Hovan bulks up to fit Bucs' new system

After four years of buzz cuts, Chris Hovan is letting his naturally burnt orange hair grow out again. More hair, however, is not what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers want from their veteran defensive tackle.

The Bucs want Hovan to grow more muscle and more mass and so the previously 296-pound run stopper is slowly working his way to the point where, come training camp, he'll be a 310-pound play stopper.

"I'm never going to be a guy that carries 330 pounds,'' Hovan said Wednesday following the Bucs most recent "voluntary'' workout. "But I can hold 305 pounds or 310 pounds and hold it well, and that's what I'm trying to get to.''

The Bucs appreciate the effort, because in new coordinator Jim Bates' defensive scheme the tackles have to be big enough to keep offensive lineman from getting to the second level and taking on linebackers.

Since most offensive lineman weigh in at well over 300 pounds these days, the job of the defensive tackle requires him to match those linemen pretty much pound for pound. There's a caveat, though.

With more and more offenses running zone blocking schemes, which call for offensive linemen to run more often and in tandem with one another, defensive tackles also have to maintain some semblance of athleticism.

That's why Hovan plans to top out at about 310 pounds. He believes that weight will give him the girth he needs to hold his man at the point of attack while also allowing him to make plays down the field and away from the line of scrimmage.

"If I can hold 305 or 310 pounds, I can still run and play in this defense,'' said Hovan, who led all Bucs defensive linemen with 69 tackles last year. "That's why I'm trying to add this weight the smart way.''

The smart way isn't necessarily the fun way. Ask someone to gain 15 pounds and they would probably revel in the idea of eating an extra bowl of ice cream or an extra piece of cake for dessert each night. Not Hovan.

He's taking the more modern, professional and scientific approach to his weight gain, which follow a structured program that calls for a balanced diet to be matched with a stringent weight-room regimen.

"The first thing is, I don't want to put all the weight on at once,'' Hovan said. "I'm looking to do this the right way and so my approach is to add about two or three pounds per month.

"In order to do that you have to make sure your eating habits are right and that you're working out a lot smarter, and so I've got a plan that I'm on now, and it seems to be working well.''

The eating plan has Hovan downing most of his carbs, which come from fruit, breads and pastas, early in the day and his protein, which mostly comes from meat, fish and poultry, in the latter part of the day.

In the weight room, where he's working with conditioning coach Kurtis Schultz, Hovan has altered his approach slightly in an effort to build muscle mass without losing flexibility.

"If you put on 12 to 15 pounds of fat, you're not going to be able to run as well,'' Hovan said. "And if you can't move as well then you wont' play as well. So you have to be smart in order to keep playing at a high level.''

Hovan appears to be succeeding in his venture. He's playing next to 315-pound Ryan Sims and those two seem to have the makeup the Bucs are looking for from their tackles.

"If you look back at Coach Bates' system when he was at Miami, there was always a bigger body guy and a guy that was about 305 pounds,'' Bucs defensive line coach Todd Wash said.

"And the thing about 'Hove' is that he's 305 pounds, but he also has one of the highest upper body benches and [is one of the strongest] guys on our team. So we feel very comfortable with him and Ryan in there.''