How Luke Day's strength program has improved South Carolina this summer
South Carolina strength and conditioning coach Luke Day has gained attention from the media for his player results this summer in the weight room. Day, who has been with the program since January 2021, has received nothing but praise from head coach Shane Beamer.
“Theres no doubt in my mind we had an elite summer and credit goes to, obviously our players, but Luke Day and his strength and conditioning staff,” Beamer said. “I mean summers in college football are a huge undertaking and our guys have been up here since Memorial Day.”
Freshman EDGE Dylan Stewart took to twitter to post his before and after pictures from his first semester with Day. His July 24 tweet got over 663K views with 1.9K likes. And it clearly exemplified the progress one could make in a few short months with some hard work and help from a coach like Day. He’s now listed at 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds.
“I just came from a team meeting upstairs and Luke Day was talking to our players about the summer they had,” Beamer said. “He’s like, ‘Anybody that questions what you guys have done and the work you’ve put in, all they have to do is look at you.’ When you see our players walk in here in a little bit you’re going to see them and a lot of them look different.”
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Many players underwent physical changes as a result of the summer workout program. As a result, the team looks healthier and stronger than ever during fall practice.
“Our guys have definitely grown and gotten better and it’ll be very evident when you see them as well,” Beamer said.
Offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Dowell Loggins spoke on the importance of Day’s program in ensuring players are healthy. Star quarterback LaNorris Sellers is among those who underwent big physical changes.
“The health really comes with how their summer went,” Loggins said. “The strength and conditioning program, the strides they made that way. Normally strong players that are in great shape don’t get hurt. It sounds like they had a great offseason.”
