John Ritcher is in his first season as the New York Giants' director of college scouting.
The 2026 season marks his 15th NFL season. He spent the previous eight seasons (2018-25) serving in several roles with the Houston Texans.
In Houston, Ritcher most recently served as the co-director of college scouting (2023-25), where he worked closely with executive vice president and general manager Nick Caserio and assistant general managers James Liipfert and Chris Blanco evaluating players and building the team's draft board. Ritcher's tenure in Houston began in 2018 as a southeast scout, followed by a four-year stint (2019-22) as the east national scout.
Prior to his time in Houston, Ritcher spent six seasons (2012-17) with the Arizona Cardinals. He initially served as a northeast scout from 2012-13 before working as a southeast scout from 2014-17.
Ritcher earned his first scouting role in the NFL in 2011 with the Miami Dolphins as a scouting assistant. While in Miami, he overlapped with two current Giants front office members: Joe Schoen, then a national scout, and Dawn Aponte, who was the Dolphins' senior vice president of football operations at the time.
Before beginning his NFL career, Ritcher worked at Florida State from 2008-10 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach under Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher. He also assisted with the tight ends group and earned a master's degree with a concentration in sports management in 2010.
Prior to his time at Florida State, Ritcher played one season (2007) as a fullback and linebacker for the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League.
Ritcher attended North Carolina State from 2001-05, where he earned a degree in zoology while playing football. He appeared in 40 career games for the Wolfpack and totaled 21 receptions for 189 yards and one touchdown.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Ritcher was raised in Raleigh, N.C. He and his wife, Ashley, have three children: sons James and Jack, and daughter Sophia.
