Gamecock players praise Muschamp’s impact as he prepares for return to USC

Jeremiah Holloway
Sean Rayford/AP

Williams-Brice Stadium will host another homecoming of sorts this weekend — this time, for a former full-time South Carolina head coach.

Will Muschamp — now Georgia’s co-defensive coordinator — coached at USC from 2016-20 and had a 28-30 record before being let go during the 2020 season. He joined Georgia’s coaching staff in 2021 in an off-field role and was later elevated to special teams coach.

Forty-six players on USC’s current 119-man roster either played under or were recruited by Muschamp, dating back to 2017. Those Gamecocks who spoke about Muschamp’s return talked about the positive impact he had on their careers.

Running back MarShawn Lloyd praised Muschamp, saying he was a “big reason” he came to South Carolina.

“He’s a great coach, and I loved him,” Lloyd said. “No hard feelings, still love the coach. I just feel like things had to change.”

Members of Muschamp’s South Carolina staff will be present Saturday as well, working in their new roles for Georgia. Mike Bobo works in quality control and Bryan McClendon works as the UGA passing game coordinator. All three are Georgia grads. Bobo and McCendon both worked as offensive coordinators for the Gamecocks.

Georgia finished among Lloyd’s top three schools in 2019, but he ultimately chose USC largely because of the coaches who were present at the time.

“I feel like South Carolina had everything I needed, everything I wanted,” Lloyd said. “The coaches are great over there, but I just feel like South Carolina led me in the best way for me — after football and with football, as well.”

Shane Beamer took over at South Carolina in December 2020, with Bobo briefly coaching the team after Muschamp was fired.

Georgia won the national championship last season with Muschamp on staff and has started 2-0 this year. The Bulldogs have only given up three points across the first two games. South Carolina is currently a 24.5-point underdog going into Saturday.

Offensive lineman Vershon Lee, who was part of the same recruiting class as Lloyd, also commended Muschamp but acknowledged that he’ll be on the other sideline for this weekend’s game.

“He was a great coach,” Lee said. “It’s just one of those situations where he’s on the other team now, so we just have to play up against him.”

Super-senior linebacker Sherrod Greene is one of the Gamecocks’ most experienced players, playing under Muschamp from 2017-20.

He was at USC for the majority of Muschamp’s time as head coach and was there for the transition to Beamer.

“Muschamp cares about his players, but Beamer, he truly, truly cares about his players,” Greene said. “He expects a lot from us. If we don’t do right, definitely will get on our tail, same thing with Muschamp.

“They want the best for us and make sure we stay locked in on what we’re supposed to do.”

Muschamp is the second USC head coaching connection to return to Williams-Brice Stadium this season. Georgia State’s Shawn Elliott served as the Gamecocks’ interim coach after Steve Spurrier’s midseason departure in 2015. The Gamecocks defeated the Panthers 35-14 on Sept. 3. Muschamp was hired at USC in December 2015, with Elliott staying on staff for one season.

South Carolina visited Georgia last year while Muschamp was the special teams coach, but this is his first return to Columbia with the Bulldogs.

Will Muschamp at South Carolina, year-by-year

  • 2016: 6-7, with a Birmingham Bowl loss to South Florida

  • 2017: 9-4, with Outback Bowl win over Michigan

  • 2018: 7-6, with Belk Bowl loss to Virginia

  • 2019: 4-8

  • 2020: 2-5

Advertisement