Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M, OT

Geno Smith, West Virginia, QB

Bjoern Werner, Florida State, DE

Manti Te’o, Notre Dame, LB

Matt Barkley, USC, QB

Sheldon Richardson, Missouri, DT

Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame, TE

Sharrif Floyd, Florida, DT

DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson, WR

Tyler Wilson, Arkansas, QB

Eric Reid, LSU, S

Margus Hunt, Southern Methodist, DE

Barrett Jones, Alabama, C/OG

Justin Hunter, Tennessee, WR

Eddie Lacy, Alabama, RB

Zac Dysert, Miami (Ohio), QB

Montee Ball, Wisconsin, RB

Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Connecticut, CB

Robert Alford, Southeastern Louisiana, CB

Aaron Dobson, Marshall, WR

Menelik Watson, FSU, OT

Robert Lester, Alabama, DB

Trevardo Williams, Connecticut, LB

Everett Dawkins, Florida State, DT

Nico Johnson, Alabama, LB

Kwame Geathers, Georgia, DT

Zach Line, Southern Methodist, FB

Vance McDonald, Rice, TE

J.C. Tretter, Cornell, OG

Tommy Bohanon, Wake Forest, FB

Gavin Escobar, San Diego State, TE

Albert Rosette, Nevada, LB

John Wetzel, Boston College, OT

Ty Powell, Harding, LB

Garrett Gilkey, Chadron State, OL

Devin Smith, Wisconsin, CB

Nick Williams, Samford, DT

Kendrick Payne, Cal, DT

Jamal Miles, Arizona State, WR

Chris Jones, Bowling Green, DT

Covaughn DeBoskie-Johnson, Cal, RB

Brandon Wegher, Iowa, RB

For a decade and a half, top Draft prospects have selected IMG Academy to prepare for the biggest test of their lives. Players eat, sleep and train on campus, with 24/7 access to facilities including a wellness spa, medical office and athletic training center. The latter is led by an experienced staff of full-time athletic trainers and physical
therapists, and offers athletes access to countless state-of-the-art
resources to aid in injury prevention and rehabilitation, including
hyperbaric chambers and a pro-style wet room with cold tubs and
whirlpools. In addition to daily position-specific training led by
Heisman-winning QB and Director of Football, Chris Weinke, and a team of former NFL coaches, players receive education and training in areas like speed and movement, physical and mental conditioning, sports nutrition, vision training, and communications:

Speed and Movement

World-renowned speed expert Loren Seagrave leads the speed and movement segment of the program. In 1998, he began working as a speed and conditioning coach with the Atlanta Falcons during the off-season training program, and helped propel them to the Super Bowl. Some of his early NFL pupils included Eddie George, Tony Romo, Roy Williams, and Hershel Walker. In 2012, Seagrave coached the second, third and fourth fastest 40-yard-dashes in Stephen Hill, Ron Brooks and A.J. Jenkins, respectively, at the NFL Combine.

Additionally, Seagrave has worked with and continues to work with countless Olympic and World Champions in the track and field world, many of whom now call IMG Academy their training home.

Assisting Seagrave is Dr. Ralph Mann, the world’s foremost authority on sports biomechanics and a former world-class track athlete himself, who conducts individual biomechanical analyses of each player. Athletes are then given prescriptive feedback to address limitations and correct any biomechanical issues.

Physical Conditioning

Scott Gadeken, Head of Physical Conditioning, oversees strength and
conditioning for players. Prior to joining IMG last year, Gadeken was
the Head Assistant Strength Coach for the University of Washington
football program. Among his countless titles and accolades, Gadeken was a finalist for the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s
National Strength Coach of the Year award in 2001, following an
impressive string of bowl wins while at both Kansas State and LSU.

In 2003, he helped lead LSU to a national title, and in 2004 and 2005, he aided the LSU women’s basketball team in reaching the Final Four.

Sports Nutrition

Sports nutrition is led by IMG Academy Head of Nutrition, Stephanie
Wilson, and aided by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI),
located on the IMG Academy campus. Wilson earned her Master of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Florida in 2009 with summa cum laude honors. She provides live-meal coaching to help meet athletes’ needs and to ensure customized nutrition plans are achieved and athletes are ready for peak performance at the NFL Combine. GSSI scientists bring their world-class expertise in sports nutrition and exercise performance to the athletes.

Mental Conditioning

Dr. Angus Mugford leads the mental conditioning portion of the program.
Dr. Mugford holds a PhD in Sport Studies (specialization in sport
counseling psychology) from the University of Kansas, and is a
Certified Consultant with Association of Applied Sport Psychology
(AASP) and British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences (BASES),
which are two of the world’s top sport psychology professional
organizations. He is also a member of the United States Olympic
Committee (USOC) Sport Psychology registry for the 2008-2012
Quadrennium.

Vision Training

Vision training specialist David DaSilva heads this unique and critical
component of IMG Academy’s athletic and personal development program.

Using state-of-the-art technology, DaSilva applies the same techniques used by fighter pilots to increase the strength in the muscles of the eye, the endurance of these muscles and to improve communication between the brain and the images captured by the eyes, thus improving the speed and efficiency by which an athlete can process the information that they see.

Communications

IMG Academy Head of Leadership, Nonalee Davis, joins seven-time Olympic Commentator Lewis Johnson, to deliver communications and media training to the athletes. Davis, a former director and professional stuntwoman, employs the art of improvisation to help the athletes develop personal presence, confidence, social skills, and awareness, while learning to trust their instincts and make quick decisions in situations.
Meanwhile, Johnson utilizes his experience as a former All-American and professional track athlete coupled with his 15 years of experience in broadcasting to assist in leading the media training component.
Johnson’s objective is to help athletes leverage their brand by
maximizing their opportunities with the media, seizing their moment in the spotlight and conducting successful interviews, press conferences and social media engagement. Johnson was just named by SI.com as one of the 2012 “Best Sideline Reporters” for his work with NBC.

Last year’s class of IMG Academy NFL Combine/Draft trainees featured combine standouts like Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson, who posted the second fastest QB time on the 40, with a 4.55, and on the 20-yard shuttle with a 4.09. Wilson and Kirk Cousins, both of whom trained together at IMG Academy along with Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill (8th overall, 2012 NFL Draft), had strong position-specific field outings, silencing critics who had questioned their size and arm strength, respectively. All three quarterbacks have continued to impress and, in Wilson’s case, even break records in their first NFL season.

Also of note, IMG Academy trainee Luke Kuechly was best among
linebackers at the Combine in the 60-yard shuttle with an 11.43. He
posted an explosive 38″ vertical and 4.58 on the 40, placing him third
among linebackers in both categories. Kuechly was selected 9th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft, and has not disappointed the Carolina Panthers since, with an astounding 164 tackles and a pair of interceptions on the season.

In all, twenty IMG Academy-trained athletes were selected in the 2012 NFL Draft. Outside of the seven first and second round picks, rewarding pick-ups included: Russell Wilson (75th overall to the Seattle Seahawks; rushed for more yards than any QB in Seahawks history; tied for most touchdown passes by a QB in his rookie season in NFL history) and Alfred Morris (173rd overall to the Washington Redskins; broke Redskins single season rushing record).

Earlier members of the IMG Academy NFL Combine/Draft and/or Off-Season Training Program included: Chris Weinke, Drew Brees, Steve Hutchinson, Chad Pennington, Tony Romo, Eli Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson, Alex Smith, Cam Newton, and Christian Ponder.

There is a lot of debate about this going back and forth. Should talent agencies run prep teams? How does this effect the student aspect of “student athlete?” How will these kids pay to attend? All of the details aren’t out yet but here is what we do know:

As noted by the Los Angeles Times, among other sources, IMG Academy will host a varsity high school football team for the first time in 2013. To get the program on a track toward future success, the sports-focused school will begin hosting interested football players during the 2012-13 school year. The football team will be coached by former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chris Weinke and will be hosted at the same site as the rest of IMG’s programs in Brandenton, Fla.

While the IMG program may be destined for future success, that won’t come without serious questions about whether or not the agency should be hosting a football team in the first place. IMG — which features prep sports enterprises like a tennis academy hosted by famed-instructor Nick Bolliteri and a golf school led by David Leadbetter — has more recently begun breaking into full-fledged team sports where the involvement of a third-party entity like IMG are much less traditional.

While IMG launched its soccer academy years ago, its forays into the baseball, basketball and lacrosse world are much more recent. Naturally, all of those efforts will pale in comparison to what it will take to launch a successful football program, particularly in Florida, one of the nation’s most talent-rich, competitive states.

-Yahoo

I think the main people who won’t like this are the Florida high school coaches who will lose talent to this program.

Bradenton, Fla. (April 30, 2012)

• Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill (8th overall, Miami Dolphins)
• Boston College LB Luke Kuechly (9th overall, Carolina Panthers)
• University of Georgia OG Cordy Glenn (41st  overall, Buffalo Bills)
• Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill (43rd overall, New York Jets)
• University of Illinois OT Jeff Allen (44th overall, Kansas City Chiefs)
• University of Connecticut DT Kendall Reyes (49th overall, San Diego Chargers)
• University of Wisconsin C Peter Konz (55th overall, Atlanta Falcons)

“Our philosophy is not to try and totally overhaul any athlete. We focus on the little details and make minor adjustments to maximize their abilities,” said Chris Weinke, IMG’s football director and former NFL quarterback. “From a fundamental standpoint, each athlete who trained with us made significant progress. Our structured program provided the athletes with a better understanding of the speed of the NFL game, more knowledge of the game, and how high the expectations are at the NFL level. We are proud to see their commitment and hard work pay off, and wish them the best in this next step of their careers.”

In the end, a record twenty IMG Academies-trained athletes were drafted, with an additional eight earning priority rookie free agent contracts in the hours shortly after the conclusion of the Draft.

IMG Academies’ seven-week NFL Combine/Pre-Draft Training Program presented athletes with education and training in position-specific skills, sports nutrition and hydration, physical conditioning, speed and movement, vision training, mental conditioning and communication. Former IMG NFL Combine/Pre-Draft Training Program participants include 2011 draftees Cam Newton (1^stoverall pick, Carolina Panthers) and Anthony Castonzo (22^nd overall pick, Indianapolis Colts); 2003 undrafted free agent Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys); and 2001 32^nd overall pick Drew Brees.

A complete list of IMG Academies-trained athletes selected in the 2012 NFL Draft:

• Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill (8^th overall, Miami Dolphins)
• Boston College LB Luke Kuechly (9^th overall, Carolina Panthers)
• University of Georgia OG Cordy Glenn (41^st overall, Buffalo Bills)
• Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill (43^rd overall, New York Jets)
• University of Illinois OT Jeff Allen (44^th overall, Kansas City Chiefs)
• University of Connecticut DT Kendall Reyes (49^th overall, San Diego Chargers)
• University of Wisconsin C Peter Konz (55^th overall, Atlanta Falcons)
• University of Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson (75^th overall, Seattle Seahawks)
• Rutgers WR Mohamed Sanu (83^rd overall, Cincinnati Bengals)
• Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins (102^nd overall, Washington Redskins)
• Louisiana State University CB Ron Brooks (124^th overall, Buffalo Bills)
• University of Oregon LB Josh Kaddu (155^th overall, Miami Dolphins)
• Samford University S Corey White (162^nd overall, New Orleans Saints)
• Missouri Western K Greg Zuerlein (171^st overall, St. Louis Rams)
• Florida Atlantic RB Alfred Morris (173^rd overall, Washington Redskins)
• Presbyterian College CB Justin Bethel (177^th overall, Arizona Cardinals)
• University of Oregon OL Mark Asper (178^th overall, Buffalo Bills)
• University of Alabama – Birmingham OT Matt McCants (201^st overall, New York Giants)
• Kansas State RB Bryce Brown (229^th overall, Philadelphia Eagles)
• North Carolina State DT Markus Kuhn (239^th overall, New York Giants)

About IMG Academies

IMG Academies, a division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, is the world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex. For more than 30 years, IMG Academies has helped countless youth, adult, collegiate and professional athletes reach their full potential in and out of sport, by providing world-class coaching, tailored programs and professional facilities within an energetic environment across a 450-acre campus.

Today the Bradenton, Fla.-based campus attracts 30,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries annually. IMG Academies offers youth camp and academy programs in baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer and tennis, in addition to training opportunities for professional athletes, teams and leagues. IMG also runs a series of events on its campus and throughout the country on an annual basis.

For more information about IMG camps, programs and events, please visit their website at www.imgacademies.com.

BRADENTON, Fla. (January 16, 2012)

This season thirty players descended on IMG’s campus to immerse themselves in one of the world’s most advanced and comprehensive training programs for today’s pro player. Players eat, sleep and train on the 400-acre campus, with 24/7 access to medical staff and physical therapists. In addition to the daily position-specific on-field training led by Heisman-winning QB and Director of the IMG Madden Football Academy, Chris Weinke, and his team of IMG Madden coaches, players receive education and training in areas like sports nutrition and hydration, physical conditioning, speed and movement, vision training, mental conditioning and communication.

Sports Nutrition & Hydration

This year, sports nutrition and hydration is delivered in part via the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, located on the IMG campus. The Institute, which opened several months ago, is only the second of its kind in the world, and is dedicated to using its decades of scientific research to help athletes achieve their peak performance through proper sports nutrition and hydration.

The carefully-managed customized nutrition plans for players are designed by IMG Academies’ recently-hired Head of Nutrition, Stephanie Wilson. Wilson earned her Master of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Florida in 2009 with summa cum laude honors. The year of her graduation Wilson received the American Dietetic Association Outstanding Dietetic Intern of the Year Award. Today she is a sports nutrition consultant for a number of top collegiate athletic programs including the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa, in addition to her full-time role with IMG Academies.

            Physical Conditioning

Wilson joins another new addition to IMG’s core of experts – Scott Gadeken, Head of Physical Conditioning, who will lead all strength and conditioning program elements for the NFL Combine trainees. Prior to joining IMG, Gadeken was the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Idaho, Head Strength Coach (basketball) and Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach (football) for LSU, and Head Strength Coach (women’s basketball, baseball and volleyball) and Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach (football) for his alma mater, Kansas State University. Most recently, he was the Head Assistant Strength Coach for the University of Washington football program.

Among his countless titles and accolades, Gadeken was a finalist for the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s National Strength Coach of the Year award in 2001, following an impressive string of bowl wins while at both Kansas State and LSU. In 2003, he helped lead LSU to a national title, and in 2004 and 2005, he aided the LSU women’s basketball team in reaching the Final Four two years in a row.

Speed & Movement

World-renowned speed expert Loren Seagrave, an original pioneer of the NFL Combine preparatory program, leads the speed and movement segment of the program. In 1998, he began working as a speed and conditioning coach with the Atlanta Falcons during the off-season training program, and helped propel them to the Super Bowl. Some of his past NFL pupils include Eddie George, Tony Romo, Roy Williams, and Hershel Walker. Additionally, Seagrave has worked with and continues to work with countless Olympic and World Champions in the track and field world, many of whom now  call IMG Academies their training home.

This year Dr. Ralph Mann, the world’s foremost authority on sports biomechanics and a former world-class track athlete himself, will also conduct individual biomechanical analyses of each player. Athletes will then be given prescriptive feedback to address limitations and correct any biomechanical issues.

Vision Training

Vision training specialist David DaSilva heads this unique and critical component of IMG’s comprehensive athletic development program. Using state-of-the-art technology, DaSilva applies the same techniques used by fighter pilots to increase the strength in the muscles of the eye, the endurance of these muscles and to improve communication between the brain and the images captured by the eyes, thus improving the speed and efficiency by which an athlete can process the information that they see.

Mental Conditioning

Dr. Angus Mugford will continue to lead the mental conditioning portion of the program, while mental conditioning expert and Director of the IMG Performance Institute, Trevor Moawad, will provide additional oversight. Recently, as a mental conditioning consultant to the University of Alabama football program, Moawad played a critical role in helping the Crimson Tide to their second national championship in four years.

            Communications by game on

Communications by game on, which includes media training, is led by former actor Steve Shenbaum. Shenbaum and his team use improvisation and role-playing techniques to help athletes improve self awareness and creativity while improving communication, social confidence and sense of humor. Over the years, Shenbaum has worked with countless pro athletes including Yao Ming, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Eli Manning, as well as numerous collegiate and professional teams like the New York Yankees.

IMG’s 2012 NFL Combine Training Program, which began at the start of the year, will run up to the NFL Combine, held in Indianapolis, February 22-28, 2012. Projected top draft picks enrolled in the program include: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill; Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson; Boston College LB Luke Kuechly; Georgia guard Cordy Glenn; Rutgers WR Mohamed Sanu; Wisconsin OL Peter Konz; and Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins.

About IMG Academies

IMG Academies, located in Bradenton, Fla., is the world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex dedicated to developing the TOTAL ATHLETE.  For more than 30 years, IMG Academies has helped countless youth, adult, collegiate and professional athletes reach their full potential in sport and life, by providing expert coaching, tailored programs and world-class facilities within an energetic environment across a 400-acre campus.

Today the campus attracts more than 20,000 athletes from 100 countries annually. The Academies consists of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy, IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy, IMG Madden Football Academy, IMG Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse and Soccer academies – all supported by the IMG Pendleton School and IMG Performance Institute’s multi-faceted training disciplines. IMG Academies also conducts camps, clinics and events year-round, while providing support to teams and federations around the world. Find more info at www.imgacademies.com.