The SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla. put Will Muschamp back in the same room as the Florida media for the first time since he was announced as South Carolina’s new head coach.
Muschamp was ready for the inevitable question: What will it be like going back to The Swamp in 2016?
Will Muschamp asked about being on the opponent's sideline when USC visits UF: "Some Gator fans wanted me over there when I was there"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 31, 2016
Muschamp says the Swamp is a great venue and he'll be excited to go back, but "a lot of ball to play before that"
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) May 31, 2016
The Gamecocks will ride into Gainesville on Nov. 12. The last time South Carolina played Florida in the venue formally known as Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Steve Spurrier’s squad came away with an upset victory that was followed by Muschamp’s dismissal at Florida.
Muschamp also addressed his time at UF and what he’ll need to differently at South Carolina.
Muschamp on what he wants to do at USC compared to #Gators. "Score points." Laughter ensues. But seriously.
— Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) May 31, 2016
Muschamp: "We played really good defense, really good special teams, we just needed to score more points. But we cleaned the program up."
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) May 31, 2016
Whether hiring Kurt Roper as offensive coordinator, who held the same position in Muschamp’s final season at Florida, will help the Gamecocks score more points has been a hotly debated topic. Muschamp has more or less doubled down on linking himself to Roper, recently stating that hiring the offensive coordinator earlier at UF could have helped him keep his job as the head coach of the Gators.
Florida and South Carolina’s Week 11 should be a fun one. Credit Muschamp for having a sense of humor about what will likely be a hostile reunion.
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.
