USC has full nine-man staff after additions
South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier filled all three coaching vacancies on his staff this weekend, hiring Joe Robinson as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, Kirk Botkin as the linebackers coach and Everette Sands as the running backs coach.
Robinson joins the Gamecock staff after one season at the University of North Carolina where he coached the defensive line.
"We are pleased to announce Joe Robinson as our special teams coach," Spurrier said in a release on Friday. "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."
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.
"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."
Less than an hour after announcing Robinson as the new special teams and tight ends coach, Spurrier also announced the hiring of Botkin.
"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 2009 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. Botkin has spent the last two seasons coaching high school football at Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas.
"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."
Spurrier filled his third and final coaching vacancy on Monday, hiring Sands to coach the running backs after the departure of former running backs coach, Jay Graham, who was named to the same position at Tennessee.
"We are pleased to announce Everette Sands as our running backs coach," Spurrier said in a release. "He's from Conway, S.C., was a running back at The Citadel and has been in coaching for several years. He will do an outstanding job with our running backs. He will also assist coach Robinson with our special teams, as will several of the other coaches."
Sands most recently coached running backs at N.C. State, but is familiar to the state of South Carolina after playing collegiately for The Citadel. During his playing career at The Citadel, Sands rushed for over 100 yards in the Bulldogs' upset of the Gamecocks in the 1990 season.