Physical Performance Characteristics of American Collegiate Football Players

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Nineteen American collegiate football programs (NCAA Division I, n = 6; II, n = 7; III, n = 6) were surveyed for athlete (n = 981) performance on 1 RM bench press, 1 RM back squat, 1 RM power clean, vertical jump, and 36.6-meter (40-yard) sprint. Performances were evaluated with regard to NCAA division, position and plying ability (starter or non-starter). Performances (X ± SD) for the entire sample included: bench press = 136.9 ± 25.8 kilograms; back squat = 185.2 ± 35.7 kilograms; power clean = 118.1 ± 17.7 kilograms; vertical jump = 70.2 ± 9.1 centimeters; 36.6-meter sprint = 4.92 ± 0.27 seconds. Significant correlations were observed for most performance tests when compared to division of play (I, II and III) or playing ability. In general, bench press, power clean, 36.6-meter sprint, and vertical jump effectively differentiated between division of play as well as playing abilities, but the back squat was a relatively poor differentiator. The data provides helpful norms for strength and conditioning professionals.