I'm in my second year as Ohio State's director of football performance, joining Jim Tressel's staff in June of 2006.

Lichter oversees all aspects of the Buckeyes' strength and conditioning program and emphasizes speed, explosiveness and position-specific training. Ground-based training and Olympic style weight lifting also are a major component in his program as he strives to improve the Buckeyes' strength, reaction time, flexibility, balance, agility and linear and multi-directional speed.

Lichter was born in Connecticut but grew up in Arizona. He attended Weber State, where he played three years of football before graduating in 1997 with a degree in Lifestyle Management and Exercise Sciences.

Since graduation, Lichter has worked in the private sector as a personal trainer and consultant. He is a co-owner of Speed Strength Systems Training Centers in Avon and Euclid in northeast Ohio, where he has worked closely with a number of high profile athletes as they prepare for special competition and training such as NBA camps and the NFL combine. His list of former clients includes LeBron James, Joe Jurevicious and Ron Dayne, as well as Ohio State football standouts LeCharles Bentley and Nate Clements. He has trained more that 35 current NFL and NBA players, including 11 first-round and three top-10 selections.