A ‘high butt factor’ might be an NFL Draft prospect’s most prized asset
Josh Kendall
“So you want me to comment about how important a guy’s ass is in the evaluation?” Mike Mayock asked, laughing. “You’re really doing this, huh?”
For years, the humble human haunches have been key indicators for football scouts as they evaluated players. Mayock, the former Las Vegas Raiders general manager, has reluctantly been installed as leader of the Cult of the Caboose since referencing the rump multiple times as an NFL Network draft analyst in the 2010s, which makes him a great source for a story about seats.
“Over the years on television, I used to call it a power generator, and really, it was to be a little cute and funny with a germ of truth. It just kind of became representative of a strong lower body,” Mayock said. Sure enough, YouTube is full of clips in which Mayock references a player’s “bubble” butt.
“I said it on the air at the combine multiple times to the point that it was almost embarrassing because our cameramen would be getting shots of the guy from behind to illustrate it,” Mayock said.
At least he’s in good company. Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick is a fellow devotee of the derriere, according to Georgia coach Kirby Smart. In a video posted to X last year, Smart described the time he joined Belichick to watch defensive linemen run the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. Smart, then the Dolphins’ safeties coach, was confused by Belichick watching the drill from behind the starting line.
“I was like, ‘Why are we here? You can’t time the finish,'” Smart said. Dolphins coach Nick Saban, a friend and former colleague of Belichick’s, had the answer, according to Smart: “Bill likes to look and see how big their ass is when they get down in a 40-yard stance because he wants to sign the biggest-assed defensive linemen he can sign.”
There is science behind this slightly cringy bit of scouting, the “germ of truth” Mayock mentioned.
“In a broad sense, muscle hypertrophy (size) relates to muscle strength,” said Dr. Alexandra DeJong Lempke, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “Usually a larger muscle indicates higher ability to produce force. So when you think of sprinting and explosive movements, that’s primarily driven from the glute maximus to give that explosive first step.”
Football coaches have known this inherently for years even if they can’t break it down like a Ph.D.
“It’s one of the largest muscle groups. It’s a prime mover of your hips. It’s what propels you forward. It’s what puts force in the ground,” said Luke Day, head strength coach at the University of South Carolina. “You know that player has the potential to create a lot of power because that muscle group is that important.”
A 'high butt factor' might be an NFL Draft prospect's most prized asset
For years, the humble human haunches have been key indicators as football scouts evaluate players.
www.nytimes.com
