A Story About Hangartner

Geoff Hangartner has been beefing up this offseason.  Why should that mean something to you?  Because Geoff Hangartner is a player for the Carolina Panthers.  In fact, he’s an extremely versatile lineman who can apparently also play center.  He’s only gotten 19 starts in his career so far (19 more than I have, so go him), but he is looking to keep up with the new trend in Carolina.  Hangartner saw all the bigger guards and other linemen the Panthers were picking up and bringing into the fold, so he went ahead and gained 20 pounds in the offseason.

Hangartner, who was an impressive 6′5″ tall and 305 pounds at the end of last season, has bulked up to nearly 320.  I’d venture a guess and say that most of that weight is straight up muscle.  This extra bulk will likely slow him down a bit - Hangartner admits as much to the press - but it is the direction the Panthers are moving.  One can’t blame them.  Going small and quick hasn’t been working for them lately. They decided to go the Bill Parcells route and sign some big bruisers.  I hear that Bill Parcells guy knows a thing or two about football, so maybe this gamble will pay off.

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