Video: This is why everyone is excited to see the Kentucky offense

Kentucky has released a number of videos this off season since the hiring of Mark Stoops aimed at exciting the fan base and recruits, many of them focusing on the offensive side of the ball.

There was this one where offensive coordinator Neal Brown told recruits to watch after leaving Texas Tech for Kentucky, this one where Brown explains what makes the Air Raid successful, and this one where he explains their recruiting pitch includes the message "Come be a Hero".

As if the offensive side of the ball needed any more excitement heading into the fall, this clip (which should really resonate with recruits) features everything from highlights from the archives of Brown's playing days for Big Blue Nation to what him and his staff look for in each position when they're recruiting players.

The line of equipment that transformed Iowa State's strength program

The eternal quest of every strength coach in the industry is to get the absolute most out of every athlete he or she coaches. Sometimes a strength coach must fight against the athlete himself to pull out the most of their God given abilities, even if it's only for a one rep. At Iowa State, director of strength and conditioning Yancy McKnight has found a way around that battle. 

Despite boasting a young roster, the Cyclones have posted record squat numbers. Head coach Paul Rhoads has noticed an increased efficiency in the offseason program. And it all stems from a line of machinery that forces players to give maximum effort on every single rep. 

"Eighteen weight lifting stations are equipped with tendo units, devices that can display how fast the bar is moving in meters per second. McKnight can quickly check if a Cyclone is lifting at the desired speed," writes Bobby Le Gesse for the Ames Tribune. 

"There are five treadmills in a corner on which he can set the speed, duration and incline. If a Cyclone steps on it to run the equivalent of 200 meters, it will be an all-out 200 meters. An athlete can’t hold back. ISU is as close as is currently possible to taking the effort variable away from the athlete and putting it in the domain of McKnight."

Now that McKnight doesn't have to worry about coaching effort, he can fully devote his time to teaching technique. “It just adds that little advantage,” running back Jeff Woody said. “As competitive a league as the Big 12 is, when you stop those gaps in strength, it allows you to get those advantages where the defender or opponent can’t find a way in to take over what you got.”

Watch a demonstration of the new treadmill below, and read the full article here. 

From the mouth of a BCS AD, what not to say in an interview

Not all coaching jobs are created equal.

Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson sat down with Sports Business Journal and had this to say on coaches that interview for a job they may view to be a little less equal than others, "I need self-motivators. We’re resource-challenged. But I don’t want anybody hiding behind that, saying, 'We don’t have the resources to do it.' If we interview, and that’s something they would say, I’m not the person to work for."

As hard as it may be to believe, Maryland was one of those programs that didn't have the resources of the schools it competed against. Things were so bad in College Park, the Terrapins resorted to dropping sports entirely.

Hence, last fall's shocking news that the Terps would be bolting the ACC for the Big Ten. "If you don’t think global, you’re not going to be competitive. One of the things that the Big Ten Network gives us is that we’re global now, where we weren’t before."

So now that any coach interviewing with Anderson for a job at Maryland won't have to worry about what not to say regarding a possible lack of resources, he can take one more piece of advice from the top Terp. When you reach that top rung on the ladder, don't forget to look out for the people still climbing. "If they call me, I return the call," Anderson said. "If they email me, I return the email, because there are people that did that for me. If I can provide something for them, that’s why I’m here."

Photo: Are facemask logos the next helmet craze?

Late last night we noticed this tweet from Darren Rovell telling us to prepare ourselves to see school logos on facemasks. 

Get ready to see logos on football helmet facemasks. Here's University of Arizona from @badassmasks twitter.com/Badassmasks/st…

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) June 9, 2013

Which begged the question; Is this the next craze in helmet designs?

With a renewed focus on player safety, the facemask designer (B.A Masks) will probably have to jump through some hoops to prove that each design is structurally sound before making it on a field. And even then, some schools (like Arizona with their block "A") may be able to pull it off, but other logos (like Southern Miss' for example) would not only be nearly impossible to design, but we also have a hard time picturing it (and most team logos) looking halfway decent on a facemask.

What are your thoughts? Is this the next craze, or has it crossed the line of creativity?

Video: What goes through an offensive coordinator's head on 4th and 1?

This is the episode of "Mind Games" that we've been looking forward to the most since Miami announced plans for the series.

Hurricanes offensive coordinator James Coley, who enters his first season calling the shots in Coral Gables after spending the past few seasons at Florida State under Jimbo Fisher, talks about what's going through his mind on 4th and 1, why he starts planning for before 3rd down, and why he considers it a "want to" situation for players on both sides of the ball.

Miami has done an excellent job with this series, and while the past couple installments should have been big hits with fans and recruits, this episode is one that coaches should really enjoy.

Ragin' Cajuns put down new turf in indoor facility

Over the weekend, we caught a glimpse of the new turf that Louisiana-Lafayette laid down in their indoor facility.

For those of you unfamiliar with the quality of work that ProGrass does, one look at the new indoor turf should get you up to speed. Since their game field (Cajun Field) is ProGrass, it only makes sense that Mark Hudspeth wanted them to also handle their indoor as well, and the final product looks very sharp.

Video: Miami breaks down the art of beating a block

Beating a block from the defensive end position is part physical domination and part finesse.

Here, in episode 8 of Miami's "Mind Games", defensive lineman Shayon Green breaks down the art of beating a block with two different techniques. Defensive line coaches will eat this one up.

Photos: Texas A&M has some sweet new cleats

Texas A&M released a sneak peek at their cleats for the fall today.

If you ask us, anytime you can include your team's catchphrase on your cleats they're going to draw some positive attention. We have to wonder how many other Adidas sponsored programs are going to come out with something similar?

Interesting idea. We like it (in this case).