Scott Abell has been on the job at Rice for three weeks and has worked quickly to assemble a strong staff.
Sources shared a few days ago that Abell was promoting linebackers coach and high school coaching icon Jon Kay to the defensive coordinator spot.
Now Abell is making a key hire in a critical off field role as well, adding a nationally recognized figure to run his strength and conditioning program.
Lew Caralla, who spent the last two seasons at Charlotte running Biff Poggi's strength and conditioning for the 49ers, is joining Abell at Rice, sources tell FootballScoop.
An official announcement is expected today or tomorrow.
Caralla, a former two-time all conference running back at the Division III level, previously ran strength and conditioning at Georgia Tech under Geoff Collins.
He got his first head strength opportunity at North Texas and later landed at Buffalo under Lance Leipold, where he helped develop a team that earned him FootballScoop Strength Coach of the Year honors in 2018.
Also a published author widely known for his viral motivational messages, Caralla previously held a variety of roles around college football, including assistant strength coach, at Michigan and had intern roles in the SEC at Mississippi State and ACC at Virginia.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.