BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
 
MADISON, Wis. – There will be new messaging on the freshly painted white walls to go along with new lighting. There are new machines. And old ones in new places. There is new energy and a new voice in the renovated Wisconsin football weight room at Camp Randall Stadium.

The voice belongs to Brady Collins. And it comes across loud and clear. Energized, if you will.

"There's a lot of change going on right now – like coach (Luke) Fickell says, 'Change is inevitable but growth is optional,'" said Collins, the new director of UW football strength and conditioning. "I want this to feel brand new for these kids because there are a bunch of new coaches and a new style.

"All we're trying to do is enhance the culture that was here. Just little things. Painting the walls to make it brighter in here. Putting in new lights. Moving the equipment around. Taking the platforms out. Anything where it used to be, we're moving it.

"So psychologically when the kids come in here, they're not used to it – and it feels like a brand new room. We're putting up some new graphics and, as we continue to build these next few weeks, we're putting up our brand, what the Badger brand is, what our culture is. It's exciting."

The official reporting date for Wisconsin players is Jan. 23, the day before the start of the spring semester. But the doors to the weight training facility – tucked away under the stands in the north end of the stadium – will be open this week. What Collins is calling a discretionary week.

"So, if the guys are around, they can come in," he said. "That's great for us to kind of get a little baseline info on them and start assessing certain things. You've got the new freshmen and transfers who will be here as well." Collins laughed. "It's like the roster is growing by the day."

Under Fickell's direction, the new staff has attacked recruiting. Much like Collins approaches his job. "A bunch of players have reached out to me – whether Twitter or Instagram messaging," Collins said. "And I was fortunate to meet with a bunch of guys during a couple of (earlier) visits here.

"The message to them is … I know they're hungry. They feel this energy. They're looking forward to this challenge of a new way of training and building this team – this brotherhood – into something special that's going to represent the university, the city and the state the right way."

But what is the Collins way? How does it differ, if it does, from what was in place?

"There are obviously different philosophies – with certain coaches, their style could be this way, their style could be that way," said Collins.

"For me, I'm never one to say what was done before was bad or was wrong. Because guess what? There was a lot of success here and there has been for a long time.

"All my staff and I are looking to do is take it up a notch and maybe even then some – physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally – developing these young kids to be great on Saturdays. I always say, 'I love heavy squats, I love big-time benches and I love fast-testing numbers.'

"But none of that matters unless you're doing everything right every single day. Unless you're being the best version of yourself every single day, which in turn makes you a great football player. We have a big saying around here, 'How you do anything is how you do everything.'"

That all-encompassing perspective was born out of his experiences at previous stops, namely Ohio State (where he came under the influence of training guru Mickey Marotti) and the University of Cincinnati (where he was hired by Fickell to help revive a slumbering, underachieving program).

Fickell has lauded Collins for "building football players" – for being the cornerstone of the UC rebuilding project – by establishing a winning culture and environment in the weight room at Cincinnati, the first Group of Five team to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

In a 2017 blog written by Dan Hoard – the play-by-play voice of the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bearcats – several UC players were asked to describe Collins. One used the word "Fireworks." Another offered, "Coach Brady is a ball of energy. From the time we walk in, until the time we leave."

In the same blog, Collins explained his energy as a natural off-shoot of his up-tempo personality. He also said that he feeds off the athletes. Fickell told Hoard, "Energy, energy, energy. Positive, positive, positive. He's one of those guys that if I'm having a bad day, the first call I'll make is to Brady."

&&&

One of Collins' favorite sayings is, "The weight room is just like life, it plays favorites."

Expounding on that theme, Collins said, "I think football is the greatest sport in the world because it's just like life. It will lift you up, it will tear you down. It's hard on you. There's a lot of success. There's a lot of failures. But it's a daily sacrifice, it's a daily commitment and investment.

"And the best thing about it is, you can't do it alone. You've got to rely on others, you've got to rely on your brothers. Does the weight room play favorites? Absolutely it does …It's going to reward you if you're doing everything right because good things come to those who grind.

"If I'm a businessman and you're a businessman and I'm just hitting the quota on what we're supposed to be doing where you're going above and beyond and you're really attacking it, well, when the promotion comes, who's going to get it? It had better be you because you earned it.

"That's what the weight room does, what football does. It rewards those who grind."

There was no gray area in Collins' workplace at Cincinnati. And there will be none here. "The weight room is your sanctuary," he stressed. "It's really the only time you truly have to maximize yourself – physically, emotionally, all those things – because the bar will never lie to you.

"It's you versus you every single day in this building. And it's you versus everybody. But you're also relying on those guys and holding them accountable. So when you come in here, I don't want you to dread the weight room. I get it. I know some guys don't love lifting. That's fine.

"It's my job to get them to understand why it's so important."

Wisconsin's new defensive coordinator Mike Tressel has been around Collins the last two seasons at Cincinnati. As a result, he has insight on how Collins goes about his business and how "absolutely critical" his position is in the physical development and growth of a program.

"He makes the weight room a place where people want to be," Tressel said. "It's a grind and he has the ability to make kids want to be there and want to go through it. We all attack things better when it's something we want to do. He has the proven ability to make kids their best self.
"From a confidence and physical standpoint, the weight room sets the culture of the program."

You're liable to hear just about anything blaring from the speakers in Collins' room.

"I'll have the iPad with me but I tend to play to the crowd," he said. "You've got to feed the boys what they want. It's not about what I like to listen to even though I like to listen to everything. Music is a great stimulus. It can really set the tone for a lot of things."

There will be a mix of rock and country, a blend of Lil Baby and Kodak Black.

"What I can promise you is that it's going to be a loud environment," Collins said. "It's going to be high intensity. It's going to be up-tempo. It's going to be competitive. It's going to be in your face, hands-on and it's going to be relentless. I use the word relentless as the same word as love.

"Anything less than that, I think the kids are getting cheated. That's not out of disrespect to anybody. I know that it works and I'm looking forward to do that with these (UW) kids by giving them every ounce of energy that I have – and this staff has – and doing it each and every single day."

Collins is bringing his Cincinnati staff with him to Madison. His top assistants have been with him for awhile. "I know that I can't be who I am without my guys," he said. "We've all played college football. I think that's important. Some of us are married and have kids. That's important, too."

Collins like to tell recruits, "I look at us like we're the Avengers. We're a group of different people with different minds and hearts and experiences, if not super powers, and we can all come together to build something special … to help lift and build and develop these young men."

At an early age, Collins knew exactly what he wanted out of life and what he wanted to be.

"When I was young, probably about my sophomore year of high school, I wanted to be a strength coach," said Collins, a graduate of Olentangy High School (Lewis Center, Ohio) and Otterbein College/University (Westerville, Ohio), a D-III program. Along the way, he said, "I got bit by the iron bug."

And he liked how it made him feel, on and off the field. Marotti was his Ohio State mentor.

"I'm from Columbus, just north of it, so you're not in awe of being at Ohio State, but I was in awe of working for coach Mick," Collins admitted. "I learned how to run a program under him. He told me on my first day, 'Brady, anyone can write a workout. That's the easiest thing.

"But it's how you can motivate these men. How you can develop relationships. How you can run a program, not just writing the workouts … to make sure there's total alignment and constant communication between everybody in the building and everybody that touches and impacts these kids.

"I'm blessed to always have him. As, yes, a mentor. But even more as a friend."

Collins feels the same way about his relationship with Fickell, whom he labeled a "man's man."

Said Collins, "First and foremost, when I think of Coach Fic, he's a tough, competitive, a straight-shooter – he's honest, he's loyal – obviously, he's a great coach. But for me I get to see everything else with him. I see that he's a great husband, a great father, a great leader of men … all those things."

Working under his wing at Ohio State and UC, he said, "I hit the jackpot, I hit a home run."

And he went on to say, "There are people in this business who get a job and all of a sudden, they're looking to get out. That's not Coach Fick. We were at Cincinnati six seasons. I thought we'd be there forever. It took a special opportunity, a special place with special people, that's why we're here.

"That's why I'm so jacked, so honored. I can't wait to get started. I'm giddy."

Collins was most appreciative of his time at Cincinnati, a growth spurt in his own development. So much so that he went out of his way to express his gratitude, "To the people, the university, the student athletes, everyone … I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today without my time there."

In the next few weeks, Wisconsin players will be introduced to some of Collins' most important messaging involving the periodic symbol (Fe2) for "Iron sharpens Iron." Noted Collins, "That will be very true to us and our core. A lot of people use it. But, for us, it's way more than just the saying.

"The only way I'm going to be the best version of myself is if I have everyone around me challenging me, holding me accountable, pushing me, being there for me to do the same. If I give great effort, my attitude is right, I'm doing it for the love of the brotherhood, it's amazing what can happen."

Tough and nasty. They represent two popular, functional words in the Collins' vocabulary. "Those will be a part of our program here, of our philosophy, of the way we train, of the way we practice," he said. "It goes back to that saying – The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

"People think being tough is when you get punched and you fight back. No. Being tough is being disciplined. It's being on time. It's making your body weight. It's getting to class. It's getting good grades. It's your intentions, your effort, your attitude at which you train and attack academics."

In the same breath, he added that it's how you hold each other, and the entire team accountable. He's fond of saying, "It's not about what you do. It's why you do it and who you do it with." He also likes sharing with recruits his goal of developing GAM (Grown A** Men).

It's all part of his own timeline, his own bottom line. And it's all out of love. "I use that word a lot," Collins said. "Look on Day One, I'm going to rip open my chest and give you everything I've got. You're going to get that every single day. Now, in turn, we're going to ask you to do that as well.

"And that's easier said than done because that's got to be built. It has got to be built through trust, respect, love … and it has got to be built over time. But I promise you, if that happens, if you give us your heart, I mean, wow, that's when greatness takes off."

That would be music to his ears. Loud music. Very loud music, of course.