The West Virginia Mountaineers will be seeing one offensive assistant wrap up their tenure after just one season in Morgantown, while another is officially set to begin his.
On Monday, EerSports reported that WVU football is not expected to bring current offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. back for the 2026 season, while the program officially announced the hiring of Jay Boulware as the new running backs coach.
UPDATES: Trickett to coach the offensive line and Boulware hire made official. https://t.co/XRxFB0osRd
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) December 29, 2025
WVU Football Announces Hiring of New RB Coach Jay Boulwarehttps://t.co/UMq6BbcjDa pic.twitter.com/ef5yJKFcXJ
— West Virginia Sports Now (@WVSportsNow) December 29, 2025
The news regarding the future of Bicknell Jr. comes just one day after reports indicated that the Mountaineers are expected to hire veteran offensive line coach and former WVU assistant Rick Trickett to the program's staff. EerSports confirmed that Trickett will inherit the offensive line coach role. This move comes after the team's offensive line was called out for their poor play by head coach Rich Rodriguez multiple times this past season and the offense faced significant struggles all season long. Trickett coached with Rodriguez at WVU from 2001-2006 and at Jacksonville State from 2022-2024 in the same role.
Boulware, meanwhile, will replace Larry Porter in the role, who was hired by the Auburn Tigers to join Alex Golesh's new staff. Boulware joins the Mountaineers after serving in the same role at Kentucky over the past three years. He is a 29-year coaching veteran with over a decade's experience in the Big 12.
"Jay Boulware brings years of successful experience as a highly respected coach and recruiter," Rodriguez said on the hire. "His knowledge of the Big 12 Conference and ability to recruit high-level players and develop running backs make him a great addition to our program. I look forward to having him join our staff here at WVU."