*** As South Carolina continues its march toward another head football coach, GamecockCentral.com has the latest on where things stand with the pool of candidates.
*** In our initial search update on Sunday, we mentioned the fact that South Carolina's preference - so long as it doesn't mean settling in any way - is to finish this search in a timely manner in order to create stability around the program, both internally and for recruiting purposes. Whether or not that can be accomplished remains to be seen, but from what we're picking up, things seem to be tracking well in terms of being able to make a hire in a punctual fashion.
*** Each day since the search began, we have been profiling different coaches and their chances of ending up in Columbia, both that are on our Hot Board and some that are currently not. One coach that made our very first Hot Board on Sunday was Scott Satterfield, someone that's been connected to openings (or potential openings) at South Carolina in the past. The former Appalachian State head coach is highly regarded in the industry for his coaching acumen, and he walked into a difficult situation in Louisville when he took that job in 2018.
We listed Satterfield on the Hot Board for a reason; he's someone that appears to be part of the discussion.
*** Former Vanderbilt quarterback and current SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers threw out James Franklin's name for the South Carolina on social media recently, interesting if for no other reason than Rodgers played for Franklin during his stint in Nashville.
There have been some industry rumblings that Franklin could entertain an exit from Penn State if another strong opportunity arose. Although it's a notion that South Carolina would likely entertain if the scenario were to come about, I can tell you that so far, there have been no indications of conversations between South Carolina and Franklin,
*** Many of our subscribers have asked about Oregon coach Mario Cristobal and the rumblings that he may be in on the South Carolina job. Our understanding is that Cristobal is intrigued by the idea of getting back to the eastern side of the states, as he is from Miami and has spent the rest of his professional career out this way (Miami, Rutgers, FIU, and Alabama). Cristobal is another candidate that's at least been part of the discussion, although I don't get any sense that he's been a guy one could classify as a "focal point."
*** Our very first update on Sunday indicated that, while Hugh Freeze would draw consideration for the South Carolina job, that we felt based on our information that he would be less likely than other candidates. Nothing has changed on that front as far as we're concerned. If Auburn and Tennessee open in the future, he'll surely be a name to watch at those posts. We've heard that Freeze, in particular, is intrigued by Auburn, although he wants back in the SEC in general.
*** One of the names that has been connected to the search from the outset is Louisiana's Billy Napier, and he remains on the radar for the search as well. At some point you may have read that there are questions as to whether or not Napier would absolutely take this job, and indeed I've been passed similar information in the course of the search. Napier, for a pretty lengthy period, has been telling people in the industry that South Carolina is one of the jobs he's had eyes on. Why the conflicting stuff? Remember that coaching searches are complex animals that feature a tangled web of administrators, coaches, and agents; posturing to drive up demand - and demands - is pretty common.
Napier remains in the mix for the job. Some fan sentiment has seemed to hold that he is a front-runner of sorts for the job, but our information indicates that it would certainly be premature to suggest that.
*** Another question that we have encountered on The Insiders Forum relates to the staff that Oklahoma's Shane Beamer may be able to put together in Columbia. Just for some search-related background, coaches often carry "lists" of potential staff members that would be possibilities, and I'd imagine that Beamer is similar in that regard.
While there are no detailed specifics that are reportable right now, we have heard behind the scenes that Beamer's staff would include a blend of coaches with experience in the ACC, SEC, and/or NFL that are familiar with the recruiting landscape at South Carolina and within the SEC.
Here's one more piece of information related to Beamer that we picked up in our conversations with sources: Oklahoma has some similarities to South Carolina in that there is not always going to be a huge pool of talent that you can pull from within the borders, so you have to be able to go outside of your own state and have success, too. One of the reasons that Lincoln Riley brought Beamer on board was to open a new recruiting territory to the Sooners, the "DMV" area that has been more wide-open than ever in terms of out-of-state schools being able to go in and poach talent. Since Beamer's arrival, the school signed a pair of 4-star offensive linemen from that area in the 2020 class. Additionally, three 4-star prospects hail from Maryland/Virginia are committed in the Sooner's 2021 recruiting class, and five-star QB Caleb Williams is from DC. That region is one that could be an important one for South Carolina going forward as well; the Gamecocks pulled Marshawn Lloyd out of Maryland in the 2020 class.
*** In our initial search update on Sunday, we mentioned the fact that South Carolina's preference - so long as it doesn't mean settling in any way - is to finish this search in a timely manner in order to create stability around the program, both internally and for recruiting purposes. Whether or not that can be accomplished remains to be seen, but from what we're picking up, things seem to be tracking well in terms of being able to make a hire in a punctual fashion.
*** Each day since the search began, we have been profiling different coaches and their chances of ending up in Columbia, both that are on our Hot Board and some that are currently not. One coach that made our very first Hot Board on Sunday was Scott Satterfield, someone that's been connected to openings (or potential openings) at South Carolina in the past. The former Appalachian State head coach is highly regarded in the industry for his coaching acumen, and he walked into a difficult situation in Louisville when he took that job in 2018.
We listed Satterfield on the Hot Board for a reason; he's someone that appears to be part of the discussion.
*** Former Vanderbilt quarterback and current SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers threw out James Franklin's name for the South Carolina on social media recently, interesting if for no other reason than Rodgers played for Franklin during his stint in Nashville.
There have been some industry rumblings that Franklin could entertain an exit from Penn State if another strong opportunity arose. Although it's a notion that South Carolina would likely entertain if the scenario were to come about, I can tell you that so far, there have been no indications of conversations between South Carolina and Franklin,
*** Many of our subscribers have asked about Oregon coach Mario Cristobal and the rumblings that he may be in on the South Carolina job. Our understanding is that Cristobal is intrigued by the idea of getting back to the eastern side of the states, as he is from Miami and has spent the rest of his professional career out this way (Miami, Rutgers, FIU, and Alabama). Cristobal is another candidate that's at least been part of the discussion, although I don't get any sense that he's been a guy one could classify as a "focal point."
*** Our very first update on Sunday indicated that, while Hugh Freeze would draw consideration for the South Carolina job, that we felt based on our information that he would be less likely than other candidates. Nothing has changed on that front as far as we're concerned. If Auburn and Tennessee open in the future, he'll surely be a name to watch at those posts. We've heard that Freeze, in particular, is intrigued by Auburn, although he wants back in the SEC in general.
*** One of the names that has been connected to the search from the outset is Louisiana's Billy Napier, and he remains on the radar for the search as well. At some point you may have read that there are questions as to whether or not Napier would absolutely take this job, and indeed I've been passed similar information in the course of the search. Napier, for a pretty lengthy period, has been telling people in the industry that South Carolina is one of the jobs he's had eyes on. Why the conflicting stuff? Remember that coaching searches are complex animals that feature a tangled web of administrators, coaches, and agents; posturing to drive up demand - and demands - is pretty common.
Napier remains in the mix for the job. Some fan sentiment has seemed to hold that he is a front-runner of sorts for the job, but our information indicates that it would certainly be premature to suggest that.
*** Another question that we have encountered on The Insiders Forum relates to the staff that Oklahoma's Shane Beamer may be able to put together in Columbia. Just for some search-related background, coaches often carry "lists" of potential staff members that would be possibilities, and I'd imagine that Beamer is similar in that regard.
While there are no detailed specifics that are reportable right now, we have heard behind the scenes that Beamer's staff would include a blend of coaches with experience in the ACC, SEC, and/or NFL that are familiar with the recruiting landscape at South Carolina and within the SEC.
Here's one more piece of information related to Beamer that we picked up in our conversations with sources: Oklahoma has some similarities to South Carolina in that there is not always going to be a huge pool of talent that you can pull from within the borders, so you have to be able to go outside of your own state and have success, too. One of the reasons that Lincoln Riley brought Beamer on board was to open a new recruiting territory to the Sooners, the "DMV" area that has been more wide-open than ever in terms of out-of-state schools being able to go in and poach talent. Since Beamer's arrival, the school signed a pair of 4-star offensive linemen from that area in the 2020 class. Additionally, three 4-star prospects hail from Maryland/Virginia are committed in the Sooner's 2021 recruiting class, and five-star QB Caleb Williams is from DC. That region is one that could be an important one for South Carolina going forward as well; the Gamecocks pulled Marshawn Lloyd out of Maryland in the 2020 class.
