How Much Weight Does a High School LIneman Have to Weigh?

My son was 6-5, 290 for his senior year (he graduated in 2017). He's a strong kid — especially his legs — but he had some pudge, too. Was in good enough shape to play nearly the entire game both ways, and has always stayed active by playing lots of basketball.

And most of the teams we played had a guy his size ... or even bigger. There was a 6-foot-7, 310 pounder at a rival school, who ended up at Washington State.

When I was a senior in high school, I started at tackle at 6-2, 205. I was one of the biggest guys on our team. Four of the five starting O-linemen on my son's high school team were bigger than that.

How do they get that big? I think a big part of it is food — much less time to prepare from-scratch meals at home, much more common and easier for kids to eat out and grab snacks between school and work, or cruising around with friends. I think we all eat more processed food these days and certainly bigger portions.

"Li'l Coco" just redshirted as an O-lineman at an NAIA school, and they've got his weight down to the 275-280 range. He's in much better shape and his footwork is better; it's not high school, where he could just throw guys around because of his size. Besides the workouts and conditioning, they preach nutrition and watching what you eat to the players, and my son bought in to that.

 

My nephew is 6-4, 220 and barely made varsity at his 5A school his junior year at DE. Judging by his parents, I don’t think sports are a priority.

 

Body Mass Index, exercise philosophy and nutrition labels should be taught in eighth grade and repeated in 10th and 12th.

Burn this info into those happy young brains. Also, some stuff about avoiding assault guns would be greatly appreciated.

 

Isn't BMI kind of trash?

 

Not if you're 17 and weigh 300 pounds.