Bryan Harsin made his first official appointment with his inaugural Auburn team.
Auburn’s new coach brought strength and technical conditioning Jeff Pitman from the state of Boise to the plains, Harsin announced Tuesday night. Pitman also worked with Harsin when he was the head coach of Arkansas State in 2013. Overall, he has held the position on Harsin’s team for the past eight seasons.
“Coach Pitman brings three decades of collegiate strength training and player development to Auburn,” said Harsin in a statement. “He has been a key part of many championship teams and the players he has worked with spend time with him praising coach Pitman for developing them as football players and as men. We know that his approach in the weight room and other performance areas will make our players better in all aspects, especially as he specializes with our men on the front lines in both offensive and defensive lines. “
Pitman replaces Ryan Russell, who has served as Auburn’s strength trainer since 2013. Harsin decided not to retain Russell earlier this week.
“I am extremely honored to work for Coach Harsin and our Auburn family,” said Pitman in a statement. “The Coach will develop our student athletes into men from Auburn that we can all be proud of. War Eagle! “
A graduate of Boise State as Harsin, Pitman’s first stint as a Broncos strength and conditioning coach was from 1999-2006. He also held positions at Montana State (1995-97), Minnesota (1994), San Jose State (1997-99), Colorado (2007-10) and Western Carolina (2011-12) before joining the Harsin team.
“Jeff Pitman was my first introduction to high-level competitive football,” said Nate Solder, a two-time Super Bowl offensive tackle with the Patriots, which was an All-American consensus in Colorado in 2010 when Pitman was on the Buffalos team. “He challenged me and pushed me from the second I walked in the door until the day I left as the 17th overall choice in the 2011 NFL draft. He saw potential in me long before I even realized it. football sport comes down to will and attitude.
“Coach Pitman has an unstoppable will that is part of his coaching DNA. Iron sharpens iron just like one man sharpens another, Coach Pitman was the iron that improved me in college and was fundamental to the success I had in the NFL . “
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