Former offensive coordinator at FAU, Georgia State and Samford comes to USF after three-year stint as inside receivers and tight ends coach at West Virginia
TAMPA, JAN. 14, 2022 – Jeff Scott has solidified new coordinators on both sides of the ball, today naming Travis Trickett as the Bulls’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and welcoming the former FAU offensive coordinator back to the state of Florida following a three-year stint at West Virginia.
Trickett, who has worked on staffs with notable coaches such as Bobby Bowden, Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban and Rich Rodriquez, has served seven previous seasons as an offensive coordinator at Georgia State (2017-18), Florida Atlantic (2016) and Samford (2012-15) and comes to USF after serving three seasons on Neal Brown’s staff at his alma mater West Virginia (2019-21). Ranked in 2021 among the top 10 recruiters in the Big 12 by 247Sports and one of just two outside of the Texas and Oklahoma staffs, Trickett has been particularly effective in landing highly regarded recruits from the Miami area.
“I am very excited to welcome Travis back to Florida and to our USF Family,” Scott said. “His experience and expertise in several offenses and schemes that are similar to what we have previously run will make for a fluid transition for our players and staff and allow us to quickly build on the foundation we have laid. Travis comes from a football family and I look forward to adding his passion and sharp mind to our staff, and he will continue to elevate our quarterback play and maximize the potential of an offensive unit with 10 starters returning and some talented additions coming in.”
Trickett spent three seasons on the West Virginia coaching staff as the inside receivers and tight ends coach. In 2021, inside wide receiver Winston Wright Jr. earned Big 12 All-conference honors for the second straight year, adding honorable-mention honors to his 2020 second team selection, as he led the Mountaineers in receiving for the second straight year posting 63 catches for 688 yards and five touchdowns.
In 2020, West Virginia had one of the most improved offenses in the nation in terms of total yards, showing gains of more than 60 yards rushing per game, almost 30 yards passing, more than 90 yards of total offense and almost seven more points a game. Wright Jr. was a second team all-conference selection after leading the Mountaineers with 47 catches for 553 yards and two touchdowns, while tight End Mike O’Laughlin finished with 15 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.
The West Virginia graduate returned home to the Mountaineers in 2019 after previously serving as a student assistant coach at West Virginia from 2003-07. His father, Rick, was a longtime collegiate offensive line coach serving notable stints at West Virginia, Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU and Florida State. His brother Chance is an NFL Scout for the Los Angeles Rams and his younger brother, Clint, was a starting quarterback for WVU during the 2013 and 2014 seasons and is currently an assistant coach at Marshall.
Trickett previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Georgia State for two seasons (2017-18).
In 2018, his quarterback, Dan Ellington, threw only five interceptions in 292 pass attempts to rank No. 2 in the Sun Belt Conference and No. 14 in the nation. Wide receiver Penny Hart, a three-time All-Sun Belt selection, finished his career as the fourth-leading receiver in conference history and was selected to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Offensive lineman Hunter Atkinson also was named to the all-league team.
In 2017, the Panthers finished with a school-record seven wins, marking their first winning season at the FBS level. Trickett’s offense established school records for highest completion percentage and fewest interceptions in a season (9) as well as most total yards in a game (670) and most points against an FBS opponent (47). Quarterback Conner Manning earned All-Sun Belt honors and was the most valuable player in the Panthers’ bowl win over Western Kentucky, the first bowl game victory in school history. Hart led the league with a school-record 74 receptions for 1,121 yards and eight touchdowns.
In 2016, Trickett served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida Atlantic. His offensive unit set FAU season records for rushing yards (2,519), yards per carry (4.8) and rushing touchdowns (31), as well as most yards in a game, while the Owls receiving corps produced seven 100-yard efforts.
Prior to FAU, Trickett served five seasons at Samford, including the last four as the Bulldogs offensive coordinator. He helped Samford record five straight winning seasons, highlighted by a Southern Conference championship and NCAA FCS playoff berth in 2013. He coached 23 all-conference selections in four years as the play-caller.
In 2015, Trickett employed a pair of quarterbacks, and the duo led the nation in completion percentage (69.7 percent) while combining for 3,662 yards and 22 touchdowns passing. The Bulldogs posted a season-high 752 yards against Florida A&M and set school season records for completions (324) and first downs (324).
Samford’s 2014 offense averaged more than 30 points per game while posting the program’s largest margin of victory in a Southern Conference game (45-0 at Furman) and the program’s largest output in a SoCon game (63 points vs. VMI).
In 2013, he mentored record-setting quarterback Andy Summerlin, the conference player of the year, who passed for a school-record 3,640 yards.
Trickett coached the slot receivers and tight ends in his first season at Samford in 2011.
Trickett’s coaching experience also includes graduate assistantships at Florida State and Alabama. He spent three seasons (2008-10) with the Seminoles, working under Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher, and prior to that was an offensive graduate assistant on Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide staff in 2007
During these two stints, he worked with quarterbacks Christian Ponder and E.J. Manuel at FSU and John Parker Wilson and Greg McElroy at Alabama.
Trickett began his coaching career as a student assistant at West Virginia from 2003-07, where he served under coach Rich Rodriguez and worked with record-setting quarterback Pat White.
A native of Hattiesburg, Miss., Trickett earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from West Virginia in 2007 and his master’s degree from Florida State in sports administration in 2009.
Trickett, and his wife, Tiffany, also a WVU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, have three children, Maverick, Camilla and Holden.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and celebrated its 25th season (22nd at the FBS level) in 2021. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 15 All-America selections and 31 first-team all-conference selections, and have seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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