Belichick says Wilfork never failed weigh-in or conditioning test

If Vince Wilfork proved anything in his NFL career, it's that size doesn't always predicate athletic ability.

Wilfork announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday, and his former longtime head coach revealed Wednesday that the five-time Pro Bowl lineman never once failed a weigh-in or conditioning test despite being one of the league's noticeably larger players.

"This is maybe surprising, but it's true. Vince never one time was fined for being overweight and never one time missed the conditioning test," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, according to Phil Perry of CSNNE.com.

"The conditioning test honestly wasn't even close. Vince could run. That was never an issue. There were times when he would come in for the weigh-ins and we would say, like, 'Man, is he going to make it today?' But 11 years, never fined one time for being overweight."

Belichick added the caveat that Wilfork wasn't necessarily playing at the ideal size despite passing every test.

"Now I’m not saying he was never overweight," he noted. "I’m not saying that. I’m saying at weigh-in, he made every weigh-in."

Wilfork backed up his coach's comments, adding a little of his trademark humor to the mix.

"Yeah, I never missed a weigh-in," Wilfork said. "But catch me 30 minutes later and it might be a different story. That’s just being honest."