Georgia Tech coach Brent Key has found his strength-and-conditioning coach. Pending a background check, Key has hired A.J. Artis, the director of strength and conditioning at South Florida, a person familiar with the situation told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.
Artis has been at USF since 2021 as part of the staff of coach Jeff Scott, who was fired in November. Before that, Artis was at Tennessee for three years, where for the 2020 season he was the director of football sports performance. There, he worked alongside Tech quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke, who was running backs and then quarterbacks coach for the Volunteers.
The position is a significant one, as strength coaches are able to spend more time with players during the offseason than the on-field coaching staff and are charged with helping set the team culture. The close relationships that Tech players formed with former strength coach Lewis Caralla speak to the influence that strength coaches can have.
Artis, 29, was described by Scott as “a young man who has been seen as one of the rising stars in strength and conditioning for some time.”
Caralla led Tech’s strength-and-conditioning staff for the duration of former coach Geoff Collins’ tenure and was let go Wednesday, the day after Key was named full-time head coach. Caralla has joined the staff of new Charlotte coach Biff Poggi, according to Fox Sports reporter Bruce Feldman.
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