Walking in to South Carolina's signing day press conference with the four new additions to the football coaching staff, USC coach Steve Spurrier checked to make sure the cameras were rolling before making his first comment of the day.
"A lot of people think this game is about the X's and the O's, but it's really about the Billy's and the Joe's," Spurrier said with a smile creeping on his face. "So we've added two Joes to our coaching staff."
Along with new head strength and conditioning coach Joe Connolly and special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Robinson, the Gamecocks also added running backs coach Everette Sands and linebackers coach Kirk Botkin in January.
Connolly is the only addition that was already on the staff, but was promoted from assistant strength and conditioning coach after head strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald left for the same position at Penn State. Connolly and Fitzgerald also worked together at Louisville before joining the South Carolina staff.
"The foundation of that program will remain the same," Connolly said. "Our philosophies are very similar — intensity, consistency, hard work and all those things that we preach to our guys. Those things will remain the same."
A lot of the reason for the strength and conditioning program staying mostly the same as it was under Fitzgerald is the character of the football players at USC.
"This is going to be my fourth season here, so things have progressed in my involvement with the team as I've been here," Connolly said. "Now that coach Spurrier has graciously added me as the head strength coach, to me the things don't change — it's still about the eyes and the athletes. It's still about the kids and how they are. The recruiting and how the guys have just great personalities — they want to work hard and they want to win — and to me, it's easy for me because of the guys that we have now. They do a tremendous job and they'll continue to do a tremendous job. It's like getting handed the keys to a Ferrari."
Just as Connolly was able to benefit from a relationship with Fitzgerald in joining the USC program before being promoted, Botkin similarly came to the Gamecocks by way of a connection he made when he was a member of the Arkansas staff at the same time as defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward.
"I've known Lorenzo for a while now and he is a special guy, and everybody can tell you that he is," Botkin said. "When he called me about a chance to come and work here, I was excited to get a chance to work with him, because I know he's a good person and a good football coach, [so is] coach Spurrier. We've kept in touch and we've been good friends for a while. I'm glad I knew him."
Spurrier was familiar with Robinson from when Robinson was the special teams coach at LSU. In 2009, LSU had the top special teams unit in the nation. In reference to using starters on special teams, Robinson said that he thinks the staff will find that "there's a lot of young guys that are hungry to be out on the field," but that the staff would do what's necessary to be successful. Either way, Robinson believes special teams is crucial to any team.
"When we talk about the special teams, we want to be aggressive and put pressure on the opponents," Robinson said. "I think it's important in every game. I think the special teams have a great value in terms of the field position. I think we can make a difference in every game that way."
Sands, a native of Conway, inherited a unit that has carried South Carolina's offense the past two seasons. He refers to the running back corps as a "full stable."
"I'm looking forward to getting Marcus (Lattimore) back," Sands said. "He's a great back in his own right. You also have Shon Carson, who got hurt last year, but he's a little fire bug as well. I'm looking for him to do a lot because he's more of a quicker, faster guy. You've got Brandon Wilds, who had a good year last year when Marcus got hurt, and then you've got Kenny Miles, which I think there's still some decisions to be made by him. I look forward to getting him back and I think he's a solid back as well. It's a good stable and I'm looking forward to having opportunity to coach these guys."
Though Spurrier's staff saw a lot of the changes in the offseason, he is still happy that offensive line coach Shawn Elliott, wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr., defensive line coach Brad Lawing and Ward have been a part of the staff for several years and continue to be. Spurrier will look to fill his final vacancy of safeties coach in "a week or so."
"There's a little bit of turnover," Spurrier said. "Anytime you have success, some people may try to hire your guys or what have you. Sometimes guys leave. They think it's a better opportunity and it's a free country, but the core of our guys are here."
