Miami Dolphins second-year wide receiver Jarvis Landry made a big splash for the “Fins” during his rookie campaign. The 22-year-old caught 84 passes in his first NFL season, which was just seven shy of breaking the Dolphins’ record for most receptions by a wide receiver in team history. However, personal goals are the last thing on his mind. Becoming a more reliable weapon for his team, which went 8-8 in 2014, is more important.
“I want to become a go-to wide receiver for this football team and make big plays,” said Landry. “Those goals will come, but right now I’m more focused on wins.”
Landry is destined for big things on the gridiron and is set to be become the star of a wide receiver corps that lost Mike Wallace, Brandon Gibson and Brian Hartline from last season. In order to make sure the LSU standout and former second-round pick accomplishes those goals, he employed the help of Pete Bommarito, owner and president of Bommarito Performance.
Bommarito has trained both collegiate and professional athletes from a wide range of sports for over a decade. As for football, he has worked with a multitude of players ranging from Pro Bowlers like New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, to Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte.
Bommarito’s relationship with Landry was forged prior to the latter’s participation in the 2014 NFL Combine. Landry didn’t work with Bommarito for the combine specifically, but his brother stayed in touch him, which played a part in the former working with him this offseason.
Landry, along with countless other players like Pittsburgh Steelers downfield threat Antonio Brown, are treated to an assortment of features at Bommarito’s facility, which is also located on the same grounds as the Dolphin’s training center.
“The main thing that we like to do is do full interviews with players when they come in. What specifically do they want to focus on – their goals,” Bommarito said. “More importantly, we do a full medical evaluation, across 14 different medical disciplines. We identify what their weaknesses are; not weaknesses in terms of being not strong, I’m talking about flexibility and mobility issues – joint integrity.”
The offseason is a critical point for an athlete because it allows them time to recuperate from a grueling season. Landry played in all 16 games a season ago and has no plans of slowing down.
One of the more important phases of his Bommarito’s program is the active recovery.
“If we get the body aligned the way it’s supposed to be, we can accelerate the healing from the season by doing intelligent, specific regenerative work,” said Bommarito.
Though he employs football-related exercises and drills that will bring the out best in his clients, Bommarito usually leaves that to the coaches and other players. Landry set out to learn from past and present receivers in his first NFL offseason, most notably former Dolphins standout Chris Chambers and friends Odell Beckham Jr. and Brown.
“I want to be on their level,” Landry said. “Antonio told me to not let my size dictate how I play. Size doesn’t necessarily matter as long as you put yourself in the position to make a play.”
One of his favorite routines were the single-leg exercises, including the single-leg extensions, which work on eliminating stress on the knees. Additionally, Landry goes an extra step by doing Pilates to continue to improve his mobility and agility.
However, there’s much more to football than just the work put in on the field and in the weight room. Diet is just as, if not more, important than how you build your body.
Landry, a Louisiana native, is a big fan of home cooking, but he doesn’t let that spoil his nutrition. As recently as last year’s combine, he was exposed to a new, stricter, diet and it paid dividends for his football career.
The 5’11,” 200-pound offensive force has blown Bommarito away with his tenacity and work ethic over the spring and summer time.
“He doesn’t look like a guy that’s going to come in and squat the house, but his strength eccentrically, at dynamic speeds, is tremendous. That’s one of the things that definitely sets him apart,” said Bommarito. “The thing that made me the happiest was that he didn’t just buy into the training; he bought into everything that we were doing. Just globally how you take care of the body.”
As it stands, Landry is giving veteran receiver Greg Jennings a run for his money for top dog in the Dolphins’ wideout heap. The duo are the only receivers on the team’s roster who have played a full, 16-game regular season in the NFL.
He will be asked to play on the outside more in the 2015 season, as opposed to the inside slot receiver he played during his rookie year. Landry’s preference?
“Line me up anywhere. I’ll go wherever the team needs me,” said Landry.
