Duke football DE Wesley Williams added hot pilates and yoga to his offseason routine as he prepares to lead a talented Blue Devils defense in 2025.
Duke football defensive end Wesley Williams took an unconventional approach to his offseason training.
Along with working with his defensive line coach and with his teammates up front, Williams added something new to the mix: hot yoga and hot pilates.
Williams began taking classes this summer – much to the influence of his girlfriend – and now attends classes once or twice a week. As he added weight this offseason, going from 245-pounds on last year's roster to now being listed at 265, the sessions became a way to build core strength and maintain mobility while carrying the extra mass.
"Trying to build up core strength to be able to hold that and still be able to move with it," Williams said last week at the 2025 ACC Media Kickoff. "I feel like I’ve been able to do that.”
The workouts, though, haven't always gone smoothly.
“I’ve looked bad in those classes before, I’ve looked horrible,” Williams said laughing. “Catching cramps and the whole nine yards. It’s gotten pretty bad. But it’s honestly really fun. It’s different muscles. You got to respect every type of workout. You go in there and think you’re a big dog because you can bench and squat.”
The 6-foot-3, Gainesville, Virginia, native is one of a handful of returners on Duke's defensive line. He led the Blue Devils with 7.5 sacks last season, earning All-ACC honorable mention and being named Duke’s defensive lineman of the year. In 12 total starts, he finished with 48 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss. He also made an impact on special teams, adding a blocked punt and a blocked field goal in 2024.
In total in his four-year career at Duke, the redshirt junior has played 1,185 career snaps.
Duke's 2024 defense was a main talking point. In its first year under head coach Manny Diaz, the unit ranked second nationally in tackles for loss per game (8.9), second in fumbles recovered (14), fourth in sacks per game (3.3) and seventh in total turnovers gained (27).
And Williams believes the group can take it even further in 2025.
“I think we got so much talent, we got a lot of returners,” Williams said. "... (There's) a hunger to win, a hunger for a championship. What we did last year was great but it’s not enough.”
Duke football opens its 2025 season on Thursday, Aug. 28, hosting Elon at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke football: Wesley Williams adds hot pilates to prepare for 2025 season
Category: General Sports
