Report: Former Auburn strength coach joining SEC East staff
After three stints at Auburn, including the past eight seasons, former strength coach Ryan Russell is heading west to an SEC East program.
AL.com’s Matt Zenitz reports that Russell will be joining the Missouri football staff. Zenitz’s report does not specify what role Russell will have on Eliah Drinkwitz’s staff. MU football already has a strength coach.
Russell and Drinkwitz have a prior history of working together at Auburn and Arkansas State over a period from 2010-12.
Russell first came to Auburn as a graduate assistant in 2005, earning his master’s degree from AU in 2006.
After a stop at Boise State from 2007-09 as an associate strength and condition coach, Russell returned to The Plains. From 2010-11, Russell was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at AU, working with the Tigers football program under coach Gene Chizik. His online bio also notes he was also football’s director of sports nutrition.
Russell and Drinkwitz followed Gus Malzahn to Arkansas State in 2012. Russell returned to Auburn with Malzahn in 2013 as the program’s head of strength and conditioning.
Heading WEST to go to a SEC EAST team is crazy.
I thought the same thing.
You got that right, tell Saban to suck it up and let Auburn swap to the East like they’ve said they would do a number of times already. It only makes sense to everyone, minus Saban of course.
I dont know for a fact that Saban is the problem, whatever. But Bama looks at their rivalries and sees so many in the east. Only two in the west. But I think only having three non-conference games and two permanent crossovers for a nine game conference schedule might get the ball rolling on this screwy situation.
Because its slightly less “west” than A&M, they send Missouri east. A complete realignment was out of the question because it made too much sense and we’ll have none of that.
Seemingly paradoxical