Wait ‘Til Next Year Nine things Carolina’s next coach needs to do
Senior running back Shon Carson fumbles a punt return against Clemson in Clemson on Nov. 29, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
BY SCOTT HOOD
S
ome time in the first two weeks in December, South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner will call a press conference, stroll to the podium inside The Zone at Williams-Brice Stadium and formally introduce the Gamecocks’ new head football coach. Who will the new coach be? That remains to be seen, and bearing in mind the twists and turns of a typical coaching search, few names should be crossed off the list. As they say, anything and everything can happen. What we do know is that once the time for backslapping and smiles and glad tidings is done, the new head coach must quickly get down to work if the Gamecocks have any realistic hope of improving in 2016. Tanner wants to hire a coach who has exhibited acumen in a number of key areas. “A head coach at a major university has to be multitalented and multifaceted,” Tanner said. “It’s a different position than it was before. Winning games is not enough. Winning is important. But it’s also important that you are a part of the community and have the media
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engagement and have the student-athletes’ best interests at heart. You have to be all those things. It’s not a hat that fits everyone.” That in mind, here are nine things the new coach must accomplish over the next few months. 1. Win The Press Conference At most Power 5 conference schools, particularly those in the SEC, the head football coach is the face of the university. The introductory press conference is always the ticket buying public’s first opportunity to test drive their newly hired hero. How does he talk? How does he walk? What’s his offensive philosophy? Defensive philosophy? Is he the right guy? Eleven years ago, Steve Spurrier galvanized Gamecock Nation with the phrase, “Why not us?” Count the number of sound bites. The more, the better. “I want to find the best person that fits
here at South Carolina that can take us forward and build on the success coach Spurrier has had,” Tanner said. “There are certainly factors I am looking [for]: integrity, passion, experience, identity. Can someone take the program farther than it has ever been? Having been a former coach, I will get a feel if someone will fit in here. We are going to get a highly qualified coach to assume this position going forward.” 2. Recruit, Recruit, Recruit Why does Tanner want to hire a new coach before the calendar reaches midDecember? Easy: recruiting. National Signing Day is the first Wednesday in February, and Tanner wants to give his new guy about two months to get recruiting squared away. The first task, of course, is preventing too many commitments from bailing. New commitments may jump aboard, too. Either way, the new coach will have to rely on his selling skills. Obviously, the Gamecocks urgently require an infusion of talent in order to turn things around in 2016. National Signing Day is just the first step. “Ideally, if it plays out like I would like it to, we would be moving forward no later than early December to give the new coach two months to get into position to maintain the recruits we have and secure some other recruits,” Tanner said.
3. Hire a New Coaching Staff Whenever a new coach is hired, one of the first and most important questions he must confront is which, if any, coaches on the former staff to retain and which to cut loose? If Shawn Elliott doesn’t land the full-time gig — and the new coach doesn’t completely clean house — Elliott could be a candidate to stick around, given the ability he’s shown as interim coach to fire up the Gamecocks’ energy level. Quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus could be another; retaining Mangus could be the key for keeping four-star quarterback prospect Brandon McIlwain in the fold. If Mangus leaves, will McIlwain decommit? Don’t expect any of the defensive coaches to be kept around, though. Jon Hoke, Lorenzo Ward and company will likely start looking for new jobs as soon as the season ends, if they haven’t started already. 4. Convince the Players to Buy In As many old-school coaches — perhaps even Steve Spurrier — have discovered in the past few years, social media-age football players are different in many ways from their predecessors 15 or 20 years ago. They don’t accept (or blindly follow) authority or embrace criticism to the same extent as the players of previous generations did. Whenever a coach orders a player to do something, players question it. They are also far more willing to question the decisions of carolina VS. clemson
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their coaches. Look no farther than Brandon Wilds’ press conference after the Kentucky loss when he basically blamed the defeat on his lack of carries in the red zone. “Where we are today in college sports is a lot different than where we were 15 years ago,” Tanner said. “The days of the stoic head coach who is hardcore has gone by the wayside. The head coach in any sport has to have energy. You don’t necessarily have to be rah-rah, but it’s important the players are engaged and they understand you and you are able to have a relationship and have some fun with it.” 5. Restore the Faith of Gamecock Nation Life was easy when Carolina was winning 11 games for three straight seasons. But the last two seasons have not gone as planned, and they’ve undoubtedly shaken the fan base’s confidence. The Gamecocks have tumbled down the SEC ladder. Carolina fans need a major pick-me-up. They just want to see a well-coached, mentally tough and motivated football team. Will the new coach give them what they want? “The Gamecock fan base creates WilliamsBrice, and it has ever since I’ve grown up coming to football games,” Elliott said. “The energy and the passion people have for Carolina football and Carolina athletics in general is what sets us apart. There are a lot of stadiums across the country and these Carolina fans know how to do it and they know how to do it right.”
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6. Find a Quarterback This is nothing against Perry Orth. His work ethic, toughness and hustle are off the charts. But the redshirt junior is limited physically and has struggled against good defenses this season. (See: Florida.) The Gamecocks have started three different quarterbacks this season, and that’s never a good sign. Injuries, of course, have played a major role, but so has ineffectiveness. Any quarterback battle would dominate spring practice headlines. Beyond that, the new coach must settle on a quarterback and stick with him in order to provide stability. 7. Rebuild the Wide Receiver Corps Pharoh Cooper eclipsed the 50-reception plateau in the loss to Florida. Only one other wide receiver, Matrick Belton, had as many as 10 receptions. It’s a poorly kept secret in Columbia these days that Cooper will declare for the 2016 NFL Draft. Who’s left for next season? Guys like D.J. Neal, Hayden Hurst and Terry Googer have looked good at times, but nobody has put it together on the field for an entire season. Deebo Samuel was expected to make a major contribution this season, but he’s been sidelined for most of the year with a pulled hamstring. There is talent on the roster, but with Cooper’s imminent departure, the Gamecocks will suffer from a lack of playmakers at the wide receiver spots next year.
8. Get the Young Offensive Linemen Ready to Play Carolina has started three seniors along the offensive line all season long: left tackle Brandon Shell, left guard Mike Matulis and right guard Will Sport. Sophomore center Alan Knott and junior right tackle Mason Zandi return in 2016. The outstanding offensive line class the Gamecocks signed in February will hopefully step up and contribute next season. Zack Bailey earned some valuable experience at center when Knott was injured, but he prefers to play guard. Here are some names to remember for next season: Christian Pellage, Cory Helms (a Wake Forest transfer), Blake Camper, Trey Derourn. Don’t forget about holdovers D.J. Parks, Donell Stanley and Malik Young, either.
9. Survive September The SEC did Carolina no favors with the 2016 schedule. After playing what seemed like most of the 2015 season on the road, the Gamecocks must play three of their first four games next season outside of the Columbia, each of which against an SEC opponent: Vanderbilt (Sept. 1), Mississippi State (Sept. 10) and Kentucky (Sept. 24). The only September home game? Against East Carolina on Sept. 17. The reward for surviving that tough opening four-game gauntlet? Five straight home games in October and early November — but they’re against, consecutively, Georgia, Texas A&M, UMass, Tennessee and Missouri.
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OPPONENT PREVIEW
BY Chris Dearing
CLEMSON Tigers
CONFERENCE: Atlantic Coast 2014 RECORD: 10-3 (6-2 ACC) 2015 RECORD: 11-0 (8-0 ACC) SERIES RECORD: Clemson leads, 66-42-4 COACH: Dabo Swinney YEARS AS COACH: 8 RECORD AT CLEMSON: 72-26 LAST MEETING: Clemson 35, Carolina 17 (Nov. 29, 2014, in Clemson, S.C.)
THREE TO WATCH Deshaun Watson, QB Clemson defensive tackle Carlos Watkins wraps up sophomore running back David Williams in Clemson on Nov. 29, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
metric, including yards, touchdowns and completion percentage. He leads the conference in total offense, he’s quite adept at running the read-option and quarterback draws.
Artavis Scott, WR The Tigers also have one of the country’s most dangerous receivers in Artavis Scott. His 627 receiving yards place him just fifth in the conference, but one could make the case that the sophomore is the ACC’s most talented wideout. He is physical and fast enough to be a consistent deep threat, and his route-running is sharp enough to do damage on screens and underneath patterns.
Ben Boulware, LB Boulware might not be Clemson’s best defender — that’s probably junior defensive end Shaq Lawson, or maybe linebacker B.J. Goodson — but he’s certainly the Tigers’ most intense. The junior linebacker is extremely disruptive from the weak side; he leads the team in quarterback hurries and forced fumbles, and is near the top in passes defended and broken up.
Deshaun Watson, only a sophomore, is one of the top quarterbacks in the country. He’s already mastered Clemson’s spread offense, and the dual-threat signal caller leads the ACC just about every single significant quarterback
Tiger in the Tank
Can Carolina slow down high-octane Clemson?
T
he Gamecocks know they’re eliminated from bowl consideration, but the season finale against top-ranked Clemson still carries a great deal of meaning. But the Gamecocks must find a way to slow a high-powered offense. The Tigers have scored fewer than 34 points only three times this season. If South Carolina hopes to have a chance, it needs to hold Clemson to under 30 points. Obviously, Clemson’s offense begins under center with quarterback Deshaun Watson. The sophomore has skyrocketed up the Heisman ladder; it’s likely he’ll get an invite to the award ceremony in December. Over the first 10 games of the season, Watson accounted for 3,187 yards of total offense: He completed 70 percent of his passes in racking up 2,593 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight picks, and he added 594 yards on the ground and five scores on the ground. If he continues to have that success, Carolina will be hard-pressed to slow the Tiger offense, which averages 38 points per game. Five receivers have caught more than 20 receptions apiece; Artavis Scott leads the way with 68 grabs for 627 yards. Running back Wayne Gallman has been reliable, registering 1,043 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Kicker Greg Huegel, who is from Blythewood, is 18-for-20 on field goals with a long of 47 yards.
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Clemson’s defense has shown some cracks in the armor in recent weeks. On the season, Clemson is allowing only 18 points per game — but the glimmer of hope for Carolina is that Clemson allowed North Carolina State and Syracuse, two teams not known for highscoring offenses, to hang 41 and 27 points, respectively, in the past month. Linebackers B.J. Goodson and Ben Boulware lead the defense. The duo leads the Tigers in tackles and are the heart and soul of the unit. Defensive end Shaq Lawson supplies the pressure; he’s registered 7.5 sacks. Cornerback Cordrea Tankersley has three interceptions to lead a secondary that has limited opponents to 159 passing yards per game.
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OPINION
BY james harley
Junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper runs in a first-quarter touchdown against Clemson in Clemson on Nov. 29, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
Ride the Tiger Carolina won’t make a bowl game. It can still make it a successful season.
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o bowl game. A guaranteed losing record for the first time in over a decade. The absolute bottom slot in the SEC. Yes, there is still the intriguing issue of landing a solid new coach, but what is left for the Gamecocks to actually play for on the field this season? The newer generation of Gamecock fans, a bit spoiled by Steve Spurrier’s consistent success, may think there is nothing substantial left to earn. They’re wrong, of course. Older Gamecock fans remember back to the days when any victory over hated in-state rival Clemson defined a triumphant year regardless of how the rest of the season went. While those days are largely gone, as expectations have increased across the
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board, this year’s game really does have an added touch of spice given the situation in the ACC. While a Carolina win over Clemson wouldn’t benefit the Gamecocks on a practical level—no step up in bowl bid, no playoff positioning, etc.—it would deliver a humiliating slap to the team’s biggest rival
and to the Atlantic Coast Conference at large, provided the standings remain as they are now. Think of this: North Carolina will probably represent the Coastal Division in the ACC championship game. The Tar Heels are undefeated in conference play and will likely stay that way. They’ve lost just once, against South Carolina in the season opener. Clemson is undefeated and should represent the Atlantic division. Wouldn’t it be extremely entertaining if both of the schools playing for the ACC title shared a common loss at the hands of the worst team in the SEC? Could the winner of that game then legitimately thump its chest as champion of anything other than a pee-wee league? So while there is nothing for the Gamecocks to gain other than a bit of pride with a win over Clemson, the Tigers have a lot to lose — including the respect of the pollsters and the college football playoff committee — regardless of whether they go on to grab the conference crown. Not only could the Gamecocks spoil the Tigers’
dreams, but the could make the Tigers and their conference a laughing stock as well. How exactly the Gamecocks could pull off such a win is another story — one that might require divine intervention. While the Carolina defense has improved slightly during the course of the season, the offense has gone in the opposite direction and at this point should be taking the blame for the team’s struggles. Carolina relies on the big plays, as it cannot convert first downs with any consistency. Somehow the play callers fail to — or maybe refuse to — realize this, instead sticking to largely conservative and predictable strategies, whereas a willingness to take more chances could prove more effective. Such gumption was Spurrier’s strength, and the Gamecocks are definitely feeling that loss as the season progresses. To hang with Clemson on the field will require something new from the sideline — something Carolina just doesn’t have yet. Prediction: Tigers 35, Gamecocks 17. carolina VS. clemson
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