USF Athletics

Carroll Plays a Key Role in Building USF Football's Foundation

May 07, 2020

COACHES PROFILE SERIES: While we wait for USF football to hit the field once again, Senior Writer Tom Zebold and Voice of the Bulls Jim Louk give Bulls fans a window to know more about the people and personalities on head coach Jeff Scott's first USF staff.

The series concludes with a feature on Trumain Carroll, who is preparing players for success as USF's new director of football strength and conditioning.

LISTEN: Carroll's interview with Voice of the Bulls Jim Louk HERE.
 
PAST PROFILES:
Charlie Weis Jr. - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Glenn Spencer – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
Xavier Dye – Wide Receivers Coach
Jules Montinar – Cornerbacks Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Allen Mogridge - Offensive Line Coach/Assistant Head Coach
Da'Quan Bowers – Defensive Line Coach
Pat White – Running Backs Coach
Wes Neighbors – Safeties Coach
Joey King – Tight Ends Coach
Daniel Da Prato – Special Teams Coordinator
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, MAY 7, 2020 – Shortly after Jeff Scott was hired, USF football's new head coach set the tone for his staff by adding someone who knows how to build a solid foundation for the program.

The man with the training plan is Trumain Carroll.

USF's director of football strength and conditioning brings a wealth of experience to a hungry team that he wants to transform by making Bulls the best version of themselves for the field.

"I know how vital this position was for me as a player in college," the former Oklahoma State defensive end said. "To be able to pass that along to the student-athletes I get to interact with every day and serve them in this capacity, it's a true blessing. I don't take it lightly."

Carroll excelled as a head strength and conditioning coach the past five seasons at Arkansas and SMU under Chad Morris, a good friend of Scott's dating to their days on the same staff at Clemson. Morris, who was replaced at Arkansas, strongly recommended Carroll to Scott in December. Carroll's impressive track record of working with student-athletes has included the development of NFL receivers Courtland Sutton and Trey Quinn.

Several more standouts, including many in other sports, have benefited from Carroll's guidance over the past 14 years. In the next chapter of his career, Carroll's mission is to educate Bulls and encourage them to reach new physical milestones.

"I know that my relationship with each person in that locker room and each person in that building is gonna contribute to our success and contribute to them being successful later in life, which is what we care most about," he said.

Carroll Finds His Calling at Oklahoma State
Carroll's path to his profession started as a student-athlete at Oklahoma State from 2001-05. In addition to making three bowl game trips, the defensive end got an incredible experience working with legendary strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass.

"He presented me with an opportunity to come into the weight room and help out as an intern, because I was still on scholarship at the time," Carroll said. "It was the best decision of my life to go down there and learn from him, pick his brain."

That led to 2005 Oklahoma State grad learning even more from Glass as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for his alma mater from 2006-08. Aside from working with football, Carroll designed and supervised the strength program for Oklahoma State women's basketball program that advanced to the Sweet 16 in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

Success led to more opportunities as the director of strength and conditioning at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (2008-11) and South Carolina State (2011-12), where he met his wife, Jarne.

"We literally got married on a Saturday and got a call five days later to return to Oklahoma State," Carroll said. "God put me there to find her. We now have a son, (Trumain) 'Deuce' Carroll."

Carroll was more than happy to reunite with Glass as his mentor's top assistant at Oklahoma State from 2013-14.

"Every step of the way in the journey has prepared me for the next step," Carroll said. "All of the lessons I've learned along the way, it's crazy how it works out."

Big Life Moments on the Way to the Bay
More gems of knowledge from Glass came in handy for Carroll when he took over the strength and conditioning program at SMU under former head coach Chad Morris.

"We just built it brick by brick," Carroll said. "The kids bought in and we eventually were able to get the program off the ground."

From 2015-17, the Mustangs went from winning two games to playing in the Frisco Bowl with lots of players who took advantage of Carroll's strength and conditioning program. Two of them - Courtland Sutton and Trey Quinn – became the only teammates in the FBS rack up at least 1,000 receiving yards apiece during the 2017 season.

Just like he'll always appreciate SC State as the place where he met his wife, Jarne, Carroll always will think of SMU when he remembers another major moment in his life.

The couple welcomed their son, "Deuce," to the world in Carroll's home state before the family headed to SEC country for the 2018-19 seasons.

"(It) was a dream of mine to have my son born in Texas," he said. "A couple weeks later, it's time to move to Arkansas. Now, we're here in Tampa and looking to add on more additions to the family."

In Sync With Scott at Speedy USF
Chad Morris showed his appreciation for Carroll's work at SMU and Arkansas by recommending the strength coach to his former Clemson coworker – new USF head coach Jeff Scott.

"Before you know it, we were on the phone and we actually flew to Tampa on our seventh wedding anniversary," Carroll said.

Scott made an incredible impression on Carroll during their special visit.

"It wasn't just about interviewing me. He was interviewing my family, which is the first time that it ever happened in my entire professional career," Carroll said. "A lot of people talk about family, but when you do something like that, it lets you know that it's genuine and it's real."

Now united as a USF family, Carroll has enjoyed being on the same page with Scott when it comes to developing the program.

"My message is Jeff Scott's message. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it, or any gray area within that," Carroll said. "I'm just a sounding board for his message and I embrace that role."

Motivated Bulls received the "how we do anything is how we do everything" message loud and clear during winter conditioning. Players made steady progress and even surprised Carroll, who used GPS technology to track how fast team members can zoom downfield.

"I'm seeing speeds within conditioning workouts that we've seen as top speeds in games at previous institutions I've been at," he said. "… I didn't expect to see that fast of speed that early within a winter conditioning cycle."

Athleticism also showed up on the new coaching staff's radar during the one spring practice the Bulls had together. Since then, the program has been operating virtually off campus during the pandemic with a strong commitment to preparing for football in the future.

To help matters, Carroll's strength staff is in the seventh week of dishing out training program tips through Instagram for players who want to keep building for the season voluntarily.

"Once you instill the education of what they need to do, we leave it up to them," Carroll said. "How much success you want to have this fall is depending upon what kind of work you're gonna put in right now."
 
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23^rd season (20^th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
                                                                                
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