Rich Rodriguez Announces Hiring of Rick Trickett to Lead WVU Offensive Line

Monday evening, West Virginia University football coach Rich Rodriguez announced the hiring of Rick Trickett as the Mountaineers’ offensive line coach.

“Rick and I have been in the trenches together for many years, and he knows our offense very well and what we need to do to be successful,” Rodriguez said. “The experience he brings to our program will be invaluable, and I know that returning to his home state and WVU was an important factor for him.”

Trickett brings 52 years of coaching experience and returns to Morgantown for his third stint with the program (1976–79, 2001–06). This also marks his third time coaching alongside Rodriguez, after previous stops together at West Virginia (2001–06) and Jacksonville State (2022–24).

Trickett rejoins the Mountaineers after spending the past four seasons at Jacksonville State as assistant head coach and offensive line coach. During that stretch, six of his linemen earned all-conference honors, and he played a key role in the Gamecocks’ transition from the FCS to the FBS level. Jacksonville State won the ASUN Championship in its first season, then became the first FBS program to earn and win a bowl game in its inaugural year in Conference USA. The Gamecocks captured the 2024 league title and appeared in three consecutive bowl games, including a 17–13 victory in the 2025 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl.

Under Trickett’s guidance, the Jacksonville State offense consistently ranked among the nation’s best. The Gamecocks finished No. 5 nationally in rushing in 2022 and posted the country’s No. 10 scoring offense. In 2023, the team averaged 236.6 rushing yards per game. The 2024 squad ranked No. 3 nationally in rushing at 251.2 yards per contest and No. 11 in scoring, while the 2025 team averaged 246.7 rushing yards per game, finishing No. 5 nationally.

From 2007–17, Trickett served as assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Florida State, helping pave the way for some of the nation’s most prolific offenses. The Seminoles’ 2013 national championship team finished 14–0 and set school, ACC and national records in scoring, total offense and touchdowns. Between 2009 and 2016, Trickett coached six of the eight winners of the ACC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy, including four consecutive honorees from 2013–16.

In 2015, despite returning just one starter and juggling injuries that required six different lineups and nine different players, Trickett’s offensive line helped All-American Dalvin Cook set Florida State single-season records for rushing and total yards.

During his earlier tenure at West Virginia, Trickett helped the Mountaineers win at least eight games in five consecutive seasons (2002–06), highlighted by 11-win campaigns in 2005 and 2006 and top-10 national finishes. WVU ranked among the nation’s top 15 rushing offenses throughout that span, including three top-five finishes. In 2006, the Mountaineers were No. 2 nationally in rushing, third in scoring and fifth in total offense.

Trickett’s extensive résumé includes offensive line coaching stops at West Virginia, Southern Illinois, Southern Miss, New Mexico, Memphis, Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU and Florida State, as well as Glenville State—his alma mater—where he also served as head coach in 1999. He began his coaching career at Glenville State in 1973 and has held assistant head coach roles at LSU, West Virginia, Florida State and Glenville State.

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