NEXT UP
Maryland running back Dejuan Williams is in for a big year under Pig Master Trickett.
I want you to put the word out there that we back up.
- Stringer, the Wire
It was a sad day in college football when well known degenerate and KDPF license holder, Clint “Pig Master” Trickett, accepted the QBs coach job at Arkansas, thereby removing himself from the play calling ranks of CFB. He had previously been serving as the OC at Jacksonville State (which is located in Alabama, by the way).
Indeed, a collective cry from pigs all over planet Earth could be heard far and wide when the announcement was made public. But thankfully, cooler heads prevailed when Maryland offered their OC job to the newly hired Trickett, who wasted no time in accepting the position.
As a refresher for the audience, in case you’re new here, or just forgot, but this crazy bastard we know as Clint Trickett has a trail of volume pigs everywhere he’s been. Now, to be fair, that list of stops is not lengthy. He was the OC at Marshall for two seasons, and then this past year at Jacksonville State.
So while he is batting 100% in this denomination, the sample remains small. He technically has another year in his inventory as he spent 2020 co-OCing FAU. The problem with that is that since he was the co-OC, it’s hard to know retroactively how much influence he really had on shaping the offence. For the reader’s context—that backfield was a committee.
Maryland as a program has not had an elite CFF asset at RB in quite some time. In fact, the last time the Terps had a 1000-yard rusher was in 2018, remarkably coming from a RB who only saw 131(!) carries. How the hell did that happen? That must be close to a record for fewest carries taken to produce 1000 yards.
And you won’t believe this stat but it’s true: Maryland hasn’t had a 200+ carry runner since 2008! Disgraceful behaviour in my opinion and I told Coach Locksley as much in my year-end address to all FBS coaches. You see, I send a letter to each at the end of the season, and let’s just say the one sent to Maryland was NOT full of holiday cheer.
Clearly it hit home with Coach as he immediately pivoted to steal Pig Master Trickett away from Arkansas at the last minute. A good move in my opinion—his talents would have been wasted as a QBs coach.
COACHING & SYSTEM: PIG MASTER TRICKETT
RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 13 — OC: 20
I vaguely remember watching Trickett on the Netflix show “Last Chance U” several years ago. He was (unsuccessfully) attempting to resuscitate FSU drop out Malik Henry’s stock at the JuCo Independence Community College in Kansas.
Trickett was a former QB himself, who actually played at FSU as well, but is better known from his time at WVU as far as I know. He was eventually forced to retire from playing the sport entirely after sustaining five concussions in a 14-month span.
So I suppose it’s no wonder then that he has little reservation about handing the ball off to his lead back 300+ times in a collegiate football season.
Over his three seasons spent as the full OC, Trickett’s RB1 averaged 1437 yards and 15.7 rushing TDs.
During the two seasons that Trickett OC’d Marshall, the RB1 saw 50 and 47% team carry share, in other words, half or nearly half of all carries were funnelled through one runner. Delicious.
I don’t have the exact carry share number for Jacksonville State this past season, but it’s safe to assume it was the same if not higher.
The highest carry share at Maryland under Locksley was 40% in 2022, when Roman Hemby averaged 14 carries per game and around 16 PPR PPG. Outside of that, most of his runners see 30% or less of the team carry share.
Furthermore, while Locksley has averaged a near 50/50 split in offensive play calling, Trickett averages closer to a 57% run rate. Both coaches average a quick offensive play rate at 24-25 seconds per play.
DeJuan Williams (5’11, 215)
2025 RUSHING STATS: 128-501-3 (13.3 PPG)
While I've included only Williams’ rushing stats above for consistent formatting with previous articles, a lot of his value last year came via the air. I must admit that I was really not expecting this: he almost had more receiving yards than rushing in 2025.
Yes, it’s true. Williams caught 45 of 65(!) targets for 426 yards and another score. That’s astronomical receiving usage for a RB, especially in a non-Mike Leach/Air-Raid offence.
And he really doesn’t look like the type, am I right? He has the appearance of a rugged, bruising back who is a sledgehammer between the tackles à la Mo Ibrahim from a few years ago.
But it turns out our man also has a pair of soft hands and a knack for getting open on scramble drills:
We love to see it.
Williams is a local kid who grew up in Baltimore and was rated as a four star prospect by 247 Sports. He was a member of the powerhouse program St. Francis Academy and held multiple P4 offers including from Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.
In terms of how the marriage between Willians and Trickett may play out, it’s true that Trickett’s RB1s are typically workhorses on the ground, but two out of his three backs have also finished with over 200 receiving yards (Cam Cook had 286 in 2025).
So, suffice it to say that there should be no concern there, and frankly, it would be odd behaviour for Trickett not to utilize Williams in such a fashion after what he demonstrated in 2025.
And while Maryland may end up being a poor performing club once again in 2026, receiving usage from a RB helps make him match-up proof.
It also helps our confidence in Williams that he is returning as Maryland’s RB1 from a season ago. That isn’t a guarantee that he will start again, of course, but it is a good indicator.
He apparently won one of Maryland’s spring ball awards according to a 247 Sports article:
DeJuan Williams took home the Ernest Torain Offensive Back Award. He's expected to return to the starting lineup at running back, with USC transfer Harry Dalton also heavily involved.
Though I will say that personally, I was hoping to read some more glowing reports regarding how Williams looks this offseason. For example, here is one thing a writer at 247 Sports said:
Running back remains status quo. Maryland might not have a star there, but Dejuan Williams and USC transfer Harry Dalton could be a solid 1-2 punch if the offensive line improves its run blocking. Williams took an option 70 yards to the endzone during one recent practice.
I feel like my enthusiasm for Williams based on his profile and what the writers are reporting are completely mismatched. I mean this guy had nearly 1000 total yards last year in a bad offence. No star here? NO STAR??
Alright. I get that the offensive line is a problem spot that will present some challenges to Williams’ CFF profile, but the astronomical receiving usage sort of offsets this, and assuming he receives more carries (128 in 13 games is frankly unacceptable and I would be shocked if the Pig Master let’s that happen again), there should be a budding star here (yes I’m going to say it even if these Terp writers won’t).
I’m also a fan of Harry Dalton, and I suspect that asshole Mike Locksley will make sure to temper Trickett’s preference for funnelling almost every carry to Williams. So, I don’t doubt that a healthier split between the top two running backs is coming relative to what we’ve become accustomed to with Trickett. Even still, there’s a lot of room for growth here. Just get me to 170-180 carries with another 45-50 receptions (plus a couple more tuddies) and we’re cooking.
Williams is not quite in the range that I saw Trickett’s former RB1, Cam Cook, being taken late in the offseason last year, but he seems to keep climbing. His last recorded ADP is from April, and is being selected in the eight/ninth round range according to Campus2Canton.
That feels fair but I fear he will continue to be selected earlier and earlier as the offseason progresses. I think the main risk factors are: Mike Locksley, bad offence (especially the OL), and I suppose Harry Dalton (USC transfer) who people around the program seem to like. ◾
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