Caleb Herring arrived at Tennessee as so many edge rushers do. The 6-foot-5 freshman was incredibly wiry, looking more like a tall receiver or a small forward than someone that was going to play on the defensive line in the SEC.
Fast forward a year and the former blue-chip recruit looks like he belongs playing in the trenches in the nation’s top football conference. That’s no coincidence. Herring arrived at Tennessee weighing 205 pounds but is now hovering between 245 and 255 pounds as he approaches his sophomore season.
“Last year I came in around 205 (pounds) and now I’m up to 250, so yeah, I’ve put on around 45 pounds,” Herring told the media on Wednesday. “The highest I got up to was around 255. I’m still trying to get adjusted to the weight, but I’ve been feeling good.”
Even for a player in a college strength and nutrition program, Herring’s weight gains are impressive. He did it thanks to the help from head nutritionist Ethan Bauer, consistent eating habits and lots of shakes.
“In the morning, I wake up and eat eggs and grits,” Herring said. “Then I’ll get apple juice and drink a cup of that. Then I’ll drink about two shakes before I’ll work out and then after workouts I’ll go to lunch, go to Smokies. Eat that, probably drink one or two shakes again. Then I’ll just wait until dinner … have one or two shakes and then eat dinner and drink one more shake. It’s a whole lot of shakes.”
If you’re keeping count, that’s five to seven shakes a day on top of three full meals. Herring says that it is around 5,000 calories a day and while that was a challenge at first, it is something that he’s gotten used to.
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The most important thing is that his body has transitioned well to carrying so much weight. He’s still a quick twitch athlete who can get off the ball and rush the passer at a high level.
“My frame carries it well so it really hasn’t been much of a difference,” Herring said. “Whenever it came to conditioning, I remember my first week of conditioning was challenging. But then after that first week I got adjusted and it’s been pretty good.”
Despite being undersized, Herring did have a limited role last season where he totaled three tackles, one sack and forced one fumble. What Herring’s role looks like this season is an interesting question because of the Vols’ extreme depth at the LEO spot.
James Pearce Jr. is the top player on Tennessee’s team and Josh Josephs is another player with an abundance of preseason hype entering his junior season. That makes the path to consistent playing time uncertain.
Herring has the build of an elite pass rusher and that’s what made him a top 100 recruit coming out of high school. A consistent role on the Vols’ third down pass rushing unit looks like one of the more likely spots for Herring.
If Herring does become an impact player for Tennessee this season, point to how he’s changed his body in his lone season in college.
