(52) IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINEMAN'S ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE PEAK FORCE AND TIME-SPECIFIC OUTPUTS?

Introduction: Offensive and defensive lineman need a high level of both force and strength for the specific needs of their position. While absolute force is important, relative force (accounting for one’s mass) can become a valuable assessment metric for the athlete’s overall success at their specific position. Relative and absolute values of peak force (PF) and time-specific forces can also provide more detailed information for the athlete, staff, and the overall need for similarity within the line positions on both sides of the ball. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the comparison between offensive and defensive lineman and their overall peak force and time-specific force production (absolute and relative) while performing an isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). Methods: Seven division II collegiate football offensive lineman (age = 19.43 ± 0.98 mass = 126.16 ± 5.91 kg, height = 189.36 ±2.30 cm) and six defensive lineman (age = 21.00 ± 1.10 mass = 113.25 ± 10.57 kg, height = 186.63 ± 3.29 cm) volunteered for the study. Any present injury excluded the participant from the study. Each participant performed three IMTP with a knee angle between 125°-145° degrees. Three minutes of rest were given between each IMTP. A wireless uniaxial dual force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz was used to collect the provided metrics of relative force (peak force, PF50, PF100, PF150, PF200, and PF250) and absolute force (peak force, PF50, PF100, PF150, PF200, and PF250). The best IMTP attempt was used for assessment. A Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test was used for analysis, an alpha of 0.05 was used for the level of significance. Results: The present findings observed no significant differences between offensive and defensive lineman for all absolute (p = 0.475 – 0.886) and relative variables (p = 0.317-0.568). Conclusions: The present findings observed no significant differences between the offensive and defensive lineman for either absolute or relative force values. Practical Applications: These findings suggest that although there is typically a distinction between offensive and defensive line performance metrics, the present study observed similar maximum and relative strength performance between the positions. These findings suggest other metrics besides maximum and rapid time-specific force characteristics may be needed to differentiate key performance metrics. Future studies may want to increase sample size for positions and may want to include other movement profiles (agility, explosive speed) to see other potential factors that differentiate offensive vs. defensive line play. Acknowledgements: Funding for this project was provided through a grant from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Central Oklahoma.