WHEELING — Auburn University is in the midst of another successful football season. The Tigers will take an 8-3 record into this week’s Iron Bowl showdown with Alabama.

A West Liberty University graduate is one of the integral reasons for the Tigers’ gridiron success. Ryan Russell, a former standout wideout for the Hilltoppers, is the strength and conditioning coach for the Auburn football team.

Russell played wide receiver for West Liberty from 2000-02. He earned WVC honors all three seasons. He received his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from West Liberty in 2003.

Russell is a native of Palm Springs, Calif. How he ended up in the hills of West Virginia is a credit to West Liberty’s Roger Waialae casting a wide net when it comes to recruiting for the Hilltoppers.

“I was actually recruited by Coach Waialae. I was a qualifier out of high school, but was not offered a scholarship so I attended Chaffey Junior College my freshman year,” Russell said. “I already knew at that point that I wanted to be a college strength and conditioning coach, so I wanted to play three years at a four-year institution rather than play another year of junior college ball. I was one of 15 or so guys from Southern California that came to West Liberty in 2000.”

Russell, although three time zones away from home, enjoyed his days at West Liberty.

“My time at West Liberty was great. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I got to experience a whole different part of the country and it was awesome,” Russell said. “Any success that I had there was due to my teammates and our coaches putting us in good spots to be successful. I thought we had some really good coaches there during my time.

“Coach Eaton, Coach Waialae, Coach Cook, Coach Crook and Coach Phillips all made a huge impact on me and did a phenomenal job with us. Coach Monseau and Coach Price of the wrestling program were also a big part of my West Liberty experience and taught me a lot during my time there,” he added. “I don’t know if a month goes by that I don’t meet someone who has connections with the Ohio Valley or the old West Virginia Conference. Just last year, Brad Paisley played a concert here in Auburn and came by the weight room to work out. We probably talked for 20 minutes or so after his workout about West Liberty.”

His journey from West Liberty to Auburn took many turns and made several stops.

Russell played professional football in the Arena Football League for the Las Vegas Gladiators and the Louisville Fire in 2003.

He cut his strength and training teeth by serving professional internships at Pitt and Louisville. Those two stays landed him a graduate assistant’s post at Auburn in 2005 and 2006.

Russell then headed west, becoming associate strength and conditioning coach at Boise State from 2007 to 2009. He returned to Auburn in 2010-11 in the role of assistant strength and conditioning, working with the football program. He was also football’s director of sports nutrition.

Russell again exited Auburn for a position at Arkansas State where Gus Malzahn was head coach. The Hilltoppers’ grad was the school’s director of athletic performance.

When Malzahn became Auburn’s head coach in 2012, Russell came with him.

“It’s been awesome at Auburn. Helping these guys reach their goals is something that I take a lot of pride in. So many of these athletes have goals that they want to achieve so they are highly motivated and want to work. I have seen some very impressive things training-wise during my career,” Russell said. “Obviously a big part of my job is to make our athletes bigger, faster and stronger. I believe my staff and I have done that through the years. Probably more importantly we are teaching them discipline, accountability, punctuality, emotional consistency and the power of the decisions that they make.

“We really try to build them for life once they leave us. The relationships that are developed throughout the athlete’s careers with us are something that I really value and love about my career,” he added. “Having athletes come back a couple of years after they are done playing at Auburn, and hearing about how they are doing and seeing them be successful in life is awesome.”

Russell is praiseworthy when it comes to Malzahn. He led the Tigers to the national title game in 2013.

“First off, I think Coach Malzahn’s story is a great one. Just working his way up through the coaching ranks starting at Hughes High School in Arkansas and ending up here at Auburn University is something you don’t see every day,” Russell said. “Coach Malzahn is an extremely hard worker and is very detailed. He’s got unbelievable focus and doesn’t get distracted by anything. Once the whistle blows to start practice, its go time and everybody better match his sense of urgency or it could be a long practice.”

While Russell has been a positive to the Tigers’ football program, Auburn has been good in return. Russell met his eventual wife during his first tour of duty there.

“My wife Sarah and I were married in 2006. It takes a really special woman to be a coach’s wife and she checks all the boxes. She is a registered dietician and is extremely good at what she does,” Russell said. “The tough thing about coaching, is that many times, the wives are left to do all the packing and tying up all the loose ends when their husbands take new jobs.

“She has done that multiple times for us through my career. I would not be where I am without her. We have no children other than the 120 guys that I coach on a daily basis,” he continued. “We also have an English Bulldog named Herbie who is 7-years-old who keeps us busy and entertained. The rest of my side of the family is still living in southern California and my wife’s family is all in Arkansas.”

BUBBA’S BITS

MOUNT UNTION saw its NCAA record 112-game regular-season winning streak come to an end at the hands of John Carroll last week. The loss was the first since an Oct. 22, 2005 defeat to Ohio Northern. Engineering the Polar Bears upset that day was quarterback Adam Quirk, a former all-stater at St. Clairsville.

KUDOS TO Beallsville native Dustin Nippert after being named the MVP in the Korean Baseball League. The 35-year-old pitcher had a monster season, posting a 22-3 record with a 2.95 ERA. He fanned 142 batters in 167 inning. He previously pitched for the Diamondbacks and Rangers in the Major Leagues.

PREP BASKETBALL season officially opens in the Ohio Valley Friday with the onset of several Ohio-side girls’ games. In conjunction with that, the Wheeling Intelligencer/News-Regsiter annual basketball preview hits the streets that day. Moreover, The Times-Leader girls’ basketball tab is also available Friday.

MARK PROSSER is in his fifth season as assistant coach at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. He is the son of the late Skip Prosser of Linsly, Wheeling Central, Xavier and Wake Forest fame. The young Prosser previously served on the staffs at Bucknell and Wofford. He played collegiately at Marist. Winthrop was featured Tuesday on ESPN’s basketball marathon. The Eagles downed Manhattan that day.

PRESTON BOSWELL is a D-1 basketball talent. When the former Magnolia High great opted to stay close to home and play at Wheeling Jesuit it marked a major recruiting coup for Danny Sancomb and his Cardinals. Boswell is wasting no time in displaying his many hoop skills, dropping in 23 points in WJU’s home-opening win Tuesday.

EARLIER THIS month, Winfield High captured the West Virginia Class AA-A girls’ soccer championship. One of Winfield’s standouts was Peyton Frohnapfel. Her father, Matthew, was a 1985 St. John Central graduate.