Ausmus took long way back

When folks from back in Tennessee phoned Aaron Ausmus in Los Angeles, they’d wonder why he had a hair-dryer going. Didn’t he still shave his head?

It wasn’t a hair-dryer. It was a 747.

“We lived in a little one-bedroom apartment in El Segundo, right by the (LAX) airport,’’ Ausmus said. “When planes were taking off the windows and mirrors would rattle.’’

He never had that problem growing up in LaFollette.

Ausmus left Tennessee in 2001 to launch his career as a strength-and-conditioning coach at Southern Cal. He’s back home now, UT’s second head strength coach of the young Lane Kiffin era.

It appears a comfortable fit. Ausmus is a branch of the John Stucky family tree, which also includes his mentors, Tommy Moffitt and Chris Carlisle and, for the past seven years at UT, Johnny Long.

“He’s actually a similar version of Johnny Long,’’ quarterback Jonathan Crompton said of Ausmus. “That was a real good thing that everybody likes.

“We’re doing the same stuff we used to do, so everybody’s familiar with it.’’

But to land his dream job at home at age 34, Ausmus had to first leave home.

Far from home, as luck would have it.

Knoxville was the farthest Ausmus had ever ventured from Campbell County. He had talked his way onto the UT track squad as a walk-on, then developed into an NCAA champion in the shot put by his junior year, 1997.

Stucky, who was head of UT’s strength-and-conditioning program from 1994-2001, was impressed and suggested Ausmus take a position as a grad assistant.

He did, making the weight-room transition from athlete to coach in time to be a part of the 1998 national football championship. He was around two more years as a part-time assistant.

Then a door opened.

USC hired Pete Carroll to resurrect its football fortunes. According to Ausmus, Carroll first approached Stucky about coming west to run the weight room.

Stucky wasn’t interested but Carlisle, his right-hand man, was. Carlisle got the job and chose Ausmus as his first assistant.

“There were a lot of people who tried to talk me out of doing that,’’ Ausmus said. “My family didn’t want to see me go that far away from home.

“I’m glad I didn’t listen to ‘em.’’

He listened to Carlisle, who, in a right-hand man, was looking for loyalty, a great work ethic and someone open to new ideas.

“Aaron fit the bill in all three areas,’’ Carlisle said in an e-mail interview.

“One of Coach Stucky’s greatest traits was that he saw the program as a living, breathing organism that would constantly evolve.

“Aaron understood this idea.’’

So for three years, 2001-03, Ausmus worked for what would quickly become one of the top football programs in the nation. And, in one of the most glittering and sprawling cities on the planet.

Not that he noticed all that much.

“The great weather, the beaches, as much as we worked we didn’t really get a lot of time to check it all out,’’ Ausmus said.

“It was very expensive, everything is fast and the freeways are packed. But we kind of put the blinders on and just worked hard every day at what we could control.’’

Ausmus was recently married. He’d met Andrea Pappas, a Lady Vol athlete, at UT. They shared a common bond: the shot put.

So they moved to their little apartment in El Segundo, tried to get used to the jets taking off and landing, as well as the rest of life in L.A.

Like the freeways. To get to campus, Ausmus hopped on the 105 to the 110.

“Of course, the time of the morning you go in, 5 or 6, traffic is not really an issue,’’ he said.

He removed the blinders for occasional Hollywood moments. He attended the “Legally Blonde” premier and met the cast of “Everybody Loves Raymond’’ at Warner Brothers.

However, Ausmus was hardly star-struck when he first arrived in the USC weight room. The Trojans had been in a mediocre spell before Carroll was hired.

Ausmus had left a UT program that was stocked with future NFL players. His first impression of the Trojans:

“We were kind of like, ‘Huh? It’s got to get better.’

“And it did.’’

Did it ever. USC went 6-6 the first year, won the Pac-10 title in 2002 and a national title in 2003. Ausmus helped develop three Heisman Trophy winners: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

When the Trojans won another national title in 2004, Ausmus watched from afar. He had left the bright lights to become head strength coach at Idaho. But he had made two crucial contacts at Southern Cal: Kiffin and Ed Orgeron.

Carlisle recalls the Trojans’ first trip to Notre Dame. Ausmus arrived at the pre-game meal a tad late for Orgeron’s liking, even though he was technically 15 minutes early.

“Coach O took Aaron out and apparently let him have it,’’ Carlisle said. “From then on, Aaron was the first person in the dining room prior to every game.’’

When Orgeron got the Ole Miss job in 2005, he brought Ausmus back to the SEC.

When Kiffin decided to dump Mark Smith after six months at Tennessee, he went after Ausmus, who had recently taken a new gig at North Texas.

Carlisle advises that you can see Ausmus’ fingerprints in the success Ole Miss is enjoying. He’s betting the same is in store at Tennessee.

“Bringing Aaron Ausmus back to to UT,’’ Carlisle said, “was the best and smartest thing that Lane could ever do.’’