New South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has finalized his on-field coaching staff with the hire of Montario Hardesty to coach running backs. Hardesty, who previously coached at Charlotte, is probably most known to SEC fans as a former running back at Tennessee.

Hardesty replaces Des Kitchings, who left the Gamecocks for the Atlanta Falcons.

“First off, Coach Hardesty is a fantastic person,” Beamer said in an announcement from the school. “He was a great player in college and played in the NFL. So many coaches I talked to referred to him as a ‘future star’ in the coaching profession. He’s an excellent recruiter with connections in North Carolina and up and down the East Coast. He had multiple position coaches himself as a player, so he will relate in a great way with our running backs,” continued Coach Beamer. “I love his journey as a coach – the places he’s been and the roles he’s had.”

Hardesty spent the last two years as wide receivers coach at Charlotte.

Hardesty spent the 2018 season as an offensive quality control coach at his alma mater, Tennessee. In 2017, he was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Florida Atlantic, working for his former college coach, Lane Kiffin. He also spent two years as running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Norfolk State (2015-16).

As a player at Tennessee, Hardesty earned second team all-SEC honors as a senior when he ranked fourth in the league in rushing with 1,345 yards, the fourth-most in school history, and scored 14 touchdowns. He rushed for 2,391 yards, ninth in Vols’ history, and scored 27 touchdowns during his career on Rocky Top. That helped him become a second-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Here is the finalized coaching staff for South Carolina:

Shane Beamer, Head Coach
Greg Adkins, Offensive Line Coach
Torrian Gray, Defensive Backs Coach
Montario Hardesty, Running Backs Coach
Erik Kimrey, Tight Ends Coach
Pete Lembo, Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
Jimmy Lindsey, Defensive Line Coach
Mike Peterson, Outside Linebackers/Defensive Ends Coach
Marcus Satterfield, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Justin Stepp, Wide Receivers Coach
Clayton White, Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach