K-State Wildcats Q&A: How important is a football strength and conditioning coach?
Folks in Manhattan must think my job is pretty cool, because I keep getting invited to speak at career days across the Little Apple.
A few months ago, I waxed poetic about sports journalism with a cafeteria filled with middle schoolers and I was blown away with how many questions they had for a K-State beat writer. What is my favorite stadium? Who is my favorite player? What is the best article I have ever written? What sporting event do I want to cover the most?
One kid asked for my autograph. Another offered to work as my personal assistant on game days.
That Q&A took a lot longer than this weekly mailbag.
But things were a bit different when I showed up at a career day for first-graders this week. I had to follow a firefighter and a helicopter pilot, both of whom brought in helmets and other gear for the kids to marvel at as they spoke about their professions.
I was armed with nothing but a few old newspapers.
The kids seemed excited when I asked if anyone in the room was a sports fan. They all raised their hands. The kids perked up even more when I asked if there were any K-State fans in the crowd. But then I lost them when I began explaining my job. I felt like Derek Jeter and former NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg in that Capital One commercial.
But I won them back over in the end. When I noticed nobody had much interest in my newspapers or my sports stories, I shared that reporters have unlimited access to ice cream and soda in the press box at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
That reeled them back in. Alas, they were disappointed I didn’t bring any samples.
Still, they wanted to know my favorite K-State football ice cream. My answer: Twix ice cream bar all the way! Nothing tastes better at halftime while the K-State band is playing.
Too bad football season is still several months away.
But it’s a perfect time for a new K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Why are K-Staters always in ‘woe is me’ mode? The latest being this week when the strength coach left and was replaced within hours -@jamesglessner92 via X.
Being in “woe is me” mode is just part of being a college sports fan.
Check out Message Board Geniuses on X during any fall Saturday and you will see one post after the next from fan bases who are apoplectic over one bad quarter of football.
Ohio State won the freaking national championship last season, but its fan base was ready to run Ryan Day out of town when the Buckeyes lost to Michigan on the final day of the regular season.
The immediate reaction to watching a Big Ten team poach your strength and conditioning coach isn’t going to be any different.
It would great if more fans were willing to take a deep breath and say, “things are going to be fine.” They usually are. Alas, that isn’t how the world works.
That being said, losing Trumain Carroll or “Coach Tru” as K-State players affectionately liked to call him is a significant loss for the Wildcats.
Chris Klieman has only had one bad year at K-State. It happened in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, so no one really holds it against him that the Wildcats went 4-6 back then. But the team lost to Iowa State 45-0 and to Texas 69-31 that season. Something had to change if K-State wanted to get back to its winning ways. Klieman’s solution: bring in a new strength coach.
After watching Texas steamroll K-State in the final game of that campaign, Klieman said the Wildcats needed to get bigger, stronger and faster to compete with the best teams in the Big 12. And that is exactly what they did after Carroll was brought in.
K-State went on to win a lot of games with Carroll in charge of the weight room.
Over the past four seasons, the Wildcats have gone 8-5, 10-4, 9-4 and 9-4. Some fans will cry that they should have won more, but that stretch also includes four bowl games, three bowl wins and one Big 12 championship. Plenty of teams would commit crimes to average nine wins. Carroll helped K-State reach that point.
A strength coach can be one of the most important jobs on any football team. He is the guy who works with players more than anybody else, helping train players all year long. They have to be able to motivate players without becoming drill sergeants.
It isn’t easy to walk that line, but Carroll seemed to do it with ease. Players raved about him.
He will be missed in Manhattan.
But it’s worth pointing out that K-State elevated his top assistant immediately after Carroll left for the USC Trojans. Ray Thomas has worked under Carroll for years, and he has been assisting him in the weight room for the past four seasons. Klieman wants continuity in the weight room and Thomas should be able to provide it.
Thomas seems ready for this job and the Wildcats appear to be excited for him.
Carroll is an excellent strength and conditioning coach. But I’m not expecting much of a drop off to Thomas. Who knows, maybe he will make things even better.
Who is your pick for surprise high-impact newcomer on the football team this year? -@PvillePastor via X.
Sadly, I don’t have a “surprise” pick for Newcomer of the Year.
The best new players on the K-State football roster are well known. I don’t see anyone unknown coming off the radar to contribute in a major way next season.
If I had to take a guess, I would go with a freshman. Incoming transfers are expected to be impact players. So give me Logan Bartley at safety. I have heard good things about him and maybe he could sneak onto the field and make a few plays in the secondary.
Jaron Tibbs and Jerand Bradley are the newcomers I am most looking forward to next season. Chris Klieman has not been the best evaluator of wide receivers in recent years. Outside of Jayce Brown, he hasn’t recruited any dudes at that position. But I think Bradley and Tibbs can make an impact and upgrade the K-State passing attack for Avery Johnson.
Neither of them will be surprise contributors. But I have high hopes for them.
Is Coach Tang’s coaching staff missing a former high-major player? Seems like they miss some one like a Curtis Kelly or Shane Southwell that the youngins’ can look up to -@the_funky_andy via X.
Well, Curtis Kelly was a graduate assistant in Jerome Tang’s first year. Things went very well for the Wildcats that season, as they won 26 games and reached the Elite Eight.
Very little has gone right for K-State basketball since that season came to an end ... and Kelly coincidentally left for other jobs.
Bruce Weber also had some excellent seasons with guys like Chester Frazier and Shane Southwell on his bench.
So the scoreboard says the Wildcats are definitely missing a former player on their coaching staff.
It would be great if K-State could find a way to bring in Jacob Pullen as an assistant. He told me last year that he would seriously consider coaching whenever his professional career comes to an end. But he also wants to work close to his family in Chicago, which means he would probably be looking at DePaul or Loyola-Chicago more than K-State.
But it wouldn’t have to be him. There are plenty of other former K-State (or Baylor) players who could be available.
Someone get Rodney McGruder or Jordan Henriquez on the phone.
Are we sure K-State isn’t a golf school? -Andrew B. via e-mail.
Everyone should enjoy Carla Bernat while she is on campus.
The Spaniard might be the best college women’s golfer in the country. She won medalist honors at the NCAA Regional in Lexington this week and had an albatross on the event’s final day.
How awesome is that?
I have been playing golf since kindergarten. I have hit a hole in one. I have holed out from the fairway for eagle too many times to count. But I’ve never come remotely close to an albatross. I have also never led a college golf team to nationals.
Bernat is guiding the K-State women’s golf team to new heights.
For as long as Carla Bernat remains on campus.
Will K-State baseball make a NCAA Regional? - Jeff M. via e-mail.
We may find out over the next two weeks.
The Wildcats have a massive upcoming series against West Virginia (the best team in the Big 12) and then Cincinnati. K-State gets the Mountaineers at home. That’s a plus. But it will close out the regular season on the road against the Bearcats.
If K-State can win four (or more) of those six games then the Wildcats will be in good shape heading into the Big 12 Tournament. But the Bat Cats can ill afford a losing streak right now.
They are one of the last four teams in the projected field as of now, according to Baseball America.
I’m going to try wrapping up my mailbag with some fun items from now on. Enjoy!
My recommendations of the week
Streaming: The Eternaut on Netflix. I binge-watched all six episodes this week.
Drink: Stone Pilsner. This is a smooth and refreshing beer for the warm days we are starting to get.
Song: Steve’s Lava Chicken by Jack Black. A family favorite that clocks in at just 34 seconds.
Vintage K-State highlight: Tyler Lockett’s reel of big plays. Let’s hope he has a few more left in him with the Tennessee Titans.