Muschamp was a primary recruiter for Gamecocks. Without him, how USC tries to hold on
South Carolina interim head coach Mike Bobo explained a simple truth: Now-fired coach Will Muschamp was a key engine in the Gamecocks’ recruiting efforts, being in daily contact with most of the team’s commitments.
And that makes the already tricky proposition of holding together a class that much harder.
“Coach Muschamp was the main recruiter on all the guys,” Bobo said. “One thing that he did do — was very, very impressive to me — is he contacts those kids every single day, whether it was via phone, via text, since I’ve been here. The guys that are high on our board are guys that he had relationship with them and parents.”
Since Muschamp’s firing, six players have decommitted, including the top-rated members of the class. Two players, Bryce Steele and Jayden Johnson, broke the news Tuesday. Steele later called USC his dream school, but said the uncertainty around the situation was too much.
Two more broke off their USC commitments Wednesday, dropping the group to No. 91 nationally in the 247Sports class rankings.
The school is a week into the coaching search, with multiple reports saying interviews have at least started. The most talked about names include Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell, Louisiana’s Billy Napier and Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer. Louisville coach Scott Satterfield seemed to pull himself from any consideration late Tuesday.
Bobo said the only message the coaches can pass along is one of being patient. The coaches share what they can about the search and remind the players they committed to a school, not just a coach.
He noted the school has even brought in a few other voices to try to calm concerns from players.
“We got our administration involved as well,” Bobo said. “Coach (Ray) Tanner and (associate AD) Chance Miller have reached out to some kids and kind of given them the direction that they’re headed and probably the same message system, just be patient and try to wait to see who we hire as a football coach.”
Players have not been able to come on campus since March, and the current recruiting dead period that prevents face-to-face contact extends into April. This means any recruit in the 2021 class has made a litany of choices having hardly seen a campus, and it could get more complex for USC when a new staff takes over.
It’s a tough situation, as players tend to commit to coaches, not institutions, and there’s always a risk a new coach simply won’t want a former staff’s commit.
“If I’m a kid’s parent, I want to make sure that coach really wants me,” Bobo said. “I don’t want him to take me just because I was a commitment because if they take you just because of that, and really didn’t like you or didn’t think you can play at this level, it’s going to be a miserable experience for you.
“You’re doing a disservice to that kid and that coach really didn’t feel like he was good enough to play there.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 12:56 PM.
