Lanier received interest from several schools after entering his name in the transfer portal, he ended up choosing Indiana over Virginia Tech, Alabama A&M, Jacksonville State, Prairie View A&M, Stephen F. Austin, and Tennessee-Martin.
Saban commended the pair for being on the forefront of strength and conditioning philosophy. The coaches helped the Tide shift from a power lifting philosophy to velocity training to minimize injury and increase the team's explosive movements.
The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved raises and salaries of several Alabama football staff members. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian had an $850,000 raise approved to bump his annual salary up to $2.5 million per year. New strength and conditioning team, David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea, had their salaries approved by the Board of Trustees. Ballou will earn $500,000 and Dr. Rhea will earn $450,000 this year.
Dr. Rhea and his partner David Ballou were hired at Alabama to revamp the strength program just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair have been unable to work with and acclimate themselves to their new athletes over the last three months, hindering their vision of restructuring the Crimson Tide strength and conditioning program.
Dr. Matt Rhea sent a short video out on Twitter yesterday in an effort to convey his excitement for today. Today began the "voluntary" offseason workout program for the Alabama Crimson Tide football program.
Alabama football is always evolving. From Bear Bryant embracing the wishbone which led to three more national titles to Nick Saban going to the spread offense yielding his most recent two national championships. The Alabama program is once again evolving by embracing a scientific approach to athletic training and recovery.
Alabama has officially announced the hiring of David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea to replace Scott Cochran in the strength and conditioning role for the football program. Ballou’s official title will be Director of Sports Performance and Rhea’s official title will be Director of Performance Science. Coach Nick Saban commented in his statement about Cochran’s departure that he would like to see the replacement be able to fully utilize the new sports science complex that is currently under construction adjacent to the Mal Moore Athletic Facility, that is exactly what he accomplished by hiring this pair.