Virginia Tech tight end Benji Gosnell briefly spoke to media during the Hokies’ “Fan Day” event held on Sunday, Aug. 16. Here’s the entirety of what Gosnell had to say:
On his being married:
[The start of the transcription cuts out. Gosnell mentioned one of his groomsmen misplacing a tie.] “Ended up being Stephen, but he didn’t take the blame. It’s the only south thing that went. But it was perfect, according to plan.”
“It’s definitely refreshing. Say, if you didn’t have a practice you wanted, or like you left some plays out there, you’re not just sitting there reliving those like poor plays, poor performance. You get to get home, kind of level out, realize there’s more to life than just football. You get to spend time with the person you love. Get to hear about her day and what she did, so definitely just kind of helps get your mind off of the gauntlet, especially camp or football in general.”
On the biggest difference in the strength and conditioning program over this offseason:
“I just think it’s buy-in. Like a lot of it’s similar systems, I would say. But I just think the buy-in. And the support we’ve had, like with new resources. We have like two nutritionists as opposed to one. The buy-in from the players has been great. So, just each individual person taking care of their body the way we’ve been taught how to has just been able to transform our bodies physically, and obviously makes better performance.”
On Gosnell’s focus — bulking up or slimming down, goals:
“It was definitely body composition, but I honestly wanted to add a few pounds. So, it was like, I lost like 5% body fat, but I gained two pounds. That helped me tremendously, especially for like plate weight. And strengthening my lower body, which I’ve always struggled with having like surgeries and stuff. But that’s been the biggest thing for me, I’ve lost four or 5% body fat, and I’ve actually gained like two pounds.”
On if the key to that is diet:
“It really is our diet. Yeah, very high-protein diet. Probably 280 grams of protein a day. A lot of steak. Staying away from sugars. Yeah, just and being consistent. There’s no cheat or off days. You have to be very consistent.”
On if Gosnell has noticed that difference on the field:
“100%. in the weight room, on the field. I’ve had some strength coaches tell me, like your movement is just like so much more fluidly. Even they can tell the difference from spring ball, and then now like I look different, feel different, and it’s all great.”
Q: What’s the biggest area of improvement that you think that you made in your game from last season to now?…