescott’s backyard turf field for their first exercise of the offseason.
The majority of Hicks’ workouts with Elliott took place at neighboring SMU, but they also worked out on the fields of several local high schools.
“He didn’t say what he wanted to work on or how he wanted it done, but let me put it this way: most bigger running backs, my main focus is maintaining that for them while still getting them to move and stay elusive as if they were a smaller back,” said Hicks, who played running back for Purdue for a brief time. “We have a feeling they’re going to drive someone over. We know they’ll drop their shoulder and get the extra yards. Accomplish they, however, have the lateral explosiveness to do what smaller backs can? If you can combine that, it’s a lethal combination.”
Hicks, who also works with Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon III, sets up his exercises to simulate game scenarios. He utilizes trash cans instead of tacklers, throwing them one way or the other and forcing Elliott to cut in a new direction while keeping his knees high.
“He picks it up quickly,” Hicks added. “He’ll figure it out, and we’ll be on our way. I’m not claiming that it’s scientific. It’s simply a game of football. You’ve got people who can play football and move well, and you’ve got men who can play football but don’t move as well as they should, but are still excellent athletes. You put everything together, practice it again and over, and make it repetitive, which quickly activates your quick-twitch muscles. That’s how the “cut on a dime” came about.”
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“He picks it up quickly,” Hicks added. “He’ll figure it out, and we’ll be on our way. I’m not claiming that it’s scientific. It’s simply a game of football. You’ve got people who can play football and move well, and you’ve got men who can play football but don’t move as well as they should, but are still excellent athletes. You put everything together, practice it again and over, and make it repetitive, which quickly activates your quick-twitch muscles. That’s how the “cut on a dime” came about.”
Last season, Elliott only had two rushes of 20 yards or more, a career low. He recorded two games of 100 yards, which was also a career low. He carried the ball an average of 4 yards per carry, a career low.
“Definitely short-area quickness,” Elliott replied when asked what Hicks has done the most to assist him. “When you look at Josh, he’s around 5-7 years old. He’s a lot smaller than me, has [a] lot shorter legs than me, and is a lot more shifty, so I look at my game and see what I need to work on, and that’s sort of playing to his game’s strengths. It was simply a matter of becoming better at my shortcomings when I went to work with him.”
Because Hicks is a no-nonsense trainer, the hour-long sessions were always tough. Elliott is unconcerned about his $90 million deal or his three Pro Bowl appearances.
“I don’t care who you are, I mean, I speak to everyone,” Hicks said. “I’ll let you know if you’re making a mistake. If it’s bad, it’s bad. If you’re slow, I’ll tell you that. If something isn’t right, it isn’t right. But make sure you complete the exercise because we’ll come back and I’ll correct you. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything because, at the end of the day, it’s my name on the line. I can’t sit here and say, “That’s good,” when it clearly isn’t. I’m afraid I won’t be able to accomplish it.”
While the majority of the work between Elliott and Hicks was completed prior to the start of the Cowboys’ offseason program, they met a few times in the week leading up to training camp in California. Consider it a last tune-up before the season begins.
“I went into the lab and improved,” Elliott said.
Ezekiel Elliott’s offseason work ethic may be showing up as early as the first practice, as ESPN’s Todd Archer reports the Cowboys running back is already putting in work before the season begins.. Read more about zeke elliott and let us know what you think.
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