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Torre Becton -- 2024 FootballScoop Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year
Texas's instant success in the SEC was the result of a painstaking, multi-year process.
Zach Barnett
FootballScoop is proud to announce that Torre Becton (Texas) is the 2024 FootballScoop Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
Texas's immediate success in the Southeastern Conference was anything but instant.
The Longhorns' trip to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship, and their current return berth in the College Football Playoff semifinals, were the end result of a multi-year process: Steve Sarkisian and his assistant coaches recruited championship-quality talent, and Torre Becton built that talent into a championship-caliber team.
The process started with a 5-7 season in 2021, a campaign that led many to believe the Longhorns were more like sheep heading to the slaughter with the SEC move coming in 2024. Texas improved to 8-5 in 2022, and 2023 saw a breakthrough. The 'Horns defeated eventual SEC champion Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in September, then won their first Big 12 championship in 15 seasons that December.
This season has seen Texas post a second consecutive 11-1 season, play for the SEC championship, and stand as the only team to reach the College Football Playoff in 2023 and '24.
In doing so, Texas has won with a team built from the line of scrimmage out. In 2023, T'Vondre Sweat was the most decorated lineman in college football, winning the Outland Trophy as the top offensive or defensive lineman in college football, while defensive tackle Byron Murphy was the first player take in the NFL draft. In 2024, offensive tackle Kelvin Banks won the Outland, Lombardi and Jacobs Blocking trophies, while defensive end Collin Simmons won the Shaun Alexander Award as the nation's top true freshman. In the process, Texas became the second program in the history of the Outland Trophy (founded in 1946) to have two different players win the award in consecutive years.
In addition to being big and strong, Texas has also remained healthy. All 22 opening-day starters remain in the lineup as the Longhorns face Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.
“The first thing we want to look at is the genetic makeup of the player. We look at the anthro (anthropometry), as far as the shoulder width, the femur, the arm length, we want to look at the circumference of the knee, we want to look at their hand size and all these things tell us the growth potential," Becton said in a recent interview. "Once we get an indicator of how big we think the players can be we start the process of developing a plan that helps them maintain their movement skills. Most kids are going to come to a place like Texas, not because necessarily how big they look, and how strong they look, but how they move when we watch them play.”
A former defensive lineman at North Carolina A&T, Becton earned his Master's degree from the United States Sports Academy, and earned a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach title in 2019. Becton's career began in 2002 at Oklahoma State, with subsequent stops at Baylor, Iowa State, and the Houston Texans. He spent 2010 as the director of strength and conditioning at South Carolina State before joining strength staffs at Washington, USC and Cal. He was the head strength coach at Cal before joining Steve Sarkisian's Texas staff in 2021.
Prior winners selected this year's winner. In a tied vote among prior winners, Becton and Arizona State's Joe Connolly were both named winners of the 2024 award. Boise State's Ben Hilgart was also a finalist this year.
Previous winners of the Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year award are Don Sommer (TCU, 2008), Joey Batson (Clemson, 2009), Kevin Yoxall (Auburn, 2010), Shannon Turley (Stanford, 2011), Kaz Kazadi (Baylor, 2012), Pat Ivey (Missouri, 2013), Zac Woodfin (UAB, 2014), Ken Mannie (Michigan State, 2015), Tim Socha (Washington, 2016), Zach Duval (UCF, 2017), Lew Caralla (Buffalo, 2018), Tommy Moffitt (LSU, 2019), Chad Scott (Coastal Carolina, 2020), Scott Sinclair (Georgia, 2021) Kurt Hester (Tulane, 2022), and Dave Feeley (Duke, 2023).
Torre Becton -- 2024 FootballScoop Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year
Texas's instant success in the SEC was the result of a painstaking, multi-year process.
Zach Barnett
FootballScoop is proud to announce that Torre Becton (Texas) is the 2024 FootballScoop Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
Texas's immediate success in the Southeastern Conference was anything but instant.
The Longhorns' trip to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship, and their current return berth in the College Football Playoff semifinals, were the end result of a multi-year process: Steve Sarkisian and his assistant coaches recruited championship-quality talent, and Torre Becton built that talent into a championship-caliber team.
The process started with a 5-7 season in 2021, a campaign that led many to believe the Longhorns were more like sheep heading to the slaughter with the SEC move coming in 2024. Texas improved to 8-5 in 2022, and 2023 saw a breakthrough. The 'Horns defeated eventual SEC champion Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in September, then won their first Big 12 championship in 15 seasons that December.
This season has seen Texas post a second consecutive 11-1 season, play for the SEC championship, and stand as the only team to reach the College Football Playoff in 2023 and '24.
In doing so, Texas has won with a team built from the line of scrimmage out. In 2023, T'Vondre Sweat was the most decorated lineman in college football, winning the Outland Trophy as the top offensive or defensive lineman in college football, while defensive tackle Byron Murphy was the first player take in the NFL draft. In 2024, offensive tackle Kelvin Banks won the Outland, Lombardi and Jacobs Blocking trophies, while defensive end Collin Simmons won the Shaun Alexander Award as the nation's top true freshman. In the process, Texas became the second program in the history of the Outland Trophy (founded in 1946) to have two different players win the award in consecutive years.
In addition to being big and strong, Texas has also remained healthy. All 22 opening-day starters remain in the lineup as the Longhorns face Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.
“The first thing we want to look at is the genetic makeup of the player. We look at the anthro (anthropometry), as far as the shoulder width, the femur, the arm length, we want to look at the circumference of the knee, we want to look at their hand size and all these things tell us the growth potential," Becton said in a recent interview. "Once we get an indicator of how big we think the players can be we start the process of developing a plan that helps them maintain their movement skills. Most kids are going to come to a place like Texas, not because necessarily how big they look, and how strong they look, but how they move when we watch them play.”
A former defensive lineman at North Carolina A&T, Becton earned his Master's degree from the United States Sports Academy, and earned a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach title in 2019. Becton's career began in 2002 at Oklahoma State, with subsequent stops at Baylor, Iowa State, and the Houston Texans. He spent 2010 as the director of strength and conditioning at South Carolina State before joining strength staffs at Washington, USC and Cal. He was the head strength coach at Cal before joining Steve Sarkisian's Texas staff in 2021.
Prior winners selected this year's winner. In a tied vote among prior winners, Becton and Arizona State's Joe Connolly were both named winners of the 2024 award. Boise State's Ben Hilgart was also a finalist this year.
Previous winners of the Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year award are Don Sommer (TCU, 2008), Joey Batson (Clemson, 2009), Kevin Yoxall (Auburn, 2010), Shannon Turley (Stanford, 2011), Kaz Kazadi (Baylor, 2012), Pat Ivey (Missouri, 2013), Zac Woodfin (UAB, 2014), Ken Mannie (Michigan State, 2015), Tim Socha (Washington, 2016), Zach Duval (UCF, 2017), Lew Caralla (Buffalo, 2018), Tommy Moffitt (LSU, 2019), Chad Scott (Coastal Carolina, 2020), Scott Sinclair (Georgia, 2021) Kurt Hester (Tulane, 2022), and Dave Feeley (Duke, 2023).
