Muschamp ready for satellite camps, talks draft plans

The news dropped Thursday the NCAA had rescinded the proposed ban on coaches traveling the country and hosting satellite camps far afield.

Will Muschamp and his staff already had a plan in place to take advantage.

“We’re going to meet as a staff (Friday) about some things,” Muschamp said before his SpursUp Tour stop in Sumter. “I’ve got some ideas that we’ve already kind of discussed as far as kind of going to some areas, obviously Charlotte, Atlanta and Jacksonville, getting into Florida a little bit. But again, I think the huge selling point for us at South Carolina is getting a young man on our campus.”

Satellite camps involve coaches leaving their region and, either working other schools’ camps as a group, or hosting a camp at a high school or college well outside their region.

The process surrounding it has been fraught, with coaches coming out emphatically on both sides of the argument.

While many SEC coaches had spoken in favor of the ban, matching the conference’s stance, Muschamp had not taken either side. Even as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took a hard line, Muschamp’s tune stayed the same.

“It’s fine,” Muschamp said. “Regardless of whatever decision they made, we’ll play by the rules and do what we’ve got to do.”

Draft day

Although Muschamp didn’t coach any of the Gamecocks who might be selected in the coming NFL draft, he said their selection is something that benefits the program.

Tight end Jerell Adams and wide receiver Pharoh Cooper could both be selected as early as the second day.

Muschamp will be tracking picks the next few days because he’s still got a number of former players at Auburn and Florida who could find themselves selected.

“I’m going to call those guys once they get drafted,” Muschamp said. “Talked to about every NFL team in the last month or two about our guys, and guys at Auburn and guys that I recruited. There are a lot of coaches and general managers that trust me and I’ve recruited a lot of these guys, whether or not I’ve signed them or competed against them. So I get a lot of calls.”

Finding faith

When asked about the situation that saw a former team chaplain depart in favor of more voices on that front, Muchamp made one thing clear. The team’s program as it relates to faith is not based in any religion but Christianity.

Injury update

Muschamp said defensive end Shameik Blackshear, who missed the spring with gunshot wounds, has been cleared to lift and for light running. Defensive tackle Dante Sawyer and safety Jordan Diggs should be cleared June 1 for full lifting and running after shoulder injuries kept them out of spring.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Muschamp ready for satellite camps, talks draft plans."