Strowbridge's Red Dot Rampage

CHAPEL HILL – The odds are pretty good that Jason Strowbridge just ate something. And if he didn’t, he’s about to.

One of the missions these days is for the junior defensive tackle is to beef up and gain weight, which meaning eating a lot. A whole lot.

“A lot of red dots with extra conditioning afterward at the Ram’s Head Deck,” Strowbridge said, when asked what exactly it is he’s regularly gorging on these days.

Now, he’s not eating actual red dots and he’s not going nuts with those little ice cream balls one finds at the mall or a ballgame. Red dots are actually part of a coloring system North Carolina’s football program uses to identify types of food.

There’s green (healthy), yellow and red. Red is for the guys needing to gain weight and includes pasta and other high carbohydrate foods.

The native of Deerfield Beach, FL, is putting on the pounds to accommodate a position change made nearly a year ago. He went from defensive end to defensive tackle, and thus needed to pack on the pounds.

Undersized a year ago, Strowbridge still posted some solid numbers playing in all 12 UNC games. He was in on 34 tackles, 5.5 for a loss of yardage and one being a sack. He also forced a fumble and blocked a kick. Again, Strowbridge was undersized and it affected his play.

“I struggled in the season, I hovered around 264-265,” he said about his weight. “Now I’m up to 275.”

Did Strowbridge feel the added weight during spring practice that concluded last month?

“Just a little bit, but I’m not feeling it anymore,” he replied nearing the final workout in April.

Strowbridge says he plans on getting to 285 by the start of fall camp in August. Of course, that map includes a lot of trips to the red line for some of those red dot items.

“Eating all the time around the clock,” he said, smiling.

There’s more to Strowbridge’s offseason mission, though. Really, it’s something that began more than a year ago and continues to be a point of emphasis.

After making the move inside, this is the area his game grew the most, and it’s vital to success in the trenches.

“I’d say my steps. Switching from D-end to D-tackle is a little bit different, and I think now I’m a little bit better at my steps taking on those double teams and (shedding) blocks,” Strowbridge said. “Just to keep making strides with all of the technique that comes with it. Hand placement, like I said before footsteps, my hips, pass rush, transition pass rushing.”

Quality footwork isn’t always essential for success in high school for guys that end up in Power 5 conferences. They usually get by with sheer size, strength and athletic ability. Footwork and the finer nuances of the game can be foreign to many when they get to college.

That element was the biggest part of Strowbridge’s transition when he arrived in Chapel Hill, and it further an issue last year when he was moved inside. Tackle is much different than end.

“It definitely was that,” he said about footwork. “Last year, I was working on it from the spring all through the summer and through the season, I was trying to get better and I’m finally making strides.”

Strowbridge first noticed he had finally gotten a solid handle on it in the Miami game late last October, and ever since it’s been about refinement and not losing a step while putting on the pounds.

Footwork and red dots. Sounds like a heck of an offseason plan.