By Lynn Ramsey - Florida Catholic
Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC
St. Thomas Aquinas athletic director Twan Russell receives the Class 7A State championship trophy from FHSAA director of athletics Robbie Lindeman. Aquinas defeated Tampa Bay Tech, 42 to 14 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Dec. 17, 2021.
FORT LAUDERDALE | Twan Russell was climbing the NFL corporate ladder. But he felt something missing: He wanted to be in a place where he could pray openly at work.
When he got word that longtime St. Thomas Aquinas High School athletics director George Smith was retiring, he felt called to seek the position. After all, Smith had been like a second father for the 1991 STA graduate. Plus, he was already on campus as an assistant coach under former Aquinas teammate Roger Harriott.
Russell took over in May 2021 as Smith transitioned into retirement. (See accompanying story.) He had been serving as an assistant football coach at STA while working for the Miami Dolphins as director of Community Affairs. This came after a six-year NFL playing career that took him to Washington, Miami and Atlanta in 1997-2003 and a 1993-96 career at the University of Miami where he led the team in tackles and earned first-team All-Big East honors his senior year. His senior year at St. Thomas Aquinas, the Raiders lost to Fort Walton Beach in Smith’s first state final.
Russell said he wasn’t looking to leave the Dolphins, whom he calls one of the most historic NFL teams, after 16 years. After all, a friend had told him not to follow a legend. Alas, the Aquinas culture pervaded Russell, which led him to apply.
Russell said the process went quickly. He applied and received a call a couple days later seeking an interview – something he never had done before. Smith intentionally did not want to be part of the six-person committee who hired Russell. “We wanted a group that would not be biased and would see what was good for us,” Smith said.
As the interview process continued, Russell discovered that Msgr. Vincent Kelly and Principal Denise Aloma valued the same things he valued. Msgr. Kelly actually wanted to test what kind of man Russell was and whether he would uphold St. Thomas Aquinas’ values. After a few more talks and finalizing the deal on a Thursday, the school announced him as its new athletic director on Friday.
Photographer: COURTESY
St. Thomas Aquinas' longtime athletic director and football coach, George Smith, gets a hug from his successor as athletic director, St. Thomas alum Twan Russell. Russell played for Smith and considers him like a second father.
“I’m glad, because I didn’t have time to think,” Russell said. “My wife said it was a good fit because I could serve kids. Every aspect of my life, from the foundation to the Dolphins, even keeping a Bible study at church – this immerses me into that world on a daily basis. I get to create a structure and guidance to be part of the solution and help transform them and launch them into the world to disrupt the world in a positive way.”
FAITH IS WHY
Faith has been important to Russell, even harking back to his playing days. The University of Miami had a team chaplain who would invite players to his house for Bible studies and would have religious services before the games. When he played for the Dolphins, Russell remembers how another team chaplain, a minister named Corwin Anthony, would tell the players to allow their faith to guide them through the NFL challenges.
“For me, it helped me to do life with God,” Russell said. “God talks about praying without ceasing. In football you have to learn to pray without ceasing, because you deal with hard things all the time. You do life with God and keep God in the process. I needed to have a good prayer life and have a good connection with the faith.”
He said St. Thomas Aquinas students and athletes have to train as hard in the faith as they do on the field and in the classroom. He said that if you start small, eventually your prayer life will grow.
“It’s like the parable of the mustard seed; you start small, and it will grow,” Russell said. “You pray 5 minutes a day and read the Bible 5 minutes a day. You’d be surprised how much you’d accomplish in life.”
FOLLOWING SMITH’S FOOTSTEPS
Russell’s connection to St. Thomas Aquinas goes back to when he was a 6-year-old. His father, Tony Russell, would coach Blanche Ely High out of Pompano Beach against Smith’s St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders. He was enthralled by the battles that went on the field between the two teams.
When Tony Russell’s success led him to work for the University of Miami and eventually to Kentucky State and West Virginia State, he left Twan and his older brothers under Smith’s tutelage at St. Thomas Aquinas. “He took care of me, made sure I had everything I needed,” Russell said. “I didn’t need anything but time. He had a great intuition to make sure I was protected.”
Smith said that Russell, who ended up earning two degrees from the University of Miami before going into the NFL, was one of the greatest people he’s been around.
Russell’s 1991 Raiders’ team broke a five-year playoff drought and started a playoff run that has extended to 30 consecutive years. He recalls in his freshman year in 1988 how those seniors wanted to be successful. When they weren’t, they challenged Russell’s class to earn that success.
He said they talk about every generation of seniors making St. Thomas Aquinas better. “Pride on the A is pride on what we do on a daily basis,” Russell said. “When we come to the school, we’re doing things we’re supposed to do so generations after us can excel and be better.”
TEAMMATES COACH TOGETHER
Harriott was a freshman at St. Thomas Aquinas when Russell was a senior, so they already had a connection. He called Russell a prankster in high school, but someone who wanted to make you feel part of the program. Harriott also recalled Russell being a school chameleon, getting along with any person at the school regardless of race, class or gender.
“He really enjoys people,” Harriott said. “He really understands humans are a great value to this world.”
When they started going to the same church, Harriott saw the opportunity to rekindle that relationship and welcome Russell back into the team. He gave Russell a regular chance to speak to the team, especially about the Gospel. Then in 2017, Harriott brought Russell in to coach linebackers.
“We run our football program like a ministry,” Harriott said. “It’s up his alley. It generated a desire for him to be a part of this. It’s not something that happened out of the blue. This is something God has been planning for our whole lives.”
KNOWING BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE
Raiders football players already knew of Russell before he made the climb to athletic director. Senior running back Anthony Hankerson played for Russell as a linebacker his freshman year before switching to running back as a sophomore.
He said it was a blessing that Russell earned the position. “It could’ve been anyone else,” Hankerson said. “Coach Russell is a cool dude, down to earth, always ready to coach, getting you fired up.”
Russell has impressed St. Thomas Aquinas coaches with not only his drive to improve the teams, but also his presence at their events. Volleyball coach Lisa Zielinski said that Russell is frequently at volleyball games, while girls basketball coach Oliver Berens said that Russell drove four hours to follow the girls basketball team to Tampa.
Zielinski said that fandom started even before he became athletic director. “He supported us as a peer,” Zielinski said. “Now that he’s overseeing everything, you see how much joy he gets from watching us and being a part of all the programs.”
Boys Soccer Technical Director John Walsh said it was important that Russell was a St. Thomas Aquinas alum, “someone who knows what it’s like to wear the A on the chest, someone who put up with the slings and arrows the outside world throws at us for being successful. He’s got a firm understanding of what it’s like to be a St. Thomas student-athlete, alumni and coach.”
Harriott also said that Russell faced the challenge of getting an athletic program with 150 coaches and 1,300 student-athletes on the same page. But Russell has made clear his expectation that the coaches teach the faith to their players – something they already were doing under Smith.
STA HAS TO WORK FOR ITS SUCCESS
Harriott and Zielinski both said the biggest perception Russell faces is that St. Thomas Aquinas doesn’t need anything, that the coaches just roll out the game balls and the Raiders clinch their victories before they get off the bus. Harriott said the program has its needs, especially raising the funds to compete on a national scale.
Zielinski said Russell understands the work all Raiders athletes put in to succeed not only in their sport but on their academics. “He’s a product of that; he knows what it took.”
Softball coach Bryan Baucom has known Russell since his playing days. Even then, he saw a potential leader in Russell — and someone who can take the school into the next decade or two.
Berens said Russell is challenging his coaches to not only demand the best from his athletes but to ask for the best from the school and its alumni base.
“He wants every home game to be packed,” Berens said. “He wants us to have the very best we can get. If we don’t have access to the funds to get it, he wants to help make sure we get there whether by fundraising or other activities. He wants us to be a first-class program and have the best of the best.”
Russell also wants the alumni involved in the school and not just in athletics.
“We want to have a campaign for things that would improve the school,” Russell said. “It’s important that they know when they come on campus, they’re not just looking at a school but a place they left their DNA. And we’re building on top of that.”
