The average fan only remembers what happens on the football field, and it's often overlooked how and who help the team come together in between each game.
Every football coaching staff has its inner circle of people. These individuals help run respective programs in various roles, whether it be through recruiting, handling the needs of players, managing boosters, eligibility, and even more so now helping juggle name, image, and likeness opportunities along with revenue sharing. They will rarely see the spotlight and handle the more unglamorous parts of the sport, but are imperative in keeping these multifaceted programs running smoothly.
Southern Miss’ head football coach Charles Huff is no different – except that, unlike most places, his symbolic right-hand and left-hand are a pair of individuals in their mid-20s.
Despite not wearing pads or headsets on Saturdays, 26-year-old Reed Grable and 24-year-old Kate Roll are central to everything Southern Miss football does off the field. Huff entrusted his program to Grable and Roll dating back two years ago at Marshall, but he admits he never fully intended to hire young people.
“I think the game is changing a little,” Huff said. “I can tell by just how you walk through the hallways on what your mentality is and what your focus is. Some people have it, and some people don’t, but Kate and Reed have it. They are going to be rock stars in this profession.”
By just looking at both of them, you might think that Southern Miss is their first-ever job – it’s not. They have worked closely with Huff since his days at Marshall and have a copasetic dynamic.
“They want our program to be successful so they are able to put their egos aside,” Huff said. “That’s hard when you are young. They are growing and see growth.”
ROLL’S RANDOM MESSAGE
Kate Roll is no stranger to the game of football, as her dad, Chris, was the head football coach at Lake Park High School.
She herself was an athlete growing up, but 10 different surgeries due to issues with her spinal cord cut short her basketball and swimming career. Roll’s dad still wanted her to be involved in extracurriculars in high school, which is how she unknowingly began her career in athletics by helping her dad’s football program.
“He said I couldn’t just quit and I had to do something,” Roll said. “So he said come run my program, and I essentially became his DFO (Director of Football Operations).”
During that time, she learned how to work with athletes, tutored them, and interacted with college coaches on a regular basis to help players with their recruitment. Two of her dad’s players went on to play at Michigan State, which helped Roll build a connection with former head coach Mark Dantonio.
“He said if you come to Michigan State, then you can come work for my football program,” Roll said. “This is also when women in sports was kind of starting, and women working in football wasn’t huge yet. He said, ‘This is going to be a really big thing that’s happening. This is something you can do full-time as a job.’ I was planning on being a nurse. It was not something I had thought about.”
After working in recruiting during her undergrad at Michigan State, Roll’s job search led to a random message from Huff on Twitter.
“I don’t know how it happened,” Roll said. “He reached out to me. I didn’t really know anything about Marshall. He followed me on Twitter. I was like, ‘Oh, Dad, is this one of your friends?’ He said no, but you need to follow him back.”
Roll’s role began working in recruiting at Marshall, but she has shifted to being Huff’s direct assistant, which entails helping players with their day-to-day needs.
“She was probably the best hire I’ve ever made from somebody I did not know,” said Huff, who noted he was grateful for her willingness to take a less-than-ideal salary at the time. “I didn’t know her dad at all.
“She came to us and has crushed it. She has an unbelievable temperament for being so young. She’s not easily frazzled. She’s very organized. She communicates well and does a really good job relating to the guys. She’s in charge of the office. I’m just there.”
GRABLE’S ONE CONVERSATION
Reed Gable’s path was different compared to Roll’s.
He played football in high school and eventually got his start in the industry at Florida State as a recruiting intern. From there, he found his way to Wake Forest as a paid intern before finding his way to Marshall as the assistant director of player personnel in 2023.
“I didn’t talk to Coach Huff for like the first six months,” Grable said. “I was trying to learn as much as I could and outwork everybody. At that point, I didn’t have a tight relationship with Coach Huff. Kate was his assistant, so she interacted with him on a daily basis. Our general manager, who was above me, was the one who interacted with him. When the GM left, that's when he and I became close.”
After the 2023 season, Grable’s direct boss accepted another job. Grable had the option to follow him; instead, he used it as an opportunity to move up at Marshall.
“Reed was actually hired as a graphic intern,” Huff said. “He was like half recruiting and half graphics. He would watch the recruiting film that comes in on emails and would go through all of them and make sure he wasn’t missing anybody and was doing graphics since he has a graphic design background. Through that role, he created so much value.”
Grable helped Huff find nearly 40 new players, leading up to the Thundering Herd's Sun Belt Championship. The simple way their recruiting dynamic works is that Huff gives Grable parameters for each position, but Grable sorts through the talent and player skills.
“He had a great idea of what we were looking for,” Huff said. “Reed just took the lead and started taking charge with it. When I got the job, it was like alright, you are the GM. He went from like restrictive earning pay to a full-time salary in a like six months.”
THE DYNAMIC
Roll and Grable quickly built a strong working friendship as they both started at Marshall at the same time.
“We became friends very quickly, especially since we were both new to the area,” Roll said. “He was right next to the printer behind my desk. We would just yell through the wall at each other. After that ’23 season, we got offices.”
“We moved up in the world,” Grable added. “Her and I grew up in that program.”
Given that they both have extensive backgrounds working in recruiting, they are able to help one another and meet the players’ needs.
“She’s the team mom,” Grable said. “Jack (Jacoby) and I do the recruiting evaluation process and get them here on campus. Kate doesn’t work in recruiting, but she helps us. She helps us out with booking travel, getting kids here, and I’ll help Kate out with getting transition stuff.”
For the past six months, the program has been focused on recruiting. However, during the season when operations pick up, the roles will reverse.
“It’s a group effort,” Roll said. “We can see when the other one needs help.
“It’s a cliché, but there is no job too small. All of us have genuine friendships.”
Despite their youth, neither has been intimidated and rather used it to their respective advantage.
“For us, it's not weird,” Roll said. “I’m confident enough in my work and Reed’s work that I don’t feel like I have to prove myself. Not to Huff, but sometimes it’s to other people.
“We get the same respect from the players that they would give to someone who is 10 or 15 years older.”
However, their dynamic and ability to relate to their players have equally created success on the field.
“Most people think we are students,” Grable said. “When I say general manager, people look confused. Being young allows us to be more relatable to the players. The players can come to our office and talk about anything. The more connected that the whole program can be from players to support staff, the more success you’ll have on the field.”
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