Green Bay Packers T.J. Lang, Chad Clifton, Josh Sitton, Even Dietrich-Smith, Scott Wells, Marshall Newhouse, and Mark Tauscher after their workout with Judd Granzow at MAD Sports (right).

By KELLY GILFILLAN
Brentwood Home Page

The Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers’ offensive line did not get much time to celebrate their victory before the reality of the lockout kicked in. Packers center Scott Wells, a Brentwood resident and former Brentwood Academy standout, pulled together a reunion of sorts this week and organized workouts for his

Sledgehammer to tire workout

Ladder workout

Kettle ball workout

fellow Packers linemen at M.A.D. Sports Training with Judd Granzow.

Joining Wells for the workouts are offensive tackles T.J. Lang, Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher and guards Josh Sitton, Evan Dietrich-Smith and guard Marshall Newhouse.

“We haven’t spent a lot of time talking about the Super Bowl. It seemed they immediately were talking about the lockout the second the game was over,” Wells said.

Granzow and Wells have a long-standing relationship when it comes to preparing for the season and this is evident by the large banner hosted on the workout room wall celebrating Wells and the Packers' victory at Super Bowl XLV.  Granzow, a former professional baseball player who was sidelined from football due to an injury, frequently works with off-season pro athletes and college football players preparing for the NFL Combine.

“I like what Judd does here. We can get in the same workout in an hour that would normally take two hours,” Wells said. “We really utilize our time here, and then we are free to go play golf in the afternoon.”

This week marks the first time the linemen have been together since a few days following the Super Bowl win.  Two players traveled from Green Bay, Wisc., one from Pensacola, Fla., one from Detroit, Mich., and one from Madison, Wisc.

However, Wells and Clifton both played and were captains for the University of Tennessee.  Clifton played with the Vols in the 1990s and Wells in the early 2000s.  They get together often with their families since they both live in the Brentwood area. 

Clifton, a Martin, Tenn., native, started 45 of 48 career games played for UT and was a 2000 NFL Draft second-round pick for the Packers.

“It’s unusual for us to not be training together in Green Bay, and we have been apart for a long time,” Wells said.  “We text and talk often, but it has been good to see where we are physically and compare our workouts.”

The most important thing was breaking up the long off-season that has been filled with stress due to the lockout, Wells shared. The entire team will be reunited on June 16 when they travel to Green Bay to be presented with their Super Bowl champion rings.

“This off-season has been filled with uncertainty, and it is good to get together and just talk shop,” Wells said.  “And our wives are ready for the lockout to be over so they can get us out of the house.”

Last year, Wells said Coach Mike McCarthy came in and they hit the ground running. This year there will be hurdles to overcome for the Packers facing free agency and the draft picks that have not even heard from the Packers since the draft.

“I talked to one of the draft picks, and he is just biding his time until he can get in to the workouts,” said Wells. “The kid is working for a landscaping company and trying to make some money until the lockout is over.”

Newhouse, a 6-foot-4, 319-pound guard from Fort Worth, Texas came in for the week but says he travels back home as often as possible. The former Texas Christian University player said he was happy to make it home for one TCU game this season when they had a bye week.

Wells visits Brentwood Academy fairly often to talk with his old coaches and work to inspire the students. 

“I visit and talk to Coach Flatt, who now coaches middle school football, and I visit the strength coach,” he said.  “BA is very dear to my heart, and I like to do whatever I can to help my school.”

Wells had success not just on the football field at BA as the 1998 Division-AA Mr. Football Lineman of the Year but also claimed two heavyweight (275) state championships in wrestling and a shot put state title in track and field. He was ranked the No. 1 heavyweight wrestler in the nation.

Following his success at BA, Wells played in 50 games for the Volunteers, starting the last 49 consecutive to end his collegiate career with the third-longest active streak by an offensive lineman in all of college football.

Wells was chosen by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft and is concluding his seventh season in Green Bay. Over his first two seasons, he went from rookie seventh-round pick to the practice squad to part-time starter at center and left guard.  He is proud to have played through injuries starting 84 of 95 regular-season games with the Packers, including every game in 2010.

When asked if he still follows UT football, Wells said he tries to catch the games but it can be tough when traveling with the Packers.

“I like Coach Dooley, he’s a good character guy,” Wells said. “It will take time to rebuild from the destruction that happened in that one year. The guys in that recruiting class didn’t know the traditions and now Dooley will have to instill that for them.”