Connor Shaw is officially back in Columbia.

South Carolina announced Shaw’s hire as the program’s new Director of Player Development earlier this week and just introduced the Gamecock great back into the program during a Wednesday afternoon press conference. Shaw is replacing Marcus Lattimore, who is leaving the South Carolina program to continue his education.

Lattimore recently thanked South Carolina and Gamecock Nation for their continued love and support.

So, what exactly does a director of player development do in Columbia? Shaw shed some light on that during his Wednesday presser when asked about the challenge players face in today’s era of college football. Considering the 28-year-old played for the Gamecocks not long ago, he should be comfortable helping players deal with any issues they have away from the field.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of similarities. I think some of the things that stick out to me, if I go back and try to figure out you know what were the challenges I faced and some of the challenges my teammates faced, was kind of navigating the time,” Shaw answered. “Football is very militant, like scheduled to the very hour of each day, and so, if they can be efficient in their time, but also understand that there are so many educational programs and resources, that part of my job is just to connect them with whatever is relevant to their needs.”

When asked a follow-up regarding how he plans to assist the Gamecocks on campus now, Shaw suggested it’s all about getting to know the players on a deeper level.

“I think, again, step one is for me to just get to know them, understand who they are, where they’re from, where they’re studying and where their passions and hobbies so we can feed that,” Shaw continued. “But like I said, the more I get to know them and more I get to understand that the dynamic of a locker room and kind of that mediator between a coaching staff, someone they can trust. That’s, that’s a position that I don’t take lightly I take very seriously and look forward to developing those relationships.”

Of course, Shaw is arguably the best quarterback in school history. Could he lend a hand in coaching up the team’s signal-callers? Based on Shaw’s response to that question, don’t look for the program’s director of player development to do much coaching next season.

“You know they have a great coach in Mike Bobo, and a great support staff here, and they know what they’re doing from that standpoint,” Shaw pointed out. “I think it’s going to be fun for me to just go sit in offensive meeting room and quarterback meeting room. You get to know the quarterback room, maybe talk a little bit of football, but you know my extent to my involvement with football is going to be, being in sync with Coach Muschamp to see what’s a win for our guys on and off the field.”