How Yin Yoga helped Jack Pyburn become a better EDGE rusher

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For years, Florida sophomore EDGE Jack Pyburn followed the same workout routine on his path to play college football. His position coach, Mike Peterson, altered Pyburn’s weekly regimen this offseason.

The 14-year NFL veteran has unlocked a different side of him, but the key to his newfound talent isn’t a typical teaching tool from coaches.

“Now, when you watch me play, y’all are gonna see. I mean, I don’t even look like the same person anymore,” Pyburn said.

He grew up idolizing former UF All-American linebacker Brandon Spikes, who recently joined Billy Napier’s staff. Pyburn was in attendance at the Florida-Georgia game in 2008 when Spikes made his legendary hit on Bulldogs running back Knowshon Moreno.

“For the next like five years, I’d play that every Saturday morning before my little league football game, trying to be like him,” he said.

Pyburn did just that, becoming the starting middle linebacker at The Bolles School in Jacksonville. He made 109 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 14 sacks as a senior in 2021.

When Pyburn was in high school, he woke up each morning at 3:45 and lifted from 4:40 to 7 a.m. — every single day. He’s been drinking two gallons of water a day since he was 15.

Pyburn was also a wrestler at Bolles, winning the Region 1-1A title at 285 pounds to finish his senior season with a 31-0 record and advance to the state tournament.

Despite his success as a two-sport athlete, and the workout regimen that came with it, moving from inside linebacker to EDGE rusher in college wasn’t an easy transition.

“When I was in high school, I played linebacker,” Pyburn said. “And people told me, ‘I think you could be an EDGE rusher, I think you can do this’. So, I was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna learn how to use my hands.’

“And, you know, when I came here, I looked like a plank. I mean, I was stiff. I’m just gonna be honest. I mean, I couldn’t move well, you know. I just couldn’t do these things.”

Pyburn tries Yin Yoga

Peterson had just the solution for him. He suggested that Pyburn, who lived in the weight room, channel some of his energy elsewhere.

“He just told me, ‘Jump rope, yoga.’ You know, I took those things, and over the offseason, I did yoga three days a week,” Pyburn said. “Yin Yoga to be specific, to get into tendons and ligaments.”

Yin Yoga poses moderate stress to the connective tissues of the body — the tendons, fasciae, and ligaments — with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility.

What did the 6-foot-3, 253-pound Pyburn look like doing Yin Yoga for the first time?

“My girlfriend would go to some of the classes with me and she would just look over at me and laugh, because I just don’t look right doing yoga. I come into the yoga studio and it’s a bunch of smaller people, coming in there and being peaceful and then here I come in there,” Pyburn joked.

“I try to be comfortable everywhere, I don’t have any fear. I just come in and attack it the same way I do everything else. You have to take it serious, and when you take it serious, people respect you in that space. It’s been a pretty cool thing.”

Pyburn said he hasn’t been able to attend any yoga classes during fall training camp but intends to keep going. He used to jump rope occasionally in high school for wrestling but has now made that part of his daily workout routine as well.

“I jump rope every morning before I hit a little workout and a little skills work,” Pyburn said. “That’s something that Coach Peterson really helped with.”

For a player who watched Spikes highlights growing up and did 4 a.m. workouts every day, taking yoga classes three times a week is quite the evolution.

He credits Peterson for exposing him to something new.

“I know my strengths, but I’ve also identified my weaknesses, but it’s just someone that you respect pointing out those things, gives you that little extra push over the edge. Like, this is what I need to do, I have to work on this, this has to become something I do,” Pyburn said.

“It’s just taking those little things from my coach and, you know, I implemented those things every single day and took them to heart, as well as just moves and stuff. When you play for a guy that’s been in the league — he’s been there, done that — it’s so much easier to take in that coaching.”

After making three tackles in eight appearances as a true freshman, Pyburn’s playing time and production is expected to increase significantly this season. Has yoga and jump roping improved his game?

“Oh yeah, entirely, you’ll see. I promise,” he said. “[Coach Peterson]’s really worked with me on my double swipe. Everyone knows I got power, you know, I play aggressive, I play physical. But he’s really helped me to work on my hands, work on my speed and owning that I can also be a fast and twitchy guy, not just a big power muscle.”