Troy University Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2019
A quick glance at the Troy defensive record book and one thing stands out like a sore thumb, Garrick Pimienta was a tackling machine for the Trojans.
“All the great linebackers have a great combination of speed and strength which we call power,” Troy University Sports Hall of Fame head coach Rick Rhoades said. “Garrick was a very powerful guy and we he hit you, you went backwards. He had tremendous instinct and just a nose for the football.”
Troy’s all-time leading tackler, Garrick Pimienta was a three-time All-Gulf South selection and was a key member of the Trojans’ 1987 NCAA Division II National Championship team. A native of Brandon, Florida, Pimienta finished his Troy career with 563 career tackles, 98 more than anyone else in school history.
What stood out most about Pimienta might not have been the numbers he put up, but his actions both on and off the field.
“He was a great player and just let his statistics speak for himself,” Rhoades said. “He was a very quiet guy off the field and unassuming. But on the field, he was always around the ball. I never had to coach effort with Garrick, he brought that to every practice and every game on his own.”
Known as a big hitter on the Troy defense, Pimienta also holds the school’s career record for unassisted tackles (307) and assisted tackles (256). A four-year starter for the Trojans, Pimienta’s 198 tackles during Troy’s national title season still hold true as the single-season record – 43 more than any other player – and his 102 unassisted tackles and 96 assisted tackles that season are also school records.
“There are very few secrets as to why we won so many games and the national title when you see the guys that are in the Hall of Fame that were on those teams,” Rhoades said. “The story of Garrick was that he was very consistent day in and day out. I cannot remember a bad snap he ever took. He’s the guy that when you set the bar as high as possible and he keeps bumping his head on the bar no matter how high it was.”
The Trojans won 32 games over his four seasons as a starter including a pair of Gulf South Conference titles and a berth in the NCAA Division II Semifinals in 1986. His junior season also stood the test of time with his 131 tackles that season ranking as the eighth most in Troy history.
“Garrick was one of those guys where a few words said a lot,” Rhoades said. “He was not a speech giver, but when he talked you listened. He was able to get his message across with his actions and they spoke volumes.”
Following graduation, Pimienta went into teaching with a desire to help inner-city youth. He has been named teacher of the year 10 times in his 19-year teaching career and is currently an exceptional student education specialist in the public school system.
“Great teachers are experts in their subject and they have a sincere interest in people,” Rhoades said. “You could tell that Garrick cared a lot about his teammates and that was an extension of the type of person he is. He was always a ‘we’ guy, he wanted to serve people all the time. Garrick is just a wonderful person and that was something that he had a long time before he got to Troy.”
