He’s a pillar, only sturdier. A hulk, only stronger. A throwback, only more old-school.

But William Hicks, the Syracuse football team’s head strength and conditioning coach, has a stomach that’s weaker than Bambi.

‘We’ll be sitting in the locker room, and we don’t really think about it until it happens,’ quarterback Troy Nunes said.

‘Then, all of a sudden, you’ll just hear wheezing and hacking coming from the bathroom. It’s Coach Hicks throwing up. Now you’ve got to understand that he’s loud and violent when he throws up. He’ll come out with his face all red and say, ‘All right boys, are you ready to play?’ “

Hicks’ pep yak seems to be working.

On Saturday, the Orangemen extended their winning streak to three by out-grinding, out-working, and — much to Hicks’ delight — outlasting exhausted Virginia Tech.

Stamina and endurance, fittingly, are the undertaking for Hicks and his partner, assistant strength and conditioning coach Hal Luther. Together they’ve crafted a conditioning program that deserves much credit for the upset victory over the then-No. 8 Hokies. During the game, the Syracuse offense held the ball for more than 37 minutes in regulation.

‘We take a lot of pride here on our conditioning level,’ Hicks said. ‘That’s something that I pride myself in, and the players have bought into my system. Our guys kind of sensed that Virginia Tech was getting tired early in the second half on defense.’

What’s more remarkable, though, is that Syracuse didn’t tire.

Not even David Tyree, who lined up at receiver on many of SU’s 100 offensive snaps and took the field for roughly 20 special teams plays. That’s close to 120 snaps — or the equivalent of two normal games.

‘There comes a point,’ Hicks said, ‘when you’re not even able to get any more tired physically. You just have to be mentally tough — that’s kind of been the nature for years of the Syracuse program. It’s a tough place for tough people. The snow. The weather. There’s kind of like a bring-your-lunchpail, hardhat-type attitude to the program.’

Hicks, perhaps more than any other figure, is responsible for that attitude. In his third season at SU (prior, he had 16 years in the same position at N.C. State), Hicks has already crafted his reputation as the quintessential intimidator.

His appearance? A bearish physique and a thick mustache. His walk? More like a creak, weathered by two decades of coaching and a college career as a Wolfpack linebacker. His demeanor? Just watch him storm through a sea of stretching players, barking 10-counts.

‘As the strength and conditioning coach, you’re a motivator,” Hicks said. “I start every practice, so the attitude and intensity that we need each day comes from me. If I was to walk out there moping around and go through the motions, the players will do the same. I need to start with a little fire in my system.’

Catch Hicks in a lighter moment, however, and he’s more engaging than rousing.

He’ll tell of the moment, after SU thrashed Central Florida last year in a 90-degree Carrier Dome, that players awarded him a game ball for his help with conditioning.

He’ll gush about Vince Lombardi, former coaching legend with the Green Bay Packers, whose picture hangs in his office.

Or simply he’ll speak about his appreciation for the many Syracuse players who work with him every day.

‘We’re with them 365 days a year,’ Luther said, mentioning that strength coaches — unlike position coaches — can oversee voluntary summer workouts. ‘So we can’t be hard-asses all the time.’

Says Hicks: ‘I can either be (the players’) best buddy or their worst nightmare — it depends on how they work.’

If Hicks has his way, they’ll be working hard. During the season, conditioning coaches must go easier on players who’ve gone through a Saturday of tackling and blocking. Even so, Hicks is at Manley Field House on Sundays for voluntary lifting sessions.

On Mondays, the team goes through rigorous running exercises, which include anywhere from 16 to 19 100-yard sprints, depending on position. Hicks also makes sure that each player follows his prescribed lifting schedule, which features lower body lifting on either Sunday or Monday and several upper-body workouts during the week.

Because of Syracuse’s stretching exercises and conditioning regimen, Hicks said, the team has yet to suffer a preventable injury this year.

‘That’s kind of a personal thing for me, something I take pride in,’ Hicks said.

That pride turns to excitement come game day.

‘He definitely gets fired up for games,’ center Nick Romeo said. ‘He just goes crazy, especially before stretching. He just goes on and on, yelling at the top of his lungs, yelling as fast as he can. You can’t help but get fired up.’

As for that other motivational tactic?

‘Been doing it since I was 7 years old,’ Hicks said of the vomiting.

No surprise, then, how his 9-year-old son prepared for his city championship football game last week.

He was getting ready in the bathroom, wheezing and hacking.

Said Hicks: “It runs in the family.”

Chico Harlan is a staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears each Tuesday. E-mail him at apharlan@syr.edu.

Published on November 11, 2002 at 12:00 pm