Bucs/NFL

WR Galloway holds secret to a speedy getaway plan

By JOANNE KORTH
Published November 11, 2006

TAMPA - Bucs receiver Joey Galloway sought out Saints cornerback Fred Thomas on the field after Sunday's game to playfully state the obvious: "I can still run."

Thomas can attest.

The singe marks on the back of his No. 22 jersey were clearly visible when Galloway crossed the goal line with a 52-yard touchdown reception. It was a "go" route, of course.

No head fake. No stutter step.

Just go.

"He just runs around you," said Thomas, a former teammate of Galloway's in Seattle. "And if you don't have the type of speed he's got, he's going to run away from you."

Well, who does?

Nine days shy of his 35th birthday, Galloway remains among the fastest receivers in the NFL. Maybe the fastest. He entered the league in 1995 running 40 yards in 4.1 seconds. Twelve seasons, two knee surgeries and a torn groin muscle later, Galloway claims not to have lost a step.

The question is how.

How, at an age when most sprinters are retired, is Galloway still so fast? The answer lies in a tried-and-true offseason conditioning program Galloway has used since he starred at Ohio State in the early 1990s. The details are top secret.

"I can't give away the secret potion," he said.

The eight-week program was designed by former Ohio State strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy, now at Nebraska. It employs weight training and resistance running with a parachute, among other methods, to increase explosiveness.

"If you remember, in the 1990s Ohio State was producing athlete after athlete after athlete," Galloway said. "When it came to testing day, it was a show at Ohio State. Coach Kennedy was behind that. Since then, I have stuck with the program."

Athletes with whom Kennedy worked during 13 years at Ohio State include Eddie George, Orlando Pace, Dan Wilkinson, David Boston, Andy Katzenmoyer, Shawn Springs, Robert Smith and Mike Vrabel. They, too, benefited from the program.

The longest Galloway has gone without working out at the end of a season is 10 days. He starts with light lifting and cardiovascular exercise. In April, he shifts to running outdoors. Eight weeks out from training camp, the program begins.

In solitude.

Galloway, much like his workout regimen, is an enigma. Every offseason, he returns to Columbus, Ohio, to work by himself. He even straps on his own parachute.

"I've been doing it so long I know the program well enough," he said. "I run by myself. I time myself. I do everything by myself."

It's hard to argue with more than a decade of results. Galloway has 579 career catches for 8,976 yards and 68 touchdowns, and his 15.5 yards per catch is second among active receivers to Randy Moss' 15.9. Galloway has 126 catches of more than 20 yards, 39 of more than 40 yards and has produced 406 first downs.

This season, Galloway leads the Bucs with 29 catches for 475 yards and four touchdowns.

Thanks to the wonder program.

"It would work for anything," Galloway said. "If you were running a 400 meters in track, we'd have to lengthen out what we're doing, but it would definitely work. Who knows? One of these days, I might train someone. I think I could do it."

Just one problem. He'd have to share his secret.

Joanne Korth can be reached at korth@sptimes.com or 727 893-8810.

Up next

Bucs at Panthers, 8:30 p.m. Monday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.

TV/radio: ESPN, Ch. 28; 103.5-FM, 620-AM

[Last modified November 11, 2006, 01:48:58]