Football Strength by Position | Player Strength Analysis
- A University of Kansas study is exploring subtle links between body composition, muscular strength, and athletic power in college football players.
- Quincy Johnson, assistant professor of health, sport & exercise science at KU, spearheaded the study. It suggests that data-driven insights could lead to position-specific training regimens, maximizing each...
- Researchers assessed 16 starters from an NCAA Division II football team, all injury-free and actively engaged in strength and conditioning programs. They measured body composition,movement capacity,muscular strength,and power...
Uncover the groundbreaking findings of a University of Kansas study examining the crucial role of body composition and player strength in college football. The research, spearheaded by Quincy Johnson, reveals significant differences in linemen versus skill positions, offering data-driven insights for position-specific training. This study, now available on News Directory 3, analyzed muscular strength and power, highlighting the need to develop absolute strength across all positions. Find out how advanced technology is reshaping training methods to optimize athletic potential.Discover which areas of football performance are being prioritized and what improvements are possible. what advancements are expected, and how can this research help athletes? Discover what’s next in football player development.
Kansas Study Examines Body Types, Strength in College Football
Updated June 15, 2025
A University of Kansas study is exploring subtle links between body composition, muscular strength, and athletic power in college football players. The research aims to identify performance indicators that might not be obvious, even to experienced coaches.
Quincy Johnson, assistant professor of health, sport & exercise science at KU, spearheaded the study. It suggests that data-driven insights could lead to position-specific training regimens, maximizing each athlete’s potential. The study,which focuses on the role of body composition, muscular strength, and power, examined offensive and defensive linemen, linebackers, tight ends, quarterbacks, wide receivers, and safeties.
Researchers assessed 16 starters from an NCAA Division II football team, all injury-free and actively engaged in strength and conditioning programs. They measured body composition,movement capacity,muscular strength,and power using advanced technology,including markerless motion capture and force plates.
The study confirmed that linemen have greater body mass compared to other “big skill” positions. players in those skill positions demonstrated superior jumping ability and force transfer. However, movement capacity did not show notable differences across positions.
While muscular strength and power varied among position groups, peak force measurements did not.This highlights the importance of developing absolute strength, according to the researchers.
Johnson, a former collegiate football player and strength and conditioning coach, views the study as a catalyst for further research. He believes that scientifically measuring body composition, movement, and power can pave the way for optimizing player performance. The study was published in The Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology.
Future research will analyze data from Division I football players and athletes in other sports. The findings could benefit strength and conditioning professionals, sports scientists, sports medicine professionals, nutritionists, and dietitians.
“Even within the same sport you have different body types and different needs for the position they play,” Johnson said. “Speed, mobility, flexibility all play a part in your ability to play football. Strength and power also play a huge role. We found significant differences among position groups in muscular power, and also muscular strength. However, we didn’t find a difference in flexibility.”
What’s next
Johnson hopes his work will provide coaches with data-driven answers and guide the field toward new training methodologies. he aims to determine if athlete abilities can be accurately assessed and analyzed to improve performance over time.