Digging in on Will Muschamp’s thoughts on Bryan McClendon, Gamecocks offensive issues
Each week, South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp has mentioned some tweaks his offense might be able to make. Maybe it’s focusing on a concept the team is doing well or trying more “creative” looks or personnel groupings.
But Sunday he had to admit something about the message each week to his offensive staff the day after games.
“Obviously my messages haven’t worked each Sunday,” Muschamp said. “So we gotta try and find ways to be more productive and put the guys in different spots to be successful. We just haven’t done that. Whatever we’re doing is not working, so we need to change.”
He said Saturday any change won’t involve shifting play-calling duties away from Bryan McClendon for South Carolina’s final game against Clemson.
The coach was asked directly Sunday about McClendon’s prospects for being on the staff in 2020.
“We’re going to evaluate that when the season’s over with,” Muschamp said, “like we always do.”
McClendon is in Year 2 at the helm of the Gamecocks attack. Year 1 saw a large jump in yards per play and points per game, but amid injuries and the departure of players such as Deebo Samuel, K.C. Crosby and others, the group has backslid badly.
Against FBS competition, the Gamecocks rank 115th in yards per play and 112th in points per game.
And that’s weighing on McClendon and the team.
“He’s frustrated,” Muschamp said, “like everybody, including our players and our entire staff. Bryan’s a competitor. You look at Bryan’s first year as a coordinator, we averaged 31 points a game, improved ourselves and far as total points and rushing and passing and in every category that had an outstanding year. And this has been an unfortunate year. He did lot of good things for us.”
McClendon is Muschamp’s fourth offensive coordinator in eight years as a head coach. Kurt Roper was his OC in a final year at Florida and the first two at South Carolina.
At various points, South Carolina has been without each of its top four tailbacks, just about every viable wide receiver, its No. 2 tight end, a starting and backup right tackle and senior starting quarterback Jake Bentley.
Muschamp also noted there won’t be much of a shakeup in the way gameplans are formulated.
“It’s a collaborative effort offensively, no different than it is defensively or in all situations staff-wise,” Muschamp said. “We put the run game plan together as far as coach (Eric) Wolford and coach McClendon and coach (Bobby) Bentley and then coach (Thomas) Brown obviously, and then the pass games obviously goes back and involves Dan Werner a lot in the overall game plan, obviously with Dan and Bryan, and then Bryan calling the plays on game day.”
Near the top of the list of issues has been the lack of explosive plays through the air, which has a trickle-down effect on the running game.
South Carolina is 25th in the country in offensive plays and has played one more game than most other teams, yet it ranks 93rd in passes of 20 yards or more and 125th in passes of 30 yards or more.
It’s meant stacked boxes and linebackers geared to attack rather than backing off a little.
And on the ground game, which hasn’t surpassed 2.7 yards per carry in three of the past four weeks, Muschamp had a simple charge for his staff, no matter how many Sunday messages haven’t worked before.
“Whether it’s being more creative, whether it’s creating a different personnel package to give a different look, whether it’s playing with tempo, whatever the case may be, do something that obviously the last two weeks we haven’t done because what we’re doing is not working,” Muschamp said.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 8:45 AM.
