Carlen’s impact endures

Jeff Grantz remembers his first meeting with Jim Carlen before the start of South Carolina’s 1975 football season.

Carlen, the first-year USC football coach, had inherited a team that posted a 4-7 record the previous season and was trying to figure out what kind of talent he had. Grantz, the senior quarterback, was a little bit of a mystery because the two-sport standout spent the spring playing baseball instead of practicing football under his new coach.

“Coach Carlen said to me, ‘Jeff, you know Ron (Bass) is the starter here on the depth chart right now. The reason is the only thing I know you can do is turn a double play,’ ” Grantz said.

Things worked out just fine for both men that season. Carlen, who passed away Sunday at the age of 79, guided the Gamecocks to a 7-4 regular-season record, including a record-setting 56-20 win over Clemson, before a loss in the Tangerine Bowl.

Grantz, who claimed the full-time job after a preseason injury to Bass, piled up 1,815 passing yards and 473 rushing yards while running the veer offense to perfection. Running behind him were fullback Kevin Long and tailback Clarence Williams, who became the first two 1,000-yard rushers in school history that season.

“He trusted the system, he trusted the veer,” Grantz said. “I called a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage, basically every play we called inside the 20. He did trust us to make the right decisions.”

Carlen would lead the Gamecocks to a 45-36-1 record in his seven seasons, which included the program’s first consecutive eight-win seasons in 1979 and 1980. He was fired after the 1981 season. His 45 wins remain the third-highest total in the school’s history. He also coached tailback George Rogers, the program’s only Heisman Trophy winner in 1980.

Carlen’s former players and assistant coaches kept coming back to one point as they discussed his achievements Monday. Described as a player’s coach, he remained close to those players and coaches long after their playing days ended.

Rick Sanford, a defensive back for Carlen’s teams from 1975-78, became the school’s first first-round NFL draft pick before playing seven professional seasons. Carlen gave Sanford’s introductory speech for the USC Hall of Fame.

“He was more of a life coach than anything,” Sanford said. “... He was always there for me. He was like a second father to all of us in more ways than people can imagine.”

Willie Scott, the tight end who played for Carlen from 1977-80, remembered the coach’s honesty in the recruiting pitch. Carlen predicted great things for Scott, who went on to become a first-round NFL pick in 1981.

“He was ahead of the curve. He came here with a mission in mind,” Scott said.

Carlen came to Columbia after successful stints at West Virginia (25-13-3) and Texas Tech (37-20-2). Richard Bell, who was the defensive coordinator under Carlen at both stops and all seven seasons at USC, saluted his boss.

“Not many people accomplished what he did,” Bell said. “He took three losing programs and turned them into winners. That’s a rarity. He had the ability to come in and just size up the situation.”

Bell, who lasted one season as Carlen’s successor in 1982, remembered Carlen’s ability to coach standout players and those with less natural talent.

“He was a great motivator. He knew how to push the hot button on a guy,” Bell said. “If a guy needed an arm around him and be encouraged, he could do that. If a guy needed to have somebody get after him, he could do that. He knew what it took to get a player to play above his ability.”

Ray Goff, the former Georgia quarterback who later became coach for the Bulldogs, started his coaching career under Carlen with the Gamecocks from 1978-80.

“He was loyal to his players and his assistant coaches to a fault. He had their best interests at heart,” Goff said. “You never had to worry if he was going to back you up.”

Grantz and Sanford visited Carlen in recent weeks. The time they shared together meant a great deal to both of them.

Bell chuckled as he discussed the communications between Carlen and the former assistants.

“He was always still Jim. We always used to laugh about that as a staff,” Bell said. “Somebody on the (former) staff would call you and say, ‘I talked to Jim.’ And all of the coaches would always say, ‘Well, wait a minute now. You didn’t talk to Jim. You listened to Jim.’ ”

The memorial service for Carlen will be held Friday at 4 p.m. at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church, with visitation following in the church gymnasium.

This story was originally published July 24, 2012 at 12:00 AM.