South Carolina HS coaches on Will Muschamp’s recruiting strategy after Clemson championship
By Andrew Olson
Published:
When the FBS recruiting dead period ended last week, Clemson coaches hit the trail as college football’s new national champions. It’s a fact that Gamecocks fans around the state have a hard time getting used to. David Caraviello at The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.) decided to look at how Clemson’s win will affect South Carolina recruiting. High school coaches around the Palmetto State had one clear message: Will Muschamp is ready for the challenge.
Blythewood High School coach Preston Thorne, a former USC defensive tackle, said the Gamecocks will be in prime position to sign recruits that Clemson won’t be able to take.
“Everybody can’t go to Clemson at this point, and I think that’s where you’re going to find a lot of gold if you’re South Carolina,” Thorne said. “Because there are going to be kids Clemson doesn’t have room for, and South Carolina will be waiting for them with open arms.”
The good news is that South Carolina has put itself in position to know those types of players, which wasn’t always the case under former Steve Spurrier according to Summerville head coach Joe Call.
“Clemson under Dabo … even if guys don’t recruit our area, they’ll stop by even if we don’t have a recruit. It’s about keeping the relationship, because they know one day we will. South Carolina for the last couple of years under Spurrier, we would only see the coach who recruited our area,” Call said.
“Now since Muschamp’s been there, and he’s been there (just over) a year, I’ve had seven different coaches from South Carolina come through our school, just to meet me, meet our assistants, establish relationships. Because they know eventually, we are going to have a recruit that’s going to play for them and they’re going to want. That’s been the biggest difference.”
With Clemson’s increased national prominence and more national recruiting battles, there’s a chance for the Gamecocks to pick up more in-state commitments in Thorne’s opinion.
“Clemson’s pick of the talent pool is going to get bigger than it already was. They’re going to be recruiting against Alabama,” Thorne said. “… In a weird way, I think that’s going to increase Carolina’s talent pool, because Clemson’s going to move out of competing with us.”
The full feature, and more on recruiting methods and relationships, can be read here.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
