‘A lot of emotion’ for USF’s David Reaves to face former team in Birmingham Bowl

There was a little bit of a tingle when South Carolina popped up as USF’s Birmingham Bowl opponent.

But David Reaves quickly straightened his green Bulls shirt and sidelined the emotion. There is a game to play, and USC just happens to be the opponent. That’s where it has to end.

Sort of.

“Obviously, a lot of emotion because of the past history I’ve had there at Carolina, and going to high school there and spending seven years of my career there,” Reaves said on Wednesday after the Bulls finished their latest bowl practice. “But I’m taking it as business as usual.”

Reaves, who quarterbacked Spring Valley High and was a USC assistant coach from 2002-08, faces his old team in the Birmingham Bowl with some added responsibility. Normally the associate head coach and tight ends coach, Reaves is co-offensive coordinator and the top play-caller for the bowl after head coach Willie Taggart departed for the same job at Oregon.

Reaves turned 38 on Monday, but hasn’t had a lot of time to celebrate. He’s been planning how to attack a defense known for stiffening in the red zone and recovering turnovers. The Bulls won 10 games this year with an offense that averaged nearly 44 points per game.

“We’ve got our hands full,” he said. “They’ve won four of their past six and are very well-coached.”

Reaves was one of the top young assistants in the country when he hauled in the most highly touted recruiting class in USC history. The 2007 names – Chris Culliver, Antonio Allen, Pat DiMarco, Melvin Ingram, Cliff Matthews, Travian Robertson, Stephen Garcia – were instrumental in building the Gamecocks into one of the country’s best programs through 2013.

But Reaves felt a tug when brother-in-law Lane Kiffin was hired as head coach at Tennessee (Kiffin and Reaves’ sister, Layla, have since filed for divorce). He had a great job at a great program and his name was becoming great, all by age 30, but Kiffin was family.

“It was tough,” Reaves said. “The decision that I made, going with family, it was a hard, hard situation for me. Coach (Steve) Spurrier was just tremendous to me.”

Reaves served a year as the Volunteers’ quarterbacks coach, but Kiffin split for Southern Cal after the season. Reaves landed at New Mexico, where he spent two seasons, and then went back to Florida as an instructor at IMG Academy.

The state was again good to him. Lou Holtz found Reaves as a high school assistant during one of USC’s Outback Bowl trips and that started his career, and IMG helped get it re-started. Reaves moved to Tampa as USF’s wide receivers coach in 2013, and his duties have grown as the Bulls have found more success.

He still dreams of being a head coach. He’ll get a big dose of it in Birmingham as he runs the Bulls’ offense.

“It’s been an awesome experience here, to go from 2-10 to 10-2 and completely change the offense,” Reaves said. “It’s really been enjoyable.”

Reaves still keeps in touch with Kiffin, who just took the head spot at Florida Atlantic, talking football strategy and recruiting. He also keeps up with some of the guys that made his reputation – that class of 2007 that set a foundation at USC.

“I spent a lot of time with Stephen,” Reaves said. “That was a three-year process there. And I still talk to Stephen to this day, because he’s in Tampa. I still speak with Cliff, I talk to Sidney (Rice) every now and again.

“What a tremendous group of guys and men. The goal is to always turn out great players, but they’re also great people.”

This story was originally published December 17, 2016 at 3:11 PM.