2011 Detroit Lions: Explosive DT Nick Fairley Picks Up the Intensity at Plex

Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley is putting in extensive work during the NFL lockout with renowned trainer Danny Arnold and his team at Plex in Houston, Texas.

Plex is one of the preeminent strength and conditioning facilities in the country and has played home to NFL superstar Pro Bowlers Julius Peppers and Charles Woodson.

Julius Peppers says of Plex, “Since my college days at North Carolina, Plex has been my spot, they’re great and they understand the athlete better than anyone else.” Meanwhile, former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson has been a Plex client for over a decade.

Plex is a facility that Fairley began utilizing in his preparation for the 2011 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He feels that Plex gives him an edge that he couldn’t find anywhere else right now.

He approaches the strength and conditioning program at Plex with the same high motor intensity that earned him the 2011 BCS National Championship's Most Valuable Player award.

Fairley says that “Plex is a great place to work out, small groups, you have a lot of one-on-ones and the energy they bring to the table, is how I like it.”

Most Detroit Lions fans aren’t aware of the work that Fairley has been putting in down in Houston, but they will be the first to tell you that Fairley has been absent for all of Detroit’s player-organized workouts at Detroit Country Day in Michigan.

Fairley understands that he has missed out on the camaraderie that player-organized practices present, but from a pure training perspective, he believes he’s right on par.

“I’m sure they’re doing the same thing I’m doing: outside, working out, working on your skill level, working on conditioning, working on agilities and everything,” Fairley said. “That’s what I’ve been doing, and I’m sure they’re doing the same thing.”

Nick Fairley is no stranger to hard work. In transferring from Copiah-Lincoln Community College to Auburn University in '09, he learned firsthand the value perseverance and determination.

It's that determination that has made Fairley just plain nasty, and he is poised to dominate alongside Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in Detroit in 2011.

In regards to Fairley’s nasty mentality on the football field, opponents need to know only this:

Fairley doesn’t just want to beat you; he wants to destroy you. He will literally kick you when you’re down.

Detroit Lions fans need not agonize over whether or not Nick Fairley was at the player organized workouts. Just understand that Fairley has mentally prepared himself to play wherever, whenever.

On the whole, the NFL lockout has forced players to pursue alternative avenues. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I’d see Chad Ochocinco working out with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

Thus, I’m not sure that it really matters who you are working out with, as long as you are putting in the necessary work to prepare yourself for the 2011 NFL season.

And I assure you that Danny Arnold and his team at Plex will have Nick Fairley physically prepared for the beginning of the season, whenever that time comes.