Many of the Gophers may dread the four-times-a-week workouts that began last month, but Mike Rallis claims he's enjoying them.
Funny what you miss when it's gone.
The junior-to-be linebacker from Edina couldn't pump iron, couldn't run laps, couldn't do anything football-related for five weeks once the Gopher football season ended. Surgery to correct a sports hernia, completed a couple of days after Minnesota's season-ending victory over Iowa, short-circuited any plans Rallis had to get a head start on 2011 conditioning.
"It was frustrating for me, because I've always been a guy you've got to tell to stop working out, or I'll just keep going," Rallis said. "I'm usually getting my own work in when we're away, but I couldn't do anything in December. I really felt the effects of my layoff when our workouts started."
The condition limited Rallis during the season, too, limiting how hard he could practice and keeping him out of three games completely (though he still managed to lead the Gophers with three interceptions).
But the surgery has restored him to 100 percent readiness, Rallis said, and he is relishing Minnesota's new workout regimen.
"I'm full-go now, and I'm definitely seeing some rapid results," he said. "Some guys need coaches to push them to work, but I'm enjoying it."
