“We are pleased to announce Joe Robinson as our special teams coach,” Spurrier said in a release. “He has many years of experience and his special teams had the No. 1 overall ranking in the SEC in 2009. Our special teams will be in good hands under Coach Robinson and we look forward to having him and his family become Gamecocks.”
Robinson joins the Gamecock staff after one season at the University of North Carolina where he coached the defensive line.
“I’m excited to be here and thankful to become part of coach Spurrier’s staff,” Robinson said in a statement. “He’s done a great job with this program and my family is excited about this opportunity.”
Prior to coaching at Chapel Hill, Robinson spent three seasons as the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at LSU. In the 2010 season, he was named the 2010 FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year, as the Tigers’ special teams finished in the top 13 nationally in net punting, kickoff return average and punt return average. In 2009, LSU's special teams combined to rank No. 1 overall in the SEC as the Tigers led the league in both kickoff coverage and punt returns.
Less than an hour after tabbing Robinson as the new special teams and tight ends coach, the hiring of Botkin was announced.
"I’m excited to name Kirk Botkin as our linebackers coach,” Spurrier said in a release. “He has a lot of experience as both a player and a coach. I feel that coach Botkin will bring energy, enthusiasm and good play to our linebackers.”
Botkin has not coached collegiately since 2009, when he spent the 2008 and ’09 seasons coaching the defensive ends and special teams at his alma mater, Arkansas, under Bobby Petrino. He spent one season alongside Gamecocks’ defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward.
“I’m happy to be here and have the opportunity to work with outstanding coaches like coach Spurrier and coach Ward,” Botkin said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to bringing my family to Columbia and becoming part of the Gamecock family.”
Botkin has spent the last two seasons coaching high school football at Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas.
