TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – USF Head Football Coach Jeff Scott is preparing for his third season at the helm of the Bulls program, but will have two new coordinators for 2022.
USF hired Bob Shoop in December to be their Defensive Coordinator/ Safeties coach, replacing Glenn Spencer, who was fired midseason in late November. Then in January, the Bulls hired Travis Trickett to be their Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks Coach, replacing Charlie Weis, Jr., who went to Ole Miss to be the O.C. there.
On Thursday, USF officially introduced Trickett in a press conference with the media.
“I already knew I made the right decision,” Trickett said. “But when I came to the first team meeting and saw the coaches interact with the players and the players with genuine excitement and the relationship aspect– because it’s all about relationships nowadays. To be a part of that and to know that that’s the environment that I want to be in, both on the field and off the field, it was a home run, no-brainer.”
Trickett comes to Tampa from West Virginia University where he was the receivers and tight ends coach. He’s had three college offensive coordinator positions previously in his career.
“The one thing that I do 100% believe in is ‘Jimmys and Joes, not Xs and Os,” Trickett said. “We talk about allowing your players to play fast but also get your players the ball in what aspect. You identify what they do best, how they do it and then highlight that.”
“His experience, if you go back and look at his resume,” Scott said. “He was the offensive coordinator at an early age at Samford and was running a very similar offense and system to what we do here. Then after that, he went to FAU and was calling the offense there, then at Georgia State there for the first two years calling the offense so he has seven years of experience of calling plays in a very similar system and scheme.”
Trickett finds himself stepping into a good situation, with an offense that is returning 10 starters, including their leading passer in Timmy McClain, leading rusher in Jaren Mangham and leading receiver in Xavier Weaver. The Bulls are also bringing back all of their starting offensive linemen.
Now the on-field work begins with the new coordinators and their players, with spring practices beginning on Tuesday, March 1. They will have 15 total practices leading-up to their spring game on Saturday, April 9.
