Rick Trickett served at the offensive line coach at Auburn University from
1993-1998. His first year at Auburn was the 1993 season in which Auburn was the
lone undefeated team in the country at 11-0. Auburn followed up this season with
a 9-0-1 run in 1994.
Trickett had two of Auburn's finest on those offensive lines including Wayne Gandy and Willie Anderson. The latter started as a true freshman and left for
the NFL after only three seasons at Auburn.
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Willie Anderson
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It was starting with the 1996 season that detailed statistics became more
readily available, and we'll start breaking down the numbers there.
In the 1996 season Auburn managed to rush for 1,686 yards on 437 attempts (3.9
average). Auburn also gave up 32 sacks that year losing a total of 223 yards. This
was on 348 pass attempts.
The 1997 team saw some improvement from a pass protection stand point but a set
back for the running game. The offense managed to put up just 886 yards rushing
on the year. The backs only averaged 2.4 yards per carry on 365 carries. The pass protection got a little boost giving up only 24 sacks
for 196 yards of loss. This was on a total of 406 attempts. So Auburn's offense
as a whole generally suffered from lack of performance for the entire 1997
campaign.
The 1998 season saw continued improvement in the pass protection arena
and a slight bump in the running game performance as well. The team managed to
rush for 1,032 yards on 403 carries giving them a 2.6 yards per carry average. The pass protection lowered their sack
number again to 22 for a total loss of 171 yards. This was while throwing for
312 attempts.
The 1999 seasons saw Trickett take over the head coaching job at Glenville
State before being hired by LSU in 2000.
He had a great season
with the 2000 staff and was joined with offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher while
there. Trickett's offensive line managed to assist the running backs to putting
up very respectable all around numbers. LSU rushed for 1,442 yards on 393
carries (3.7 ypc). The
most impressive numbers for Trickett during his LSU stint were his pass
protection stats. LSU gave up only 9 sacks for a total loss of 53 yards on the
season. This was while throwing the ball 353 times.
Trickett joined the West Virginia staff for the beginning of the 2001 season.
This is where he would remain until he was hired by FSU for the upcoming 2007
season. In 2001, the Mountaineers churned out 1,992 rushing yards on 475
attempts (4.3 ypc). The offensive line gave up 27 sacks on 357 passing attempts
for a total loss of 187 yards.
In 2002, the team managed to average 5.2 yards a carry on a whopping 662
carries. They totaled an amazing 3,443 yards on the season. That is just a
staggering offensive output on the ground. Especially when it's taken into
consideration that West Virginia also threw the ball 259 times that year. The offensive line
gave up 16 sacks on the year. They totaled only 125 yards of loss on those sacks.
Trickett's 2003 season saw another strong push on the rushing side of the
offense. The mountaineers rushed the ball 571 times for 2,607 total yards (4.6
ypc). They also improved their overall pass protection again allowing
only 12 sacks for a total of 76 yards loss. They attempted 233 passes on the
season.
In 2004, Trickett's offensive line again managed to provide the running backs
the holes needed to push the average yards per carry over five. The team rushed for
2,781 yards on 542 attempts (5.1 ypc). The pass protection took a slight step backwards allowing 27 sacks for
the 2004 season. This resulted in 187 total yards lost. They put the ball
in the air 229 times for the season.
Trickett saw a massive work load placed on his offensive line once again in
2005. The team attempted 625 rushes and still managed to maintain a 5.2 yard per
carry average. They racked up 3,269 yards on the season. The pass protection suffered a slight backslide.
The line allowed 29 sacks for a total loss of 194 yards.
This was only on 193 pass attempts however.
In 2006, Trickett's Mountaineer rushing attack really put the
hammer down on opposing defenses. The Mountaineers rushed for a whopping 3,939
yards on 590 attempts (6.7 ypc). They maintained a shocking 6.7 yards per carry over the
season. The pass
protection again continued a slight slide with all the rushing being done and
allowed 31 sacks for a loss of 216 yards. This was on 233 attempts.
By comparison, Florida State's rushing attack for the 2006 season totaled 1,255
yards on 363 attempts (3.5 ypc). The 2006 season showed a slight improvement
over a 2005 season that saw the Seminoles rush for only 1,222 yards on 376
carries (3.2 ypc). Lorenzo Booker was the leading rusher in both seasons with
and 552 and 615 yards respectively.
Quarterback Patrick White of West Virginia rushed for 1,219 yards last year
alone.
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Patrick White
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Trickett has had good success of developing players for the next level
including four first round picks. Listed below are the players that Trickett has
helped coach to the NFL.
1994 Round 1 Pick 15 Wayne Gandy T LA Rams Auburn
Round 5 Pick 139 Anthony Redmon G Arizona Auburn
1996 Round 1 Pick 10 Willie Anderson T Cincinnati Auburn
1998 Round 1 Pick 27 Victor Riley T KC Auburn
2001 Round 1 Kendall Simmons G Pittsburgh Auburn
Round 6 Pick 164 Brandon Winey T Miami LSU
Round 7 Pick 211 Louis Williams C Carolina LSU
2003 Round 4 Pick 130 Lance Nimmo T Tampa West Virginia
While West Virginia runs a different style of offense than Florida State, the
astronomical rushing performances put up by the Mountaineers the past two
seasons bode well for a Florida State team that struggled to move the ball on
the ground the past two seasons.
Trickett and Fischer made an excellent team at LSU, and the pair will find
similar talent in Tallahassee that they worked with in Baton Rouge.
Trickett and his offensive linemen have their work cut out for them, but
Trickett's track record shows that the Seminoles should see an immediate boost
in performance this season.
Rick Trickett Bio:
Years as a Collegiate Coach: 34
Born: Masontown, WV
Family: Married to Tara and has three sons, Travis (quarterbacks graduate<
assistant at Alabama), Chance (college sophomore) and Clint (high school
sophomore quarterback at North Florida Christian)
Coaching Stops:
1973 -- Glenville (linebackers coach)
1974-75 -- Indiana, PA (linebackers coach)
1976-77 -- West Virginia (defensive line coach)
1978-79 -- West Virginia (offensive line coach)
1980-81 -- Southern Illinois (offensive line coach)
1982-85 -- Southern Mississippi (offensive line coach)
1985 -- New Mexico (offensive line coach)
1986-88 -- Memphis (offensive line coach)
1989-92 -- Mississippi State (offensive line coach)
1993-98 -- Auburn (offensive line coach)
1999 -- Glenville State (head coach)
2000 -- LSU (assistant head coach/offensive line coach)
2001-06 -- West Virginia (assistant head coach/offensive line coach)
• One of the most respected offensive line coaches in the country, Trickett
is in his first season with the Seminoles
• 2006 Broyles Award nominee
• Behind his offensive lines, West Virginia had three top five rushing
offenses and five top 15 rushing offenses in the last five seasons
• After just one season on the job with the Mountaineers, the West Virginia
running game went from 35th in the nation in 2001 to second in the country in
2002 behind
• In 2006 as the offensive line coach at West Virginia, the Mountaineers were
second in the nation in rushing, third in scoring offense and fifth in total
offense. Only two other schools in the last 10 years have finished in the top
five of each of those categories
• Coached four players drafted in the first round in a six-year span at Auburn
• More than 20 of Trickett's former players have gone on to play in the NFL
• Has coached six All-American offensive linemen in his career
• Thirty players have won all-conference honors under Trickett
• Four of five of his offensive linemen made all-conference at West Virginia
the last two years
• Has mentored 13 players that have been named either first or second team
freshmen All-Americans
• In one season at LSU Trickett coached three all-SEC linemen
• Received a master's degree from Indiana (Pa.) in 1975
• Was an all-conference strong safety at Glenville
• Trickett is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran
TRICKETT'S #1 PICKS
Victor Riley (Chiefs No. 1 Draft Choice in 1998)
Willie Anderson (Bengals No. 1 Draft Choice in 1996)
Wayne Gandy (Rams No. 1 Draft Choice in 1994)
Kendall Simmons (Steelers No. 1 Draft Choice in 2001)