ULM Warhawks

Alan Ricard, a three-year letterman at ULM from 1996-98 who later spent six years in the National Football League, begins his third season as running backs coach at his alma mater.
 
In 2017, Derrick Gore and Ben Luckett rushed for a combined 916 yards and 11 touchdowns as the Warhawks finished fourth in the Sun Belt in rushing, averaging 170.3 yards per game. ULM’s 27 rushing TDs tied for second in the league.
 
Ricard also utilized a tailback by-committee approach in 2016, as Luckett, Thomas Koufie, Duke Carter and Austin Vaughn accounted for 1,425 rushing yards and 17 rushing TDs. ULM ranked third in the conference in rushing, averaging 181.3 yards per game.
 
A native of Amite, Louisiana, Ricard returned to ULM following one year as the running backs coach at Nicholls State. He coached against his alma mater in Game 2 of the 2015 season.
 
Ricard spent the 2014 season as the running backs coach for The Apprentice School, an NCAA Division III program in Newport News, Virginia.
 
Prior to the 2014 campaign, he completed a summer internship program with the NFL’s New York Jets.
 
Ricard launched his coaching career as a student assistant in 2013 when he returned to Monroe, Louisiana, to complete his bachelor’s in criminal justice.
 
Following his retirement from the NFL, Ricard spent two years with the Comcast Sports Network in Baltimore, Maryland, where he broke down match-ups for upcoming pro games and provided halftime and postgame analysis.
 
Ricard spent six seasons with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens (2000-06). He started 32 of 55 career games and was a member of Super Bowl XXXV Champions. Ricard scored two rushing TDs and recovered a fumble for a score in 2002. In 2003, he started 13 of 16 games as the punishing lead-blocker for 2,000-yard rusher Jamal Lewis and was named as an alternate for the AFC Pro Bowl team. Ricard also returned a fumble 50 yards for a TD in 2003.
 
A three-year letterman as a fullback for Coach Ed Zaunbrecher at ULM, Ricard rushed for 755 career yards and 11 career TDs. As a senior in 1998, he led the Warhawks in rushing with 383 yards and seven scores.