Russell T. Whitt (born July 6, 1971) is the head

strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive Athlete, athletes or Sports club, athletic teams. This is achieved throug ...

for the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interc ...

football team in

New Orleans, LA New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He previously served as the head S&C coach with the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division I (NCAA), Division I-A in 2001 in sports, 2001, became a American football, football only member of the ...

football team in Troy, AL from 2020 to 2023. He previously served as an assistant S&C coach with the

Army Black Knights The Army Black Knights are the athletic teams that represent the United States Military Academy, located in West Point, New York. The Black Knights compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a non-footb ...

football team at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, NY West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 during the American Re ...

in 2019 and as the head S&C coach for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...

football team in Lubbock, TX from 2016 to 2018 and the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team in

Lafayette, LA Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth-most populous city with a 2020 census population of 121,374; the con ...

from 2010 to 2016.

Playing career

Whitt played safety and linebacker for

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

in Abilene, Texas, from 1990 to 1994. He graduated in 1994, earning a bachelors of science degree in police science and administration.

Coaching career

Midwestern State Mustangs

From August 1995–96, Whitt began his career as a graduate assistant football coach and strength and conditioning coach at

Midwestern State University Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. As of Fall 2024, MSU Texas enrolled 5,324 students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts. History Founded in ...

, where he developed strength programs for football, men's soccer, volleyball, and men's and women's basketball. He introduced a comprehensive speed, flexibility, and agility development program for football and soccer, and tested his skills as a linebackers, and defensive ends coach.

Texas Longhorns

Whitt was a graduate assistant in the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Department of Strength and Conditioning for varsity football, baseball and men's basketball from June 1996 – May 1997, where the Longhorns were inaugural Big XXII Champions (Football 1996), and played in the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

in 1997. Whitt earned his Masters of Education in Kinesiology while at Texas in 1997.

The US Olympic Training Center

Whitt coordinated speed and agility development for the 1997 Team USA men's and women's volleyball, and assisted in program development for all sports, including USA basketball, and wrestling.

The College of William and Mary Tribe

Whitt was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for

The College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institut ...

football team for the 1997 season as well as being designated as the head strength coach for Olympic Sports.

University of Louisville Cardinals

Whitt was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

football team for the 1998 season, as well as the speed and agility coordinator for the freshmen football athletes.

Sam Houston State Bearkats

In the five years Whitt spent with the

Sam Houston State Bearkats The Sam Houston Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange and white. Sam Houston sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Foo ...

(1998−2003), he was the head strength and conditioning coach for eleven Division I varsity sports. He also served as an instructor in the school's kinesiology department as well as assisted in the design of a new weight facility.

Rice Owls

Three months after completing a six-year stint in the Army, Whitt returned to coaching as the assistant coordinator of strength and conditioning at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

. While only there for the 2009 season, he developed training and recovery programs for the Owls' football, baseball, swimming, and track & field teams.

Louisiana−Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

In October 2010, Coach Whitt was hired as the strength and conditioning coach to oversee 12 NCAA sports at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. Whitt developed a plan for a $750,000 equipment and infrastructure overhaul for ULL athletics and provided the design for a 12,250 square-foot performance center which was completed in September 2015.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

In January 2016, Whitt was hired as the new head strength and conditioning coach for the

by head football coach

Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played c ...

At Tech, Whitt introduced a program called "4th Quarter Combatives," which applied mixed martial arts themed conditioning to football training. Whitt also introduced "velocity based training" using technology to measure bar speed for Olympic lifts. While at Texas Tech, Whitt oversaw three full-time assistants as well as a graduate assistant. He was let go along with the rest of the Texas Tech staff following the 2018 season when new coach Matt Wells took over.

Army Black Knights

On February 19, 2019, the

Athletic Department announced the hire of Whitt as an assistant football strength and conditioning coach under head football coach

Jeff Monken Jeffrey Michael Monken (born April 15, 1967) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the Army Black Knights football, United States Military Academy, a position he has held since 2014. Monken previously served as ...

and head football strength and conditioning coach Conor Hughes. He spent one season with the Black Knights before moving on to take another head S&C position.

Troy Trojans

On February 8, 2020,

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

head football coach

Chip Lindsey Chip Lindsey (born September 9, 1974) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Michigan, positions he will hold in 2025. He served as the head football c ...

announced the hire of Whitt as the head football strength and conditioning coach.

Tulane Green Wave

On December 24, 2023, Whitt rejoined former Troy head football coach Jon Sumrall's lineup at

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

as the director of strength and conditioning.

Military career

From 2003 to 2009, Whitt was a communication sergeant in the 10th Special Forces Group of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He was awarded the combat infantryman's badge (2007), two Iraqi campaign medals, and the Army commendation medal with valor. Whitt left his job at Sam Houston State to join the Army, but continued his work in strength and conditioning to enhance training, most notably developing and initiating a comprehensive pre-deployment conditioning program for his Special Forces team prior to their two deployments. In 2016, Whitt was named as a finalist for the Armed Forces Merit Bowl Award.

References

External links

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns profileTexas Tech Red Raiders profileArmy Black Knights profileTroy Trojans profileTulane Green Wave profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitt, Rusty 1971 births Living people Coaches of American football from Texas Players of American football from Texas People from Azle, Texas University of Texas at Austin alumni Abilene Christian Wildcats football players American football safeties American strength and conditioning coaches Midwestern State Mustangs football coaches Texas Longhorns football coaches William & Mary Tribe football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Sam Houston Bearkats football coaches Rice Owls football coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Army Black Knights football coaches Troy Trojans football coaches Tulane Green Wave football coaches