Tracy Rocker facts for kids
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Rocker in 2022
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| Tennessee Titans | |||||
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| Position: | Defensive line coach | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | April 9, 1966 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 288 lb (131 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Fulton (Atlanta) | ||||
| College: | Auburn | ||||
| NFL Draft: | 1989 / Round: 3 / Pick: 66 | ||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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College Football Hall of Fame
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Tracy Quinton Rocker (born April 9, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League (NFL). During his playing days, he was a defensive tackle.
Tracy Rocker played college football for the Auburn Tigers. He was chosen for the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) team three times from 1986 to 1988. After college, he joined the Washington Redskins in the NFL for two seasons (1989–1990). He was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 288 pounds. In his short professional career, he had 3.0 sacks and one fumble recovery in 24 games.
In 1993, Tracy Rocker was named to the Auburn Team of the Century. He was honored in the College Football Hall of Fame in December 2004. A year later, he was also inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Contents
Playing Career
High School Football
Tracy Rocker played high school football in Atlanta, Georgia. He played for coach Willie Hunter at Fulton High School. This school later joined with Walter F. George High School to become South Atlanta High School.
College Football Success
Rocker was an amazing player at Auburn University. He was named an All-American twice. He helped his team win two Southeastern Conference titles. In 1988, he had a fantastic senior year. He was named SEC Player of the Year. He also won the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy. He was the first player in the SEC to win both of these awards in the same year.
He finished his college career with impressive stats. He had 354 tackles, 21 sacks, and 48 tackles for loss.
Professional Football Challenges
Even with his great college success, Tracy Rocker was not picked until the third round of the 1989 NFL draft. Some teams were worried about his knee and how hard he worked. Six games into his first season, Rocker became a starter for the Washington Redskins. This happened because a player named Dave Butz retired and another player, Markus Koch, got hurt.
He showed some good moments and was named to three Rookie of the Year teams. However, in his second year, coaches became concerned about his focus and how he played. He was replaced by another player, Eric Williams.
After only two seasons, the Redskins released Rocker. Other NFL teams were not interested in signing him. He then played one year for the Orlando Thunder in the World League of American Football before ending his playing career.
Coaching Career
After his playing career, Tracy Rocker went back to Auburn University. He finished his college degree in 1992. That same year, he started his coaching career at Auburn High School Tigers. He was the defensive coordinator there for two seasons.
After high school, he coached defensive linemen at West Alabama for three years (1994–1996). Then, he spent five seasons as the defensive line coach at Troy State University. At Troy State, three of his players became Division I-AA All-Americans. One player, Al Lucas, won the Buck Buchanan Award in 1999 as the best defensive player in Division I-AA. Many of his players earned all-conference honors, and five went on to play in the NFL.
Rocker then coached at Cincinnati for one year. He helped the Bearcats win a share of the 2002 Conference USA (C-USA) title. In 2003, he joined Houston Nutt's staff at Arkansas. He coached the defensive line for five years there. In 2006, his defensive line helped Arkansas rank fourth in the SEC for stopping the run. They also led the SEC in tackles for loss. When Houston Nutt moved to Ole Miss in 2008, Rocker joined him there.
In January 2009, Rocker returned to his old college, Auburn University, to coach the defensive line. He helped the Auburn team win the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.
In February 2011, he was hired as the defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans. He had some earlier NFL coaching experience through a special program, working with the Indianapolis Colts in 2001 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006.
In January 2014, Rocker left the Titans and became the defensive line coach for the Georgia Bulldogs. A year later, he was promoted to associate head coach. He left Georgia in February 2017. He then coached the defensive line at the University of Tennessee for two years. In February 2020, Rocker was hired by the University of South Carolina as their defensive line coach.
After the 2020 football season, Rocker left South Carolina and briefly joined the Auburn Tigers again. But in 2021, he returned to the NFL to coach the defensive line for the Philadelphia Eagles.
On February 14, 2024, Tracy Rocker was named the defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans once more.
Players Coached by Tracy Rocker
Throughout his coaching career, Tracy Rocker has helped many defensive linemen improve. At Arkansas, his defensive line helped the team rank high in defense. He coached Jeb Huckeba, who was drafted into the NFL. He also coached Jamaal Anderson, who was a top pass rusher in the SEC in 2006. Anderson was picked eighth overall in the 2007 NFL draft.
At Auburn, Rocker coached Nick Fairley in 2010. Fairley won the Lombardi Award and was named AP All-American. He was also the AP SEC defensive player of the year. Fairley led the SEC in tackles for loss and was second in sacks.
Personal Life
Tracy Rocker grew up in Atlanta. He is married to Lalitha, and they have a son named Kumar Rocker. Kumar is a baseball pitcher who plays for the Texas Rangers.
Tracy also has a younger brother, David. David also played football at Auburn and professionally.
