A.J. Ricker joined the Mustang staff in January of 2019 as offensive line coach and added Co-Offensive Coordinator duties to his resume in January of 2020.
Year two for the Broyles Award nominee saw a pair of Mustangs named to National Watch Lists in Jaylon Thomas (Outland Trophy) and Alan Ali (Rimington Trophy). Thomas went on to earn All-AAC second-team honors along with Hayden Howerton.
The Mustangs finished the season ranked ninth nationally (1st AAC) in red zone offense (.920), 13th in passing offense (318.0) and 15th in scoring offense (38.6).
In his first season, Ricker helped lead the offense to national rankings of seventh in scoring offense (41.8), ninth in total offense (489.8) and 13th in passing offense (309.0). The Mustangs' highest ranking in those categories the previous season was 27th in passing offense, while neither scoring or total ranked inside the top 50. Overall, SMU ranked 14th in the FBS in sacks allowed (1.31), giving up only 17 on the season.
Ricker came to the Hilltop after serving in the same capacity at Kansas in 2018, and served in an offensive analyst capacity at Oklahoma State in 2017 and Houston in 2016.
While at OSU, the Cowboys posted the nation’s top passing offense with 389.2 yards per game, and ranked second nationally in total offense (568.9). In 2016, Houston ranked 17th in passing offense (296.3) and 26th in scoring offense (35.6).
He spent two seasons (2014-15) coaching the offensive line at his alma mater, Missouri, helping the Tigers to an SEC Eastern Division Title in 2014. Mizzou registered 5,138 yards of total offense that season, including 2,648 passing yards and 2,490 on the ground.
While at Mizzou, Ricker mentored 2015 NFL Draft pick Mitch Morse, who was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round. He also guided Even Boehm to a fourth-round selection by the Arizona Cardinals in 2016.
Prior to his time at Mizzou, Ricker served as a graduate assistant at Western Michigan during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, before going on to coach in a full-time assistant role with the offensive line in 2008.
He served in the same capacity at St. Joseph’s College (Ind.) in 2009 and was promoted to head coach in 2010. Ricker then returned to Western Michigan (2011-12) to serve as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. In 2013, he was the offensive line coach at Illinois.
Ricker was an all-conference center at Missouri from 2000-03, and served as a team captain for two seasons. He started a then-program record 47 consecutive games and was part of Mizzou’s first bowl-eligible team since 1998.
He earned a degree in agriculture in 2004 and went on to sign a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears before being allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe in 2005. Ricker retired from playing in 2007 after being a member of the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena League since 2006.
He and his wife, Lauren, have two sons, Andrew and Luke, and one daughter, Carly.
