Beamer’s USC staff is complete. Here’s one thing to know about each of the 10 coaches
Shane Beamer completed his first on-field coaching staff at South Carolina last week when the Gamecocks announced the hire of offensive line coach Greg Adkins. So, what do you need to know about the 10 men who will assist Beamer as he tries to engineer a turnaround at USC? Here’s a little info on all of them, with an interesting fact on each coach noted in bold.
Marcus Satterfield
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
In addition to his offensive coordinator duties, Satterfield will coach quarterbacks for the Gamecocks, tasked with the development of underclassmen Luke Doty and Colten Gauthier. But Satterfield has plenty of experience all over the field that should come in handy overseeing the entire offense. Over the course of his 20-plus years as a coach, he’s worked with every offensive position group at some point — QBs, running backs, tight ends, wide receivers and the offensive line. He’s worked with receivers for three years, quarterbacks and tight ends for two years each and O-line and running backs a year each.
Des Kitchings
Running backs
Kitchings was just 30 years old when his alma mater, Furman, made him the youngest inductee into the Paladins’ Hall of Fame. The South Carolina native wowed his teammates and coaches with his lightning speed and managed to play in the NFL for parts of four seasons despite standing just 5-foot-9.
Justin Stepp
Wide receivers
Stepp doesn’t just have South Carolina roots, he grew up in the Midlands, attending Pelion High School. And a couple years ago, he was back in the Columbia area when his twin brother Josh, then the coach at Lexington High, made it to the state championship. Justin is younger than his brother, now a coach at Georgia Southern, by one minute. He’s also regarded as a relentless recruiter.
Erik Kimrey
Tight ends
Beamer has been vocal about wanting to bring former Gamecock players back into the program in off-field roles, and his staff has several members with ties to the Palmetto State and the Carolinas. But Kimrey is the only on-field coach who suited up for the Gamecocks, and he’s expected to be a fierce recruiter. He’s also the only coach to come directly from the high school ranks, and unsurprisingly, he’s also the lowest-paid member of the staff.
Greg Adkins
Offensive line
At 52 years old, Adkins is the oldest assistant on staff, as well as the most experienced in terms of years as a coach. He also has been around the SEC the most, with stops at two other programs before landing at South Carolina. Take a look at his eyes, though — Adkins has one brown eye, one blue, a condition called heterochromia.
Clayton White
Defensive coordinator/inside linebackers
White brings an unusual defensive scheme to South Carolina — the 4-2-5. South Carolina fans will remember it as the same setup that former defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson ran under Steve Spurrier. With an emphasis on speed and flexibility, White led a defensive unit at Western Kentucky that ranked in the top 40 nationally in passing yards allowed three times in four years.
Jimmy Lindsey
Defensive line
Born in Cheraw, South Carolina but raised in Morven, North Carolina, Lindsey comes to the Gamecocks from Illinois, where he spent one season under Lovie Smith, long considered to be one of the top defensive minds in football. Beamer even cited Lindsey’s experience under Smith as a qualification he looked at during the hiring process.
Mike Peterson
Defensive ends/outside linebackers
Peterson has a long and decorated playing history himself, earning All-American honors in college and All-Pro recognition in the NFL. But he has a connection to a South Carolina football great as well — his cousin is the late Freddie Solomon, a Sumter native regarded as one of the top high school football players ever in South Carolina.
Torrian Gray
Defensive backs
Gray has known Beamer for 25 years now, ever since they overlapped for a few years as players at Virginia Tech. Gray was a defensive back and Beamer was a walk-on wide receiver and son of head coach Frank Beamer — but they never matched up in practice. Gray made sure of that.
“We had certain guys that (said), ‘Oh man, that’s coach Beamer’s son,’ that wanted to go against Shane and ‘I’m going to make a point on coach Beamer’s son,’” Gray said at his introductory press conference. “I was never that guy, I was like, ‘Man, you know, I don’t want coach Beamer to be mad at me or something if I did something wrong to Shane and whatnot,’ so I honestly never went against Shane.”
Pete Lembo
Special teams coordinator/associate head coach
When Beamer introduced Lembo to the media, he said he wasn’t sure he would have even hired a special teams coordinator if he couldn’t get Lembo. The numbers speak for themselves — according to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Lembo’s special teams units have ranked significantly ahead of the offense and defense for whatever team he’s been working for for the past five years. In four of those five years, the unit has ranked in the top 20 nationally.
