Muschamp's new coaching staff get their feet wet during first spring practice
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp had a particularly busy off-season as he made a number of hires and changes to his coaching staff.
That finalized staff had the opportunity to hit the field for the first time with the players Wednesday morning and got to work immediately as they have limited time to get acclimated.
Here’s another look at the 2020 coaching assignments:
*Bobby Bentley- Running Backs Coach
*Mike Bobo- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
*Joe Cox -Tight Ends Coach
*Kyle Krantz -Special Teams Coordinator/Assistant Defensive Backs Coach
*Bryan McClendon -Wide Receivers Coach
*Mike Peterson- Outside Linebackers Coach
*Travaris Robinson -Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach
*Tracy Rocker- Defensive Line Coach
*Rod Wilson- Linebackers Coach
*Eric Wolford -Offensive Line Coach
Before the first official practice, Muschamp spoke about the finalized staff during a press conference and said he’s pleased with how things are going so far.
“With the staff, always look at staff change as an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to improve and get better,” he said. “And I think we have in a lot of areas.”
Many of the coaches on staff have a history with one another, thus making the transition easier. Muschamp spoke on several on all of the new hires during that Tuesday.
“Joe Cox, you see why Mike [Bobo] was adamant about having Joe here. Very bright, very intelligent, a really good teacher, does a great job with our players, really a good evaluator as far as recruiting is concerned, does a nice job on the recruiting front,” Muschamp said. “So I think he will be a very valuable member of our staff moving forward. And if we continue to evaluate our staff looking at things, moving Bobby back to running backs, Wolf obviously is coaching offensive line, and Bryan McClendon coaching receivers.”
The defensive hires bring a wealth of experience both at the collegiate and pro level and Muschamp said their perspective is valued as they evaluate trends and figure out the best way to use their player personnel.
“Defensively, I've been trying to hire Tracy Rocker before and finally was able to do it this time, but a guy that understands how we play,” Muschamp said. “And we've got a certain teaching progression, but he's kind of grown up in our system and understands how we want to coach, whether it's two-gap, whether it's one-gap, and how we want to play blocks up front. So it's really good to have him on staff, and his experience for our staff and for our players is huge in the front seven. And he's done an outstanding job in everywhere he's been as far as developing players, and that's what it's all about. Rod Wilson, a guy that I'm excited about, a former Gamecock, former team captain, Super Bowl champion. I actually interviewed Rod our first year and was extremely impressed with him."
Make sure to follow @chauntelpowell on Twitter for updates throughout the season.