ESPN Independents and Others Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

On the walls of Richard Shaughnessy's office on the Troy campus are pictures and autographed mementos of former Troy players, some of whom owe their professional careers to Shaughnessy's tutelage.

Shaughnessy is the Trojans' strength and conditioning coach, and for the past 13 years he's been turning players who were considered too small for major schools into NFL draft picks.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware is the most popular name, but players such as New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, Buffalo Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin and this year, cornerback Sherrod Martin, who was selected in the second round by the Carolina Panthers, have all achieved their NFL dreams in part because of Shaughnessy's help in the weight room and his speaking to NFL coaches on their behalf.

"The reputation's gotten good enough that if you want to go to the NFL, you can get there from Troy," Shaughnessy said. "The scouts and teams aren't afraid to take a chance on some of our players here because they do know that they're going to be ready, they're going to be able to play and they're going be able to do things at a higher level."

Shaughnessy was the first full-time strength coach hired at Troy. Coach Larry Blakeney also appointed him the liaison between the school and the professional scouts. Shaughnessy spends much of his time facilitating junior pro day where NFL scouts come out and watch players run through combine-like drills. He also pitches players to scouts, keeps scouts up on sprinting times and weightlifting progress. He makes sure that Troy is always a place NFL scouts look for talent.

And it's worked. From 2003-09 the Trojans have had five draft picks and four of those have been in the first or second round. Umenyiora became the first second-round pick in the history of the school in 2003. Ware became the first first-round pick in 2005. In fact, McKelvin and Ware were both the No. 11 pick, the highest pick in school history.

"I know before I got here there was probably 5-10 guys in the history of the school that had an opportunity to play beyond this," Shaughnessy said. "You do have to sell your kids, you do have to get their names out there. You've got to get out there and work and that's part of my job to get out there and make sure teams are aware."

Shaughnessy said he takes pride in finding players that major schools have counted out and turning them into pro prospects. It was Shaughnessy who took a 196-pound Ware and turned him into a 256-pound first-round draft pick. Many teams thought Ware was too small and too slow to be a professional player, but Shaughnessy pitched him to the Cowboys early and they saw the potential that Shaughnessy saw.

Shaughnessy has instrumented so many turnarounds, not just for the NFL, but for players to continue football in other professional leagues, that he was named Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa) last week. It's the highest honor the association gives out and only 80 coaches around the country have received the honor.

Shaughnessy, whose training emphasizes speed, power and then strength, said he's all about building athletes, not just football players. Ware's success has gotten more players to buy in to Shaughnessy's methods and subsequently it's brought more scouts to campus.

Shaughnessy said he still keeps in touch with many of the former players who have gone on to professional careers, especially Ware. When Ware was on campus, he asked Shaughnessy to help as he sought out agents and financial advisors. He asked Shaughnessy about major purchases and sought relationship advice.

"As a strength coach you do build relationships with a lot of the players," Shaughnessy said. "It's really more than just playing football. I am the one guy who gets to see them all year long. You know who their mama's are, who their girlfriends are, what kind of trouble they're in, if they're having any problems, because a lot of your time is being a psychiatrist as well as a father figure to some of them."

And Shaughnessy appreciates that most of the players don't forget him. They'll call from time to time to chat or send him memorabilia for his office. He said the photos and autographs serve as motivation for younger players. Currently, Shaughnessy said sophomore wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan is on a similar path as Ware was at that age. Jernigan has gone from 168 pounds when he stepped on campus to 190 in a year and a half. He's also dropped his 40 time to 4.3. And now Shaughnessy can't get him out of the gym. He said it's exciting to watch a player go through that transformation and gravitate to the work it takes to get there.

"You're behind the scenes and you're with them all summer long while the coaches are playing golf or whatever," Shaughnessy said. "You're making sure that they're going to class and going to breakfast check and doing what they're supposed to do. It's not like work to me. It's still fun and I still have a lot of enthusiasm. And to watch these guys develop and to know that you have some small part in their success, it is fun. It is rewarding. It's a big deal for me."