In doing some checking regarding USC’s vacant offensive coordinator position, we are heavily tracking NC State’s Eli Drinkwitz in relation to the job. Drinkwitz is thought of as a rising star in the profession, having worked on Gus Malzahn’s staffs in high school and then at Auburn as a quality control analyst. He then moved to Arkansas State and Boise State under Bryan Harsin. Eventually, he had the opportunity to coordinate Boise State’s offense in 2015; the result was an average of 39 points per game and a top 15 national finish in scoring offense. NC State averaged almost 31 points per game this season.
Drinkwitz checks a lot of the boxes that South Carolina will be looking for at this stage. He has a versatile, creative attack that helps the quarterback and features a downhill running game. The offense is designed to get the ball in space in a variety of ways to the offense’s playmakers while also pushing it downfield, and Drinkwitz will utilize tempo in the course of doing that. He fits in a lot of ways, and there’s interest.
I can tell you, because there’s a misconception about this especially on a national stage, that Will Muschamp wants South Carolina’s offense to operate faster. Production and points are the biggest issues, but Muschamp stated when he arrived in Columbia that he wanted to use tempo on offense. It was not as feasible to do it in 2016 simply because of USC’s extreme youth on that side of the ball, but this season there was not as much tempo as desired. Of course, the production was not there either, as we covered earlier this week.
Another name we’ve learned South Carolina has at least researched is Maryland’s Walt Bell. The 33-year old has quickly risen through the coaching ranks and has some interesting connections to the South Carolina staff. Bell was a fellow coach with current USC tight ends coach Pat Washington while at Southern Miss, and now he works under DJ Durkin at Maryland. Durkin, of course, was Will Muschamp’s defensive coordinator for a time at Florida.
Bell is an energetic coach who runs an up-tempo spread scheme. He likes to run the ball in a variety of ways and his offense is thought of as creative. Maryland put up 51 points on Texas in a season-opening win this season; the Terps lost their starting quarterback and their backup later in the season. Bell has worked under Mike Gundy, Larry Fedora, and Blake Anderson during his prior career stops; Anderson was involved in Muschamp’s last offensive coordinator search at Florida before opting to take the head coaching job at Arkansas State.
As Jeremy Pruitt continues building his new staff for Tennessee in Knoxville, USC co-offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon is a name that has been mentioned to me as someone Pruitt could pursue for a role on the staff. However, sources I spoke with were skeptical that Pruitt could ultimately entice McClendon to leave Columbia. Former Southern Cal passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tyson Helton has already joined the Volunteer staff, and could be given sole play-calling responsibilities. If Pruitt opted to split them, there is a thought that Will Friend (from Colorado State, Pruitt’s college roommate) could be the run game coordinator and have an addition title. At South Carolina, McClendon already has his co-OC title, received a raise after last season, and is in line receive another following this season.
As mentioned yesterday on The Insiders Forum, South Carolina is hosting a key uncommitted target in four-star cornerback Jaycee Horn over the weekend for his official visit. The visit comes at a good time, as we noted recently that Tennessee’s hire of Pruitt and the talk about Alabama trying to remain in the game persists. Horn has repeatedly stated his intentions to sign in February, but the early signing period looms from December 20-22. I can tell you that there have been at least some discussion behind the scenes of Horn inking early somewhere. That would appear to be good news for the Gamecocks if it happened; indeed, South Carolina has held the edge here lately. This weekend could go a long way towards solidifying that status. If Horn extends the process and does wait until February, then the competition would only figure to increase.
Speaking of signing early, it’s also been the intention of four-star wide receiver commitment Josh Vann to wait until February to sign. His team at Tucker, as usual, has a large signing class and Vann has expressed a desire to go through the festivities with his teammates on February. However, I did speak with Vann earlier in the week and he did not rule out signing early completely. Vann said that Kansas State and Georgia still send him mail, but that he’s “pretty locked in” with the Gamecocks.
Along with the aforementioned Horn, several of South Carolina’s committed early enrollees are slated to make official visits this weekend. Three offensive linemen in Wyatt Campbell, Max Iyama, and Hank Manos will be in the group along with in-state athletes RJ Roderick and Darius Rush, plus Georgia linebacker Ernest Jones. Defensive back Jonathan Gipson will also be in that group; he’s not enrolling in January but is planning on signing in December.
Drinkwitz checks a lot of the boxes that South Carolina will be looking for at this stage. He has a versatile, creative attack that helps the quarterback and features a downhill running game. The offense is designed to get the ball in space in a variety of ways to the offense’s playmakers while also pushing it downfield, and Drinkwitz will utilize tempo in the course of doing that. He fits in a lot of ways, and there’s interest.
I can tell you, because there’s a misconception about this especially on a national stage, that Will Muschamp wants South Carolina’s offense to operate faster. Production and points are the biggest issues, but Muschamp stated when he arrived in Columbia that he wanted to use tempo on offense. It was not as feasible to do it in 2016 simply because of USC’s extreme youth on that side of the ball, but this season there was not as much tempo as desired. Of course, the production was not there either, as we covered earlier this week.
Another name we’ve learned South Carolina has at least researched is Maryland’s Walt Bell. The 33-year old has quickly risen through the coaching ranks and has some interesting connections to the South Carolina staff. Bell was a fellow coach with current USC tight ends coach Pat Washington while at Southern Miss, and now he works under DJ Durkin at Maryland. Durkin, of course, was Will Muschamp’s defensive coordinator for a time at Florida.
Bell is an energetic coach who runs an up-tempo spread scheme. He likes to run the ball in a variety of ways and his offense is thought of as creative. Maryland put up 51 points on Texas in a season-opening win this season; the Terps lost their starting quarterback and their backup later in the season. Bell has worked under Mike Gundy, Larry Fedora, and Blake Anderson during his prior career stops; Anderson was involved in Muschamp’s last offensive coordinator search at Florida before opting to take the head coaching job at Arkansas State.
As Jeremy Pruitt continues building his new staff for Tennessee in Knoxville, USC co-offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon is a name that has been mentioned to me as someone Pruitt could pursue for a role on the staff. However, sources I spoke with were skeptical that Pruitt could ultimately entice McClendon to leave Columbia. Former Southern Cal passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tyson Helton has already joined the Volunteer staff, and could be given sole play-calling responsibilities. If Pruitt opted to split them, there is a thought that Will Friend (from Colorado State, Pruitt’s college roommate) could be the run game coordinator and have an addition title. At South Carolina, McClendon already has his co-OC title, received a raise after last season, and is in line receive another following this season.
As mentioned yesterday on The Insiders Forum, South Carolina is hosting a key uncommitted target in four-star cornerback Jaycee Horn over the weekend for his official visit. The visit comes at a good time, as we noted recently that Tennessee’s hire of Pruitt and the talk about Alabama trying to remain in the game persists. Horn has repeatedly stated his intentions to sign in February, but the early signing period looms from December 20-22. I can tell you that there have been at least some discussion behind the scenes of Horn inking early somewhere. That would appear to be good news for the Gamecocks if it happened; indeed, South Carolina has held the edge here lately. This weekend could go a long way towards solidifying that status. If Horn extends the process and does wait until February, then the competition would only figure to increase.
Speaking of signing early, it’s also been the intention of four-star wide receiver commitment Josh Vann to wait until February to sign. His team at Tucker, as usual, has a large signing class and Vann has expressed a desire to go through the festivities with his teammates on February. However, I did speak with Vann earlier in the week and he did not rule out signing early completely. Vann said that Kansas State and Georgia still send him mail, but that he’s “pretty locked in” with the Gamecocks.
Along with the aforementioned Horn, several of South Carolina’s committed early enrollees are slated to make official visits this weekend. Three offensive linemen in Wyatt Campbell, Max Iyama, and Hank Manos will be in the group along with in-state athletes RJ Roderick and Darius Rush, plus Georgia linebacker Ernest Jones. Defensive back Jonathan Gipson will also be in that group; he’s not enrolling in January but is planning on signing in December.
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