Weight-ing game for BYU gridders

It's been months since Travis Bright left the Las Vegas Bowl on a stretcher, his leg broken seriously enough to require a metal rod be inserted through the bone.

It was discouraging and frustrating and placed a huge cloud on what was a great season for the Cougar offensive guard.

Bright, winner of BYU football's annual strong man competition conducted each June, began 2008 undergoing grueling rehabilitation, running in a pool of water. He obviously is not available for spring football drills, always the reward for football players who just want a chance to make plays on the field.

But that hasn't stopped Bright.

Just over two weeks ago, Bright set a school football record for the bench press, hoisting 540 pounds. It erased the mark by Scott Young, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007. Young set the mark three years ago at 535 pounds and later set an NFL combine record with 43 repetitions of the 225-pound bench press.

Bright's strength surge, although undertaken while he is undergoing off-the-field rehab, is representative of a team-wide spike in weight-room numbers, with many players posting personal bests.

Tackle David Oswald is an example. On the day Bright broke Young's record, Oswald, who has "transformed" his body shape this winter, tied the school record for the hang clean at 416 pounds.

"We had a lot of big numbers out there," said Bright.

Freshman running back J.J. Di Luigi, who is only 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds, benched 295 and squatted 500.

"Everyone gathered around. The adrenaline was flowing. Everyone was whooping and hollering, that had to help," he said.

Offensive line coach Mark Weber expects his starting line to bench press over 400 pounds by fall.

"I was there when Travis broke the mark. It was exciting," said Weber.

Bright says spring practice has been depressing since he's been on the sidelines. "You want to be out there."

Bright believes he'll be cleared to do everything required for off-season conditioning by the end of May and he will be totally healed up before the start of fall practice. He isn't sure if he'll try to defend his title as the team's strongest man in June.

"I'll take one thing at a time," he said, "but nobody's ever repeated before."