The One Sneaky Good Move Rich Rod Made This Offseason Isn't Being Talked About Enough

One of the biggest moves the West Virginia Mountaineers made this offseason was the hiring of offensive line coach Rick Trickett. He's widely considered to be one of the best o-line coaches in the game and has had an incredible amount of success throughout his career, especially when he teams up with Rich Rodriguez.

The second-biggest non-roster move? The hiring of his son, Chance, as the Director of Player Evaluation.

Chance comes to WVU after spending nearly a decade in the Los Angeles Rams organization as an area scout.

According to his job description with the Rams, Chance, "led comprehensive player evaluations integrating film, analytics, verified measurables, and psychological/cognitive components to support draft board construction and roster strategy decisions. He also produced in-depth positional value assessments and roster impact reports for multi-year draft planning and contract strategy. He developed internal valuation reports and roster strategy that models and mirrors current NIL/college market structures. He also integrated advanced scouting technology to enhance accuracy in player projection and long-term roster planning."

WVU already has a GM in place in Chuck Lillie, but the more the Mountaineers are able to replicate the look of an NFL front office, the better off they will be.

With money being such a big piece of roster construction nowadays, you have to have folks who can place a true value on players and understand where said players are in their development. You can't afford (pun intended) to have a high miss rate in recruiting because now, you'll really pay the price (sorry, I couldn't help myself).

Before, if you had half a recruiting class that did not pan out, then it would just put more pressure on the next group coming in. Now, you not only have increased pressure, but you have burned money. Fortunately for WVU, they should rarely get in a position where they overpay for a player, primarily because they have set amounts for what the starter, the backup, the third-string guy, and so on make at each position.

If you go back and look at how well the Rams have drafted over the years, it shows you just how insanely good their scouting department is. They hit on some big-time players, many of whom are taken on the second and third day of the draft, such as RB Blake Corum, LB Byron Young, DL Kobie Turner, WR Puka Nacua, DB Cobie Durant, LB Ernest Jones, and many others. Considering WVU isn't going to be plucking from the top tier of recruits, they need to have the ability to find those hidden gems, and Chance Trickett can help with that.

“I hired Chance because I wanted some NFL scouting experience. He’s done it for twelve years. How they go about scouting and evaluating prospects and all that, because we’re not just evaluating high school guys, we’re evaluating guys that got in the portal and all that. Chance’s experience has already helped. We revamped how we evaluate and how we grade guys.”

Before his time with the Rams, Trickett served on the staff at Louisiana Tech and Florida State.