GREEN BAY — In the last kitchen Adam Korzun worked in, the logos of the University of Oregon's Pac-12 Conference rivals were illuminated above the buffet line, with a neon sign that read, Eat Your Enemies — And The Other Food Groups.
In his new job with the Green Bay Packers, Korzun, who was named the team's director of performance nutrition Sunday, will be charged with helping his players have a balanced diet to help them eat the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears alive this season.
Korzun comes to the Packers after serving as the director of sports nutrition for the Oregon athletic department since August 2012. He started working as a sport dietitian for several sports for the United States Olympic Committee in May 2007 and later served as the full-time high-performance dietitian for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. He has also served as a consultant for Red Bull High Performance, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Indians.
With the Ducks, Korzun was in charge of
In an interview with The Oregonian this spring , Korzun explained the importance of pairing nutrition with the proper strength and conditioning program.
"You can lift three times a day, but if you're not fueling your body properly you're not getting the gains out of it," he told Ducks beat writer Andrew Greif. "Conversely, you can eat perfectly and if you're not lifting you're just going to get big and not get stronger. It's what you do together, all the components coming together, that makes for improvement and performance."
Korzun, who went to culinary arts school after high school, fed Ducks athletes regular, everyday foods — but with a healthy twist, like pancakes with protein powder, baked-not-fried chicken wings and high-protein
"The guys never know the difference," he told The Oregonian. "We find out what they like and make it healthy. My personal message is, it's all on you. ... Short of me placing a feeding tube for you, I can't control what you eat, I can just give you the right education to make sure you choose the right things."
Jason Wilde wrote: