Alabama Football: Real X-Factor is Coach Scott Cochran

While Head Coach Nick Saban earns his well deserved credit for arguably being the greatest coach of all time, the man behind the scenes, Scott Cochran, proves to be Alabama Football’s “X-factor” each season.

Scott Cochran joined the Alabama Football staff in 2007 and has made a huge name for himself since then. Serving as the strength and conditioning coach, Cochran can be heard from a mile away and can be found jumping up and down for nearly the entirety of an Alabama football game. The man is first cousins with the Energizer Bunny and nephew of the Hulk himself.

Cochran’s off-season conditioning program known as the “Fourth Quarter Program” is one of his claims to fame. This program both mentally and physically prepares players to be the best during the season. The goal is to finish… finish the play, finish the game, finish the season. Much of that mental and physical toughness is born at the hands… and through the mouth… of Scott Cochran during the off-season.

He is largely responsible for the development of the recruits coming out of high school. Many young players gain significant weight throughout Cochran’s strength training. Cochran’s conditioning along with the nutrition team help some of the big guys up front drop a few pounds to become quicker and more agile. Josh Jacobs had never lifted weights when he arrived in Tuscaloosa, but thanks to Cochran, Jacobs gained 30 lbs and is now one of the top rated running backs going into the draft.

https://twitter.com/iAM_JoshJacobs/status/1110696273789796353

Cochran sells himself as the energy of the team. The man screams so much his voice is permanently hoarse. His voice radiates through the stadium on game days as he screams “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” through the Jumbotron. He holds his “fours” up the entire fourth quarter regardless of whether the team is playing LSU or Middle Tennessee State.

Cochran embodies Nick Saban’s mantra of excellence. He encourages the players consistently in all aspects of the game. He leads the weight room work, walks through the stretching, cheers for them through the games, and hugs them at graduation. He develops the full player from their conditioning to performance to mental toughness to academics.

Even as players graduate and leave for the NFL, they can’t ever quite get enough of Scott Cochran and the University of Alabama facilities. Many NFL greats find their way back to Tuscaloosa during the off-season to get a little work in with Cochran and staff. Derrick Henry did just that recently, and it is evident Cochran welcomes them back with open arms… and likely more screaming.

Shockingly enough, Scott Cochran is not the highest paid strength and conditioning coach in the country. Three other college strength coaches earn more than Cochran who is listed at $585,000. As other assistant coaches trickle in and out throughout Saban’s tenure, Scott Cochran has remained faithful and deserves to be the highest paid in the country.

Much of Alabama football’s success over the last ten years can be attributed to Scott Cochran’s work both in season and more importantly during the off-season. He is the reason there is such a thing as the “Alabama Factor“, a phrase referring to the Tide’s dominance coined by Coach Nick Saban.