Local NFL Hopeful Transforms, Impresses at Pro Day
Ben Farrell has been an underdog before.
The 2019 NorthPointe Christian High School graduate went to Cornerstone University as a member of the golf team as a freshman.
He eventually made the switch to football and found his way to Indiana Wesleyan – where he played 3 years on the offensive line for the Wildcats. Wanting to challenge himself further, he transferred to Purdue University to finish up his collegiate career. Ben played in 11 games for the Boilermakers last fall, starting 5 on the offensive line.
Now Ben is back home preparing for what he hopes is the next chapter in his athletic career, playing in the NFL.
The draft is rapidly approaching and whether or not the 6’5” 315 lbs. offensive lineman hears his name called, he is hoping to get a shot with a team.
Ben recently had a strong showing at Purdue’s NFL Pro Day in front of scouts from every NFL team. He was able to turn some heads due to his transformation from his training program at PowerStrength Training Systems.
Back to His Roots
“In high school, I had a lot of friends and saw their process through high school. I had a lot of friends that came here (PowerStrength) and pretty much always saw that they were always better than me and stronger than me in the weight room,” Ben said.
When deciding which direction to go to prepare for the next level, Ben turned to fellow NPC grad Kenny Willekes who is a PowerStrength alum and former All-American defensive end at Michigan State.
“I am pretty close with Kenny so once this process started I gave him a call and he said he pretty much did everything through PowerStrength and that was the way to go,” Ben said. “Pretty much just talked to Kenny and decided to come here and made the right decision.”
PowerStrength sits down with every client before they begin training to find out where they are at and where they want to get to. Whether it’s an adult over 40 who has never exercised before or a Big Ten football player that wants to play in the NFL.
Ben had a good idea of what he wanted to accomplish at PowerStrength as he started out working one-on-one with Brian Paulsen, General Manager at the Plainfield location.
“Really it was just to be a better athlete, get stronger, get faster and I knew that would be possible coming here,” Ben said. “Not being a super big prospect, I knew I needed to go somewhere that would make me faster and stronger quickly, and that is what Brian did. Brian really did all of those things and that was basically my main goal, I knew that I had to be different than everyone else and be faster and stronger when the Pro Day came around so that is why I picked here for sure.”
RESULTS
Ben saw results in a short amount of time. The PowerStrength’s proven program meshed well with Ben’s work ethic and desire to get stronger and faster.
“I think I’m up on my 225 (bench) 15 reps from when I started the second week of January so I got a lot faster, got a lot stronger definitely,” Ben said.
“I was expecting a lot of speed work, but really Brian focused on my balance and a lot of eccentric strength stuff that really got me stronger and able to get more explosive which is key to running faster,” Ben said. “Brian brought new stuff that I had never seen before that really helped me get faster and get stronger.”
Ben has been able to increase his speed and explosiveness despite being a big guy to start out with and adding even more muscle to his frame.
“I’m actually up a little bit with the muscle mass – I’ve gained a few pounds,” Ben said. “It wasn’t really a goal to gain weight or lose weight, but it just kind of happened with how much strength I’ve gained since being here.”
PRO DAY
After less than 8-weeks at PowerStrength, Ben participated in Purdue’s Pro Day on March 7th and showed improvement across the board. His 225 pound bench test was up 14 reps from where he was at when first arriving at PSTS.
Ben also improved his broad jump by 18 inches and his vertical jump by 4 inches. He shaved nearly 4-tenth’s of a second off both his 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone.
These are transformational results in that amount of time.
But the biggest metric that showed the most improvement was in Ben’s 40-yard dash. While the 40-yard dash isn’t the most important test for an offensive lineman, Ben ran a 5.21 – a solid time for a man his size and right where most interior offensive lineman fall.
More specifically, the 10-yard split is vital for linemen to show explosive acceleration. Ben clocked in at a 1.54-second 10-yard split at the Pro Day. That is blazing fast at 315 lbs and that was the head-turner for the scouts – as well as his team at PowerStrength.
PERFECT FIT
Ben is enjoying his PowerStrength experience. Reaching his goals of getting stronger and faster are why he chose PowerStrength, but the comfortable atmosphere has boosted his journey. Ben has connected with Brian on a personal and professional level which have yielded great results.
“It’s been awesome,” Ben said. “He’s really relatable, really personable, but also he knows where to push you, he will make you better. For me it is a good balance, I’ve always liked having someone to push you, get on you whenever they need to, but also be personal and have good conversation, so Brian has been perfect, and he’s been a great leader through this, and trainer as well.”
Ben continues to work hard at PowerStrength as he awaits his football fate. Getting an opportunity is what most athletes like Ben can ask for, and they work relentlessly for that chance.
Ben is flourishing in an atmosphere full of athletes with serious goals, and with coaches who care and demand a high standard.
“PowerStrength is the place to be,” he said. “I think you can go to a lot of other places and you can get better and train, but just the rate that I’ve gotten better and the rate that a lot of high school (and college) guys that come here, and girls that come here, they end up getting a lot stronger and faster, and I just think that it is a great atmosphere, it’s a great place to be.”
No matter what the next chapter has in store for Ben, there’s no doubt he did the work to prepare himself for optimal performance at the highest level.
The NFL draft starts Thursday April 25th in Detroit and runs through Saturday April 27th. If not selected in the 7 round process, Ben hopes that a team will invite him to a rookie mini-camp as a free agent to continue the journey.
GET STARTED AT POWERSTRENGTH
5th-12th grade athletes of all sports and abilities can sign-up at PowerStrength at any time throughout the year – while spots remain. PowerStrength has 4 facilities in West Michigan – Alpine, Kentwood, Jenison, and Plainfield.
PowerStrength also helps college athletes keep their edge when they are off-campus. Multiple summer sessions are available and filing up fast.
Visit https://powerstrengthpro.com/athletes to learn more. Click below to schedule your assessment and get started