W
Wes Mitchell
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** If you ask me, this is a grand slam kind of hire and the type of one that was needed at wide receivers coach. We know that the receiver room needs to "get right" in a hurry and he's got a reputation of being someone who can do that both from a development and recruiting standpoint.
** Stepp is a South Carolina native and he's another hire where this won't be seen as just another job to him. South Carolina has essentially hired him away from a solid SEC situation at Arkansas, but getting home has always been intriguing to him from what I've been told from some people around him.
** Stepp has developed a relationship as an excellent recruiter and the results speak for themselves. The two only two four-star prospects in Arkansas' 2021 class are wide receivers recruited by Stepp (to go along with a couple of high three-star guys as well) and before the 2020 staff transition class (similar to what Carolina is going through now), Stepp signed four four-star WRs including the top two highest-rated guys in Arkansas's class. There's a belief that Stepp can get the Gamecocks some guys in a hurry.
** There's a reason that Stepp was the lone holdover from Chad Morris' staff. Stepp was with Morris at SMU, then Morris brought him with him to Arkansas, and Sam Pittman thought highly enough of him to keep him on.
Here's an excerpt from our Rivals Arkansas site on signing day.
"I thought Coach Stepp did a great job with those guys," Pittman said. "If you look, there’s a lot of talent there with Ketron and Rocket and Jaden and Bryce. You know, Bryce Stevens will have a decent chance, a good chance to win the 100 meters in 4A there in Oklahoma. Obviously Ketron Jackson is a highly recruited kid. Rocket Sanders can play several different spots. And of course Jaedon Wilson is a long ball threat. He can catch. Great size on him."
In Stepp's four recruiting classes on the Hill, he's brought in seven 4-stars–Jackson, Sanders, Jaqualyn Crawford, Treylon Burks, TQ Jackson, Trey Knox and Shamar Nash.
The South Carolina native has continually shown an ability to identify favorite targets early (despite offering quite a few), and following those relationships through to signing day. It hasn't always panned out, he has lost some battles, but he doesn't take those lightly, which Pittman believes is a key sign of an elite recruiter.
"You have to be a hard worker and you have to be competitive," Pittman said. "Recruiting has to be personal to you. If you lose a kid at Arkansas or any kid in the country, that had to hurt you and it has to be personal. I think it is to Stepp."
** With his time with Chad Morris and this past season in Kendall Briles offense, Stepp also is well-versed in the spread offense and should already have a great feel for offensive approaches similar to what Shane Beamer ultimately hopes the Gamecocks can run here. It's a good match from that standpoint.
** Finally, here's what Nikki Chavanelle of our Arkansas Rivals site sent me about Stepp:
Stepp as a recruiter is one of the strongest I’ve covered. He identifies guys he likes early, isn’t shy to offer before others and builds long, solid relationships with recruits. It’s not unusual to see his targets to say they “love” him, and his players typically feel the same way. As a coach, he has an impressive resume for someone so young. He’s got three SMU receivers in the league (Courtland Sutton, Trey Quinn and James Proche (although he didn’t coach all of Proche’s seasons)). He also has one if not two from this year’s team NFL bound in a season (Treylon Burks and Mike Woods).
** Stepp is a South Carolina native and he's another hire where this won't be seen as just another job to him. South Carolina has essentially hired him away from a solid SEC situation at Arkansas, but getting home has always been intriguing to him from what I've been told from some people around him.
** Stepp has developed a relationship as an excellent recruiter and the results speak for themselves. The two only two four-star prospects in Arkansas' 2021 class are wide receivers recruited by Stepp (to go along with a couple of high three-star guys as well) and before the 2020 staff transition class (similar to what Carolina is going through now), Stepp signed four four-star WRs including the top two highest-rated guys in Arkansas's class. There's a belief that Stepp can get the Gamecocks some guys in a hurry.
** There's a reason that Stepp was the lone holdover from Chad Morris' staff. Stepp was with Morris at SMU, then Morris brought him with him to Arkansas, and Sam Pittman thought highly enough of him to keep him on.
Here's an excerpt from our Rivals Arkansas site on signing day.
"I thought Coach Stepp did a great job with those guys," Pittman said. "If you look, there’s a lot of talent there with Ketron and Rocket and Jaden and Bryce. You know, Bryce Stevens will have a decent chance, a good chance to win the 100 meters in 4A there in Oklahoma. Obviously Ketron Jackson is a highly recruited kid. Rocket Sanders can play several different spots. And of course Jaedon Wilson is a long ball threat. He can catch. Great size on him."
In Stepp's four recruiting classes on the Hill, he's brought in seven 4-stars–Jackson, Sanders, Jaqualyn Crawford, Treylon Burks, TQ Jackson, Trey Knox and Shamar Nash.
The South Carolina native has continually shown an ability to identify favorite targets early (despite offering quite a few), and following those relationships through to signing day. It hasn't always panned out, he has lost some battles, but he doesn't take those lightly, which Pittman believes is a key sign of an elite recruiter.
"You have to be a hard worker and you have to be competitive," Pittman said. "Recruiting has to be personal to you. If you lose a kid at Arkansas or any kid in the country, that had to hurt you and it has to be personal. I think it is to Stepp."
** With his time with Chad Morris and this past season in Kendall Briles offense, Stepp also is well-versed in the spread offense and should already have a great feel for offensive approaches similar to what Shane Beamer ultimately hopes the Gamecocks can run here. It's a good match from that standpoint.
** Finally, here's what Nikki Chavanelle of our Arkansas Rivals site sent me about Stepp:
Stepp as a recruiter is one of the strongest I’ve covered. He identifies guys he likes early, isn’t shy to offer before others and builds long, solid relationships with recruits. It’s not unusual to see his targets to say they “love” him, and his players typically feel the same way. As a coach, he has an impressive resume for someone so young. He’s got three SMU receivers in the league (Courtland Sutton, Trey Quinn and James Proche (although he didn’t coach all of Proche’s seasons)). He also has one if not two from this year’s team NFL bound in a season (Treylon Burks and Mike Woods).
