With Jimbo Fisher returning to the SEC, this time as a head coach, he’ll face plenty of familiar faces around the league. While many understandably fixate on Fisher’s ties to Nick Saban and LSU the program, the new Aggie coach has more league ties than most when they head into their first season as an SEC head coach.

Among Fisher’s less noteworthy ties to the league is his relationship with a coach he’ll now see on an annual basis — Will Muschamp. The two coaches worked as coordinators under Saban at LSU from 2002 to 2004, helping led the Tigers to a BCS National Championship in 2003.

During his Thursday appearance at SEC Media Days, Muschamp was asked about his relationship with Fisher. According to the South Carolina coach, working on the same staff as the Texas A&M coach helped him become a better overall coach.

“He’s an outstanding friend and outstanding football coach. He’s a great developer at the quarterback position and outstanding play caller. Going against him every day for four years at LSU made me a better football coach. I can assure you of that,” Muschamp said of Fisher. “He’ll do an outstanding job. I think of him as a very good friend.

While also asked about his school’s lack of success against the Aggies, South Carolina has yet to beat Texas A&M since they joined the SEC — losing all four matchups, although only two under Muschamp, the Gamecock coach commented that statistics like that don’t necessarily motivate him any extra in the offseason.

“We don’t focus on any opponents more than any other opponents. That’s not coach speak, that’s real,” Muschamp continued. “We spend time in the offseason on every opponent we play. I spend the same amount of time at the office preparing for an opponent no matter who it is.

“We have great respect for Texas A&M, and we need to do a better job in the rivalry. We had our opportunities last year, and we didn’t finish.