Birmingham, Ala. – It was obvious when Mark Fox inherited the Georgia program in the spring that it was in serious need of change. And that change had to start with the players, first and foremost.

“Number one was the culture and mindset inside our locker room so that’s been something we’ve tried to adjust from day one,” Fox said.

“He really preaches to us about being first-class citizens, being first-class students, first-class players, carrying yourself like a winner, and we weren’t carrying ourselves like winners,” senior Albert Jackson said. “Guys were showing up late to things and that’s just not acceptable.”

As for how coach Fox went about getting the change and accountability he sought?

“I had them tour our football stadium . one step at a time,” Fox said.

For the players, it was a day they never expected to actually come to fruition.

“I think it was probably about the 10th incident. He gave us a lot of chances, but he had warned us before I’ll run you into the dirt,” Jackson said. “But we were like ‘Ok, whatever, every coach says that.’ We didn’t really think he was going to make us run the stadium, so one day we come in dressed to work out, and the assistant coach told us to run down to the stadium.

“As soon as we get there, he’s like ‘take off, take off and run every step in the stadium.’ We literally touched every step in the stadium. I touched the steps on the escalator, touched the nose bleeds, I was running by the pigeons and they were just looking at me as I ran, so I’ve never been that tired in my life. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life.”

And Fox’s message definitely got the intended result.

“It was the toughest thing I’ve ever done, but after that day, we’ve had no problems. No guys got in trouble, no guys were late, grades went up. It did it’s purpose,” Jackson said.

For a program severely lacking discipline, as evidenced by the numerous off-the-court incidents during former coach Dennis Felton’s tenure, that day started a series of changes within the program. Fans must be realistic, though, Fox says, as a winning program won’t come about overnight.

“Well its going to take time. We need everybody’s help. It is going to take time. I’ve told our team we are rebuilding … so there’s no timetable for how fast we can rebuild it,” Fox said.

“It will take some time, It could take one year, two years, we will see, but I think people should expect on day one that these kids will play hard and represent their school in the right way.”

One area where the difference is clear is in the condition of the players, with Fox saying that he wanted the players to become more agile and mobile, moving away from “looking like a football team,” according to Jackson.

And the results have been astounding, with every member of the team gaining at least three inches on his vertical leap during the offseason, with Jackson gaining six inches and Travis Leslie reportedly registering a 46.5 inch vertical, forcing the strength coaches to put blocks under the vertical testing machine to get an accurate reading. The enhanced offseason conditions has resulted in multiple players shedding some serious pounds in an effort to attain the mobility and agility Fox desires.

“Everybody is in great shape. We took a conditioning test and every guy passed it. [Fox] made the times faster, intentionally, than he’s ever made it for any team he’s had, and I think that speaks for the condition our team is in,” Jackson said. “Jeremy Price has lost 22 pounds, Chris Barnes lost about 8-10 pounds, Trey looks amazing, you can tell just how he bounces off the court. That’s all he needed was the little bit of extra bounce in his step to make him go from a good player to a great player.”

The changes didn’t stop with the player’s bodies either, as Fox installed a hair length requirement, forcing Jackson to shave his head and get rid of the dreads that he had previously sported.

Fox’s reasoning was simple: “because I didn’t think he looked very good. I think he looks much more professional, and he’s got more dates now than he’s ever had before.”

It’s those little things, like cutting the hair and changing the player’s workout routines, which are having big results so far.

“It’s making people more accountable. I think all those little things are helping us learn to be more accountable for us and our actions,” Jackson said. “He wants to know are you going to punk or are you going to handle your business?”

And it is those moments that are helping Fox find out now what he has when it comes down to crunch time with the game on the line.

So what should Georgia fans expectations of Fox be?

“Mark is as good as it gets, and I think the people at Georgia are going to find that out,” LSU head coach Trent Johnson said.