Five things to know about Greg Adkins, Shane Beamer’s final coaching hire
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer locked in the final piece of his coaching puzzle Friday when the Gamecocks officially announced Greg Adkins as the team’s new offensive line coach.
Adkins replaces Will Friend, who spent all of two weeks at USC before jumping to Auburn earlier this offseason. And like Friend, Adkins is a veteran coach with a long history across a lot of schools. Let’s take a look at five things to know about South Carolina’s newest, and presumably last, assistant coaching hire this year.
1. Marshall man
Adkins comes to South Carolina from Marshall, where he spent the previous three seasons coaching offensive line and serving as assistant head coach. But Adkins’ ties to Huntington, West Virginia go far deeper than just the past three years.
Adkins is a West Virginia native, born in Cross Lanes and playing his college ball with the Thundering Herd. He was a three-year starter on the offensive line and was named team captain and an all-conference player as a senior. Shortly after graduation, he joined Marshall’s staff. Over four years, he coached defensive line, offensive line and tight ends.
Upon his return in 2018, Adkins worked under coach Doc Holliday until Holliday’s departure this offseason. During that time, he worked closely with Marshall’s strength and conditioning coach Luke Day, who also came to South Carolina this offseason.
2. SEC experience
Besides Beamer himself, Adkins boasts the most SEC experience of any coach now on South Carolina’s staff. All told, he spent 11 seasons split across stints at Georgia and Tennessee, where he coached tight ends, defensive line and offensive line at different points. Those jobs, however, were a while back. He worked at Georgia from 1996 to 2000 and at Tennessee from 2003 to 2008.
Adkins broke into the SEC ranks at Georgia when he followed head coach Jim Donnan from Marshall to the Bulldogs. With Donnan and Adkins, UGA went 40-14 across five seasons. At Tennessee, he worked under Hall of Fame coach Phillip Fulmer and made a pair of SEC championship games.
At 53 years old, Adkins is also the oldest member of USC’s new coaching staff.
3. Play-calling chops
Adkins spent one season with the Charlotte 49ers in 2017, but it was an eventful one. He was initially hired as the offensive line coach and running game coordinator, but after an 0-4 start, head coach Brad Lambert demoted offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen and promoted Adkins to the OC role, giving him “overall play-calling authority,” according to the Charlotte Observer. In that role, he suggested he would simplify the game plan and focus on execution and not turning the ball over.
Under Adkins, the offense did improve slightly, going from 11.25 points per game to 14.2. And the turnovers especially got better. After giving the ball away 12 times in the first four games, the 49ers had just eight giveaways in eight games under Adkins. The results, however, weren’t all that great, with Charlotte going 1-11.
4. Time with tight ends
If new USC tight ends coach Erik Kimrey ever needs any advice in his first collegiate job, he can always lean on Adkins for help. The offensive line coach has experience coaching tight ends as well, going all the way up to the NFL level.
In 2013, Adkins made the jump to the pros, taking the tight ends coaching position with the Buffalo Bills. In his two years there, he oversaw the development of Scott Chandler, who led the team in receptions (53) and yards (655) in 2013, then followed it up with a 2014 campaign in which he had 47 catches for 497 yards.
5. Off the field
In an interview with Sideline49 back in 2017, Adkins was asked what he listens to on the radio, and fittingly given his ties to the South and Midwest, he went with country music. In particular, he called country music legend George Strait his favorite artist.
“Living in the Midwest for a few years and even before that George Strait is the man of country music. Obviously Hank Williams Jr. is when I grew up but toward my college years and on George Strait has always been the man,” Adkins said.
As for television, Adkins said he doesn’t watch a ton, but when he does, he keeps it simple: “I’m an HGTV guy.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 7:40 AM.
