New Title, Same Mission

By: D. Scott Fritchen

For now, all is quiet in the world of Kansas State football strength and conditioning. The weight room on the first floor of the Vanier Family Football Complex has taken a momentary pause from clinking weights and the energizing music that pumps throughout the place has stopped. It's Friday morning of "dead week" — a K-State week dedicated solely to students studying for final exams.

Inside the weight room, Ray Thomas has already passed the test.

Thomas, who has served on the K-State football strength and conditioning staff for the past four season, was promoted to Director of Strength and Conditioning, as K-State head coach Chris Klieman announced last Wednesday. Thomas replaces one of his best friends, Trumain Carroll, who recently assumed a similar role at USC.

Thomas came to K-State as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2021 and was promoted to associate strength and conditioning coach prior to the 2023 season. Before his arrival at K-State, Thomas was at Colorado State in 2018, Arkansas in 2019 and South Florida in 2020.

Now after his hard work — "God's timing," he says — Thomas will reside in the big office inside the K-State weight room.

The culture, the standards, the goals — everything will remain intact — along with the hard work.

"The strength staff is a sounding board for Coach Klieman's message," Thomas says. "We're going to continue to hold the standard and push and develop these guys, getting bigger, faster and stronger, like we've been doing as a staff, and elevate that standard and culture and continue to push Coach Klieman's message and the core values and the program that he's developed and the standards that go along with it."

Thomas spoke with K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen about his promotion to K-State Football Director of Strength and Conditioning:

D. Scott Fritchen: Coach Klieman tells you that he's promoting you to Director of Strength and Conditioning. What was going through your head in that instant?

Ray Thomas: Super excited. Ecstatic. Fired up. At the same time, it's bittersweet. I love Coach Tru. He's a really good friend of mine and I'm going to miss him, but I'm excited for him as well. But I'm so excited to work for Coach Klieman, such a phenomenal human and a phenomenal man. To continue to be a part of this program is a dream come true. I'm from Colorado Springs, so it's not too far. Growing up, K-State was something I knew of, and someplace I dreamed of potentially being. It's a dream come true for sure.

Fritchen: Walk me through that day. Exactly what day did Coach Klieman give you the news of your promotion? What was the day like for you leading up to the conversation with Coach Klieman and what was your first order of business after your conversation with him?

Thomas: It was a normal day. I knew there was potential that Coach Tru would go to USC. It was pretty stressful at the same time, just not knowing what was going to happen, and potentially having to move my family, and given the world of strength of conditioning, the question was whether I'd continue to have a job. I tried to have a normal day as far as being in here working with guys. It's a discretionary period, so guys were coming in talking, and I was helping them out. I didn't hear anything. I went home. Then Coach Klieman called me that evening and informed me that it was going to happen. It was a dream come true for sure. He said he was excited for me and my family and said he had confidence in me and my ability to continue to develop our guys and push us to where we want to go. I was just thankful. Blessed. I spoke to my wife right away and let her know. When I let her know that we could stay in Manhattan, she was pretty emotional and excited. It was special. Very special.

Fritchen: How would you describe the transition to your new role and all that goes along with it?

Thomas: It's still pretty new, but it's been smooth. I've been here going on five years with Coach Tru and blessed that I got to work for him because he gave me a lot of responsibilities in that associate role and in helping me be a director whenever that time came. I'm ready for it. It's been a pretty smooth transition because Coach Tru has done such a good job mentoring me and allowing me to see the ins and outs of what he did in the position, every little detail in the program. It's been an easy transition just because of everything that he's done for me.

Fritchen: What will be the biggest challenge for you that comes along with this new role?

Thomas: The big thing right now is getting guys in here. The staff is going to change, obviously, a little bit, but it's about getting the right guys in here, and bringing in people I trust can do what I can ask of them and what K-State and the program and all the guys in the locker room need. That's the biggest thing right now in the transition. All of the details and everything about this program isn't foreign to me.

Fritchen: Exactly what has this day and week been like for you? Can you describe what that first full week like for you as Director of Strength and Conditioning?

Thomas: Today I got up early and got a workout in and I've spent today planning for the summer and delegating work with people and having conversations with people. The week started out stressful, and then when Coach Klieman gave me the call, it got really, really good. I've had a lot of people reach out and congratulate me, and I've had a lot of people around here ask me, "What do you need?" Having those relationships built since I've been here for so long has made everything super smooth. As far as the ins and outs, we have to train and get the work in, and the standard is the standard, and the mission is the mission. We still have the goals in front of us. None of that changes.

Fritchen: What all is involved in being Director of Strength and Conditioning at K-State? What all does the role entail?

Thomas: The strength staff is a sounding board for Coach Klieman's message. We're going to continue to hold the standard and push and develop these guys, getting bigger, faster and stronger, like we've been doing as a staff, and elevate that standard and culture and continue to push Coach Klieman's message and the core values and the program that he's developed and the standards that go along with it.

Fritchen: This comes at a time when K-State football in the spring spent more time focusing on strength and conditioning than in any other spring. How pleased were you with the process and the results?

Thomas: It's been awesome just knowing that Coach Klieman values what we do down here in the weight room. It's a collaborative effort between the strength staff, sports science staff, training and equipment, and football coaches. The value they put on us developing the guys in here has been awesome. To see the gains these players have made, we pushed them, and they pushed themselves a lot, too. That culture is continuing to develop as a team. The team leaders have been phenomenal. They continue to help each other and challenge each other, and the results in strength and conditioning has been phenomenal with 700 pounds of lean muscle mass. That was phenomenal. That's a credit to the work they put in and the nutrition and recovery aspect. We have the best in the country in this building when it comes to sports science. It's a collaborative effort. It's not just one department. It's top down from Coach Klieman and everybody being on the same page and pushing it.

Fritchen: Describe your career path along the way to this point and what all has molded you into a Director of Strength and Conditioning at a major college level?

Thomas: It's been a crazy journey, and I can't thank the people enough who've helped me along my journey in my life. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my wife. We took some big leaps of faith early in my career that, looking back, we were crazy for taking that leap of faith, but it's been phenomenal. The people we've gotten to work with and grow from – our family and their families – has been absolutely a blessing, and I can't thank those people enough. It's a lot of work. My wife has sacrificed a lot. She's a rockstar, and I wouldn't be half the man I am today if it wasn't for her. There was a time I wasn't getting paid, and she wasn't getting paid, and we were scrambling to make ends meet. Now we're in Manhattan, such a great community, and it's been an absolute journey. All those hard times, all the struggles have made me who I am. I wouldn't change a thing.

Fritchen: What are some of your philosophies as it pertains to strength and conditioning?

Thomas: Our philosophies are going to match up with Coach Klieman's philosophies. We're going to develop and push our guys and follow the core values. In strength and conditioning, we want our guys to be mentally and physically tough, and to be great men. We want to make sure we're not just making them a better football player. If all we're concerned with is making a better football player, we are failing them. In strength and conditioning, we want our guys strong, fast and tough.

Fritchen: Is Director of Strength and Conditioning a position that you envisioned for yourself one day? At what point in your career did you start to believe that being Director of Strength and Conditioning at the major college level could be attainable?

Thomas: When you first get into strength and conditioning, that's the end goal, and everybody wants to be a director of strength and conditioning at a Power 4 school. When I got into it, it was absolutely one of my goals, one of my dreams, and I continue to learn every day. I know I'm ready for this and ready to push our guys, but to give an exact moment, I couldn't give you an exact moment because I feel like I've been prepared by life.

Fritchen: You've been at K-State since 2021, you've seen growth of the program. In what ways has strength and conditioning program flourished, grown and improved the most within the football program?

Thomas: It was very special for us to come here because Coach Klieman had been here for two years, which allowed us to just come in and enhance — to enhance whatever Coach Klieman needs us to do. The culture was here, the standards and core values were here before we got here, and we were just able to come in and add our little bit of identity to that has just been phenomenal. We've grown as a staff, we've changed as a staff, and we just continue to value these young men.

Fritchen: You had been with Trumain Carroll for several years. What did Coach Tru teach you the most over your time together?

Thomas: That guy, he is such a special person to me. He's one of my best friends. He's one of my biggest mentors. He's one of the most influential people in my life behind my parents. To see him go is tough. I love that guy, but I'm so happy for him and his family. I've grown so much from my relationship with him dating back to January of 2019. He's shown me how to be a good man of God, a good husband and father, and a good coach and a good mentor. It's really special to have been able to have been blessed to work with him for this many years. I cannot thank him and his family enough. His family and my family are very close. We're going to miss them a lot. I know we'll still continue to have a relationship and continue to talk and to be able to help each other from afar. I've just learned so much from him. I can't put into words how much he means to me.

Fritchen: What is the schedule for the summer months for the football program from a strength and conditioning standpoint?

Thomas: Players will come in May 27 for their first day of training. We'll train four to have days a week, running and lifting, and making sure we have recovery as well throughout the weeks. We'll come in and get a good block of training with them, then we'll get a long weekend for the Fourth of July, and then come back and get a couple weeks in right before we head to Ireland. Yeah, it's going to be petal to the metal. These guys are ready and they're going to be ready, and I can't wait to get after it with them.

Fritchen: For years, Coach Tru had his fingerprints on all aspects of strength and conditioning. How excited are you to put your own fingerprints on this football program?

Thomas: I'm really excited. I've been here with him, so I feel like my fingerprint has been here for four years, then to be promoted is exciting, and I can't wait to get the guys back in here training. It's super exciting.

Fritchen: What is it going to feel like jogging onto that field in front of 50,000 that first home game as the Director of Strength and Conditioning?

Thomas: I'm super excited. It's a blessing, a dream come true, and it'll be super exciting to do that, and as soon as that first whistle blows, the mission is the mission, and it's time to go, lock in, and I'm going to pour out absolutely everything I have to help our guys achieve our goals. It'll be super special that first time.

Fritchen: What have you learned most about yourself during your journey?

Thomas: God's timing is the right timing. My wife is an absolute rockstar, and I wouldn't be here without her. I've learned that having the right people around you is one of the most important things because it can help you or hurt you. Having the right people around you is so special and important. Being here at K-State, those people are here.

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