The scale of next USC coach’s rebuild grows clear as Gamecocks wrap 2020 season
As soon as South Carolina’s revamped 2020 schedule came out, Saturday night’s trip to Lexington spelled trouble.
There was little doubt it would be cold and against a team that would lay some hits. It seemed like it could be a swing game, one where an optimist might see USC getting above or to .500 in the balance with a brutal 10-game only SEC slate being played during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the end, it was still a chilly and unpleasant night for USC despite the idea of a 5-5 record having gone out the window a few weeks ago. Instead, Saturday gave a sense of the kind of rebuild coming for the next Gamecocks coach.
The program’s two wins are the fewest since the 0-11 team in 1999, though the 2020 schedule had a good bit to do with that. The last time USC had a season even close to this poor, it was 3-9 in 2015, passed from Steve Spurrier’s hands to Shawn Elliott’s for six games and finally to Will Muschamp, who was fired less than a month ago.
The Gamecocks traveled only 46 scholarship players Saturday. Some were missing because of injuries and should be back at USC in 2021. But many won’t. There are senior contributors moving on. The transfer portal will almost assuredly take its toll, whether it be promising young players such as Makius Scott, who decided to leave the team Friday, or older players who stock the roster and can’t readily be replaced.
The outgoing staff still sees some talent there.
“You’re never as bad as you think,” interim coach Mike Bobo said. “It doesn’t look like it when you’re — what’s our record? — 2-8. But the margin is not as wide as you think. Or as even the individuals in that locker room might think. It’s closer than you think. It’s right there.”
Unless the NCAA changes some of its rules, South Carolina would need a combination of factors just to get to 85 scholarship players by the end of summer. It would take very little roster attrition, a surprise set of returning seniors and likely a batch of “blue shirts,” or asking athletes to walk on and go on scholarship in 2022.
Considering that loosened transfer rules are almost a given, this will be likely be among the most attrition-heavy offseasons ever for the entire sport, and USC had a lot of players closely tied to the outgoing staff.
SEC Network commentator Jordan Rogers on Saturday suggested the Gamecocks are in position to succeed quickly with a new coach. This is generous to a fault.
There’s been some talk the transfer portal will be the new coach’s key to getting things in place quickly. This is possibly true, but there will be a lot of suitors for a lot of talent. South Carolina fans in recent years have seen how transfers are far from guaranteed fixes.
In short, the new Gamecocks coach — Shane Beamer as of late Saturday night — is going to need a lot of time. There are pieces — quarterback Luke Doty, running backs Kevin Harris and MarShawn Lloyd, if they don’t look around — some receivers and tight ends with potential down the line, some highly rated defenders, linebacker Ernest Jones.
But many of them are more on the side of having potential than being productive players now, outside of Harris.
In some ways, the Muschamp era is a cautionary tale on how to read whatever comes next for USC.
He inherited what was perceived as a decimated roster. It had three NFL Draft picks, two more future pros committed to the Spurrier staff, plus a smattering of other players who got time in the NFL.
Muschamp’s staff objectively overachieved in Years 1 and 2 and delivered a relatively solid team in Year 3 despite a so-so record and a mess of injuries. And that wasn’t enough to save him.
Two bad years late in a tenure will get you. Not showing signs of competent play that deep in a tenure will get you, too.
Maybe the next guy gets things going as fast as Muschamp. It will take a massive effort, some ace recruiting of the portal and some good fortune.
And in the end, the next coach’s success and failure will be written when just about everyone currently on the roster has cycled out.
Roster watch
Tracking the evolving USC roster as the Gamecocks transition from Will Muschamp to a new coach.
Underclassmen leaving for NFL: Jaycee Horn, Israel Mukuamu
In the transfer portal: Makius Scott
Class of 2021 decommitments (since Muschamp departure): George Wilson, Bryce Steele, Trenilyas Tatum, Jayden Johnson, Rodarius Thomas, Simeon Price
Walked on senior day: Slade Carroll, Chandler Farrell, Sadarius Hutcherson, Christian Kinsley, Nick Muse, Adam Prentice, Will Register, Shi Smith, Keir Thomas, Jay Urich, Noah Vincent, Parker White
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 1:38 AM.
