(Illustration: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic; photos: Justin Casterline, Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
“So you want me to comment on the importance of a guy’s ass in the evaluation?” asked Mike Mayock with a laugh. “You really do that, huh?”
For years, the humble human hips have been key indicators for football scouts when evaluating players. Mayock, the former general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders, has been reluctantly installed as leader of the Cult of the Caboose since he repeatedly referenced the rump as an NFL Network draft analyst in the 2010s, which makes him a great source for a story about seats.
“Over the years on TV I used to call it a generator, and really it was to be a little cute and funny with a germ of truth. It’s kind of become representative of a strong lower body,” Mayock said. Sure enough, YouTube is full of clips in which Mayock refers to a player’s “bubble” butt.
“I said it multiple times on-air at the combine, to the point where it was almost embarrassing because our cameramen were taking pictures of the guy from behind to illustrate it,” Mayock said.
At least he’s in good company. Six-time Super Bowl winner head coach Bill Belichick is another fan of the backside, 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 baffled 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 watch and see how big their ass is when they go for 40 yards because he wants sign the biggest one. -defensive linemen he can recruit.
There is science behind this somewhat grating research, the “seed of truth” mentioned by Mayock.
“In a broad sense, muscle hypertrophy (size) is related to muscle strength,” said Dr. Alexandra DeJong Lempke, assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University. “Usually, a larger muscle indicates a greater ability to produce force. So when you think about sprinting and explosive movements, it primarily comes from the gluteus maximus to give that explosive first step.
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