What Will Muschamp Must Do To Win The SEC Recruiting Battle
For South Carolina to make the leap to upper echelon status amongst the SEC elite, another level of recruiting must also be reached. The Peach State holds a unique opportunity for South Carolina Head Coach Will Muschamp and the program overall, beginning with Atlanta’s SouthSide.
Despite being the current Gamecocks’ head coach, the Rome Ga. native played for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1991-1994, so he knows how to recruit in the state of Georgia as well as other programs that hit Georgia hard jockeying for the same talent.
During his four years at South Carolina, Muschamp and his staff have done well recruiting in the state of Georgia for the Gamecocks, securing a grand total of 21 Peach State prospects and getting letters of intent from each.
So, what can Muschamp and his assistant coaches do to take the final big step? Two primary points come to mind.
First, the Gamecocks need to continue winning the recruiting battle for top talent coveted by the who’s who list of college football programs. They did that this year by signing five-star recruit Jordan Burch out of Hammond High in South Carolina, next Muschamp must pull it off in the state of Georgia.
Sustained recruiting wins would send a message to recruits throughout Georgia that South Carolina is a force to be reckoned with. Elite recruiting would lead to even more scores down the line. When saying ‘top recruit’ here’s what it actually means.
That top 50 recruit that’s coveted by ‘Bama, LSU, UGA and the like. Could the South Carolina coaching staff pull it off? Absolutely.
Recruiting begins with connections to high school football programs and coaches, and Muschamp holds those connections throughout the state of Georgia, as noted above. Second, Georgia needs to zero in on players that fit South Carolina’s style of play, offensively and defensively.
Because Coach Muschamp earned the reputation as a top defensive coach, it’s very possible that a premier Georgia prospect could come from the defensive side of the ball, but there’s also another angle.
Running back.
South Carolina does a really good job playing power football as seen late in the fourth quarter versus Georgia last fall. After signing elite running back Marshawn Lloyd within the class of 2020, adding another elite running back in the 2021 and/or 2022 class would not be a surprise. It’s what South Carolina does well, so why not?
The state of Georgia continually produces top running backs, and there’s plenty of talent for several programs to land.