Michigan football promotes Justin Tress as director of strength and conditioning, retains nutritionist Abigail O'Connor

Michigan Wolverines football received disappointing news Monday morning, when director of strength and conditioning and associate head coach Ben Herbert told players of his plans to depart the program for the Los Angeles Chargers, joining former U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh. Monday evening, new head coach Sherrone Moore announced that he has promoted one of Herbert’s understudies, former associate director of strength and conditioning, to director of strength and conditioning.

Moore also announced that dietician Abigail O’Connor, officially Michigan’s director of performance nutrition, will remain with the Wolverines. She has long been lauded as a key behind-the-scenes staff member.

Tress played safety at Kent State, where he earned his degree in exercise science in 2015. A native of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, Tress attended Blackhawk High School, where he competed in football and track and field.

“I am honored to represent the football program in this new role and appreciate Coach Sherrone Moore’s belief in my abilities and Coach Herbert’s endorsement,” Tress, 28 years old, said in a statement. “It means a great deal to have both of these leaders showing faith in me and my abilities as a strength coach.

“I look forward to leading the strength and conditioning program with an exceptionally talented group of coaches. We will continue to work together to develop our student-athletes’ bodies and minds for the field of competition. The roadmap has been created and we will work hard to pursue outstanding results in the weight room, with the goal of putting our players in the best position to succeed on the football field.”

“I am excited that both Justin and Abigail will remain an integral part of our program,” Moore, Michigan’s head coach for less than a week, said in his own statement. “They have been key ingredients in our success, and we look forward to their leadership as we move forward as a program. Justin is being passed the torch by his long-time mentor, Ben Herbert, and we know Justin, the strength staff and their work with Abigail will continue to be a centerpiece of our player development. The collective and collaborative work done by our strength staff, nutrition staff and athletic training staff has been critical to the championship culture that exists in Schembechler Hall.”

Herbert also provided his own statement.

“I have known Coach Tress since 2014 and have worked in lockstep with him since 2017,” said Herbert. “For the past seven years Justin and I have worked side-by-side through the highest of highs and lowest of lows. I have never once seen his commitment to me or to Michigan Football waiver. Justin is an incredible representation of intelligence, consistency and commitment. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he will continue to build upon the legacy we have established with Michigan Football.”

“Any time there is transition, great people make decisions that are in the best interest of their family,” added Moore. “We appreciate all that Coach Herb did for the program and wish him well in his next coaching opportunity. He developed a great staff that remains together in Ann Arbor. We know this group will flourish.”

O’Connor has been Michigan Football’s Director of Performance Nutrition for the past six seasons (2018-present) and will continue her role as the program’s leader in that area. O’Connor worked at the University of Houston (2016-17) and spent the 2017 season as the football dietitian at the University of Minnesota before joining the Wolverines’ staff.

“I walked inside these doors of Schembechler Hall with Justin Tress and Sherrone Moore in 2018 and have worked closely with them ever since,” said O’Connor. “Fostering the development of our student-athletes is something that has always been a priority of this program and I am confident that we will continue to be elite in that area under all of our leadership.”