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When the UW-La Crosse football team did its preseason strength testing recently, Cooper Wage claimed the king of the bench title, and it wasn’t even close.
Wage, a junior guard, did 32 repetitions of the 225-pound bench press, wowing his teammates and coaches but leaving Wage himself a bit disappointed. He had cranked out 37 reps during the summer.
“We were only supposed to do 20 (reps), but what’s the point of just stopping at 20?” Wage said.
Wage, 6-foot and 260 pounds, is competing with junior Kyle Schulz for the starting left guard job during camp. While Wage, who made the switch from defensive line last season, is still fine-tuning his techniques and learning terminology and plays, his off-the-charts strength is an obvious advantage.
“He feels confident now playing offense and he’s having a good camp,” Eagles offensive line coach Mike Anderson said.
Wage competed in football and track and field at Holmen High School, but powerlifting was his passion. Wage joined Holmen’s lifting team as a freshman, and by the time he graduated in 2005, he was one of the best in the world for his age.
UW-L recruited Wage as a defensive lineman, but he took a year off football to concentrate on powerlifting. In the fall of 2005, he won a silver at the Sub-Junior World Champion-ships in Fort Wayne, Ind., setting world records in the bench (487 pounds) and squat (722).
“I thought it was a huge rush,” Wage said. “When you get out there in front of a big crowd with all that weight, it’s an adrenaline rush. But you only get one chance to play college football, and after that, I can continue with powerlifting.”
Wage is still a dedicated weight lifter, but he’s focusing now on sport-specific lifts and drills.
“His strength is a big help for him, but he’s worked on flexibility and speed, too,” Anderson said, “because you’ve got to be able to move. When he was on the defensive line, it didn’t work out there, but I had seen him play in high school and I thought he could be a good player for us on the offensive line.
“He was thrown to the wolves last year and now he’s starting to come into his own.”
The Eagles last season led the WIAC in total offense (435.9 yards per game) and least sacks allowed (22), and because of experience — three starters return — and depth, Anderson believes the line will be a good one again.
“We’re two-deep across the o-line and it is a true battle,” Anderson said. “That just makes us a better team.”
TOUGH TEXANS: UW-La Crosse and Hardin-Simmons (Texas) were ranked seventh and 11th, respectively, by D3football.com heading into last year’s season opener, which the Eagles won going away, 47-21.
This year, neither team cracked the Web site’s pre-season top 25 rankings, although UW-L came in 33rd and Hardin-Simmons 36th.
Joel Badzinski can be reached at (608) 791-8402 or joel.badzinski@lee.net
