Records fall in latest strength and conditioning testing
Mike Gentry, Tech’s associate AD for athletic performance, and his staff conducted strength and conditioning testing for the football team before spring break, and six Hokies earned Super Iron status in the strength and conditioning program. In fact, Gentry and his staff recognized 56 award winners in all.
The testing takes into account a composite look at the four major lifts (bench press, front squat, power clean and push jerk) and the five conditioning tests (40-yard dash, 10-yard sprint, NFL shuttle run, sit-reach test and vertical jump). Gentry and his staff put together a scale based upon certain criteria used by Nebraska and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
In all, nine position records fell in testing, including six in the front squat. Tyler Barfield, a walk-on from Herndon, Va., set the record for an offensive guard with a 515-pound lift, while Vinston Painter set the record for an offensive tackle with a 500-pound lift. Derrick Hopkins and Telvion Clark both recorded front squats of 485 pounds, setting the marks for defensive tackles and backers, respectively. Tyrel Wilson set the standard for defensive ends with a 440-pound lift, while Carl Jackson, a walk-on from Tyrone, Ga., did the same for cornerbacks with a 415-pound lift.
Two position records fell in the vertical jump. James Gayle set the mark for defensive ends with a 39.5-inch jump, while Corey Marshall did the same for defensive tackles with a 37-inch jump.
Finally, Painter ran the 40-yard dash in 4.74 seconds, setting the standard for an offensive tackle. In addition to the front squat, Painter ranked in the top 10 on the team in the bench press (430 pounds) and power clean (336).
The Super Iron Hokies included Gayle, Nick Acree, Brent Benedict, Laurence Gibson, Joey Phillips and Antone Exum. Nineteen Hokies earned Iron Hokies including Painter, Wilson, Michael Holmes, Marcus Davis, Dyrell Roberts, Logan Thomas, Alonzo Tweedy and Kyle Fuller.
2012 Spring Testing Strength and Conditioning
| Bench Press | Front Squat |
| Tyler Barfield (440) | Tyler Barfield (515) |
| Nick Acree (440) | Vinston Painter (500) |
| Vinston Painter (430) | Derrick Hopkins (485) |
| Laurence Gibson (415) | Telvion Clark (485) |
| Brent Benedict (410) | Riley Beiro (475) |
| Push Jerk | Power Clean |
| Tyler Barfield (380) | Joey Phillips (358) |
| David Wang (351) | James Gayle (351) |
| Brent Benedict (346) | Laurence Gibson (346) |
| Andrew Miller (346) | David Wang (336) |
| Matt Arkema (344) | Vinston Painter (336) |
|
Vertical Jump |
10-yard Sprint |
| Marcus Davis (42.5) | Antone Exum (1.62) |
| Michael Holmes (41) | Dyrell Roberts (1.63) |
| Demitri Knowles (40) | Demitri Knowles (1.63) |
| James Gayle (39.5) | Chad Savage (1.64) |
| Dadi Nicolas (38) | James Gayle (1.65) |
| 40-yard sprint | NFL Shuttle |
| Demitri Knowles (4.28) | Michael Cole (4.01) |
| Corey Fuller (4.35) | Antone Exum (4.01) |
| Kyle Fuller (4.35) | Michael Holmes (4.04) |
| Kevin Asante (4.38) | Kyshoen Jarrett (4.13) |
| Antone Exum (4.39) | David Wang (4.15) |
Former Sun Bowl member passes away
Charlie Forbes, who played on Tech’s first bowl team and later served as the school’s first vice president for development and university relations, passed away March 7 in Wilmington, Del., at the age of 84.
Forbes, a native of Newport News, Va., was believed to be the first Tech player to rush for more than 100 yards in a game, doing so against a Maryland squad coached by legendary Bear Bryant in 1945 (Note: Tech’s records only go back to 1950). Forbes also played on the 1946 team and in the 1947 Sun Bowl – the school’s first bowl game. Off the field, he served in the Corps of Cadets and was the president of his class for four years.
After graduating in 1949 with a degree in industrial engineering, Forbes worked in the fire insurance underwriting field before being inducted into the Air Force during the Korean conflict. Following his time in the Air Force, he worked in the private sector before coming back to Tech in 1979 to work for then-president William Lavery. He worked at Tech for 13 years before taking over as the vice president for development and alumni relations at Delaware. He retired in 1996, and in 2001, Tech presented him the University Distinguished Achievement Award for his contributions to the school.
Forbes is survived by his wife, Pat; his son, Scott; his daughter, Ann and five grandchildren.
