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Texas Tech Football: Inside Rusty Whitt’s aggressive strength program

By VF Castro

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Texas Tech head strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt stresses accountability in the Red Raiders’ new aggressive training program.

Texas Tech football has left a lot on the field over the last few seasons. And in the fourth year of the Kliff Kingsbury era, the Red Raiders might have finally nailed the coaching algorithm in former United States Army Senior Special Forces Communication Sergeant, Rusty Whitt.

"“Trust your teammates, and trust your training.” — Rusty Whitt"

Texas Tech Athletics has been pretty quiet on coach Whitt through spring and summer. But with a few weeks to go before fall camp, fans finally get a preview of what one of college football’s most intimidating coaches has been up to.

Hired this offseason after five years with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, coach Rusty Whitt immediately immersed himself in the program. “We were very assertive for the first month,” said Whitt. “I wouldn’t say we had a lot of push back, they just weren’t used to the approach, and the overall intensity, consistency, and accountability.”

“We’ve gone the entire summer without anyone being late for breakfast. And in the first two weeks, I was here, there were about two or three guys who were late every day.”

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Coach Whitt stresses how important it is for athletes to understand how quickly their roles on the field and in plays can change, and a major element to the conditioning process is to make sure that every guy is “taking care of their business.”

“There are hundreds and hundreds of chances to win or lose the game,” Whitt told Senior Associate Athletics Director, Robert Giovannetti. “So there are hundreds and hundreds of chances to win or lose in a day, and that’s the importance of accountability.”

I spoke to coach Whitt briefly and asked him what he enjoyed most about what he’s doing at Texas Tech. He said, “Seeing self-confidence increase in a kid, as they get better doing something they love.”

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Having grown up in West Texas, just hours away from Lubbock, coach Whitt said his dream job was in the Big 12. As a former graduate assistant at the University of Texas (Masters in Kinesiology), and an Abilene Christian alumni, coach Whitt was well aware of the style of play coach Kingsbury thrived under while playing quarterback for the Red Raiders, but more importantly, he was attracted to the program’s current uptempo offense.

“When I came and visited, the overall energy and excitement he (Kingsbury) had, it was legit; there was nothing fake about it, and I wanted to help him out and be part of it.”

More than just being part of a program that’s a solid fit for his intensity, coach Whitt wanted to establish core principles with coach Kingsbury to help their student-athletes thrive past the football field. From being a good man to having a sense of purpose, those core values also highlight that student-athletes hold themselves at a higher level of accountability, and learn to avoid excuses by establishing discipline, regardless of whether they’re a freshman or a senior.

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Many strength and conditioning coaches apply strict regimens in their programs, but coach Whitt’s military experience translates onto the field, and in the weight room by instilling what he learned through his service in the athletes. “We impart a lot of frustrations on these guys early on. And when you hear a guy say ‘calm down’, you know they’re starting to problem solve.”

The Texas Tech Red Raiders open the season at home in Lubbock Texas on Sept. 9 against Stephen F. Austin, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. (CT).

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