So who’s a tougher coach, Will Muschamp or Snoop Dogg?

When South Carolina defensive back Keisean Nixon got a shout out from rap legend Snoop Dogg around National Signing Day, folks took notice. The same happened when he got some love following a pick-six Saturday against Arkansas.

But this isn’t so unusual for Nixon, not the biggest deal.

“That’s like every week,” Nixon said. “He talks to me every week, he’s famous to y’all. He’s not famous to me.”

Nixon played for the Snoop Youth Football League starting at an early age. His father is close with the Long Beach product, who became a fixture around the mid-2000s Southern Cal teams and actually played some wide receiver in his time.

Nixon started with the Compton Vikings and went on to the league’s all-star team, playing alongside the likes of current NFL player JuJu Smith-Schuster.

And he said Snoop isn’t just a figurehead.

“He’s a real coach,” Nixon said. “He’s going to coach you hard, cuss at you, everything.”

So who’s tougher, Snoop or Will Muschamp?

“Muschamp!” Nixon said emphatically.

After matriculating in high school in Southern California, Nixon played junior college ball in Arizona. He helped lead a powerhouse program to the national title game, but didn’t join the Gamecocks until relatively late in August camp.

He admits that slowed his progress, and he had to work his way in, first to special teams and Saturday onto the field on defense late in a blowout.

He had to switch from safety to corner already because of numbers, and he showed some good and bad, scoring the touchdown and later giving one up.

He’s making his way, learning how life goes at a slower pace in the south (the humidity had been a sticking point). And he brings with him something from Snoop, someone close enough to almost be considered family and someone who held the important role of coach back when he was “real little,” famous to the rest of the world or not.

“He never liked pushed us to do anything bad,” Nixon said. “He was just always supportive and a positive dude around us.”

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 12:02 PM with the headline "So who’s a tougher coach, Will Muschamp or Snoop Dogg?."