Coach attributes success to Spurrier setting tone
Special teams coach Joe Robinson was honored with a game ball after USC’s victory over Missouri, a testament to the difference his unit made in the game. But as of Tuesday afternoon, he had not received it yet.
After practice, with a smile on his face, Robinson humorously described how special teams became a focus for South Carolina, crediting head coach Steve Spurrier with recognizing a need to improve the unit.
Asked whether his schemes are simpler than the ones other teams use, he said talented players, rather than complicated schemes, are what dictate success.
“You’re smart to use the word simple because if it was complicated I couldn’t handle it,” Robinson said. “I think we try to (keep schemes simple). You’re limited sometimes in time, so you need to make it simple.
“But we’ve got some warriors on this team, and they’ve brought the enthusiasm. Coach Spurrier, since the day that I stood in front of the team, he has sold the special teams. He’s the one that set the tone. I think the players have been enthusiastic ever since.”
Junior Ace Sanders, who sparked USC’s offense with a 49-yard return in the second quarter against the Tigers, agreed the players have bought into special teams.
“You have players that are actually buying into it, working hard, working their tails off to make the blocks that they need for me to execute runs,” Sanders said.
Sanders and sophomore Bruce Ellington, who had South Carolina’s first kickoff return of the year in the second quarter, were the most visible contributors to the special teams, combining for 156 return yards. But their long runs were made possible by contributions from all 11 players in the unit, including walk-on Sidney Rhodes, a sophomore cornerback.
“Sidney showed up last year, transferred in from Newberry or somewhere up there,” Spurrier said. “He’s one of the first guys down on kickoff coverage. He’s got a chance to earn a scholarship, hopefully real soon. We have certain players like that that are really contributing. That’s nice to see.”
Spurrier said he became aware of Robinson when he was the special teams coordinator at LSU. In 2009, the Tigers ranked first in the conference overall, leading the SEC in kickoff coverage and punt returns. Robinson came to USC this year after spending one season at UNC.
Asked how special teams became his specialty, Robinson credited Jeff Bower, the coach at Southern Miss, with giving him his first shot at the job.
“I think there are a lot of people who would say [special teams is] not a specialty of mine at this time,” Robinson joked. “I started at Southern Miss as a coordinator in the mid-’90s, but as a young coach before that, I’d always had a responsibility (for special teams).
“The head coach there wanted to go with a coordinator, wanted to have a guy handle the whole thing, which I thought was a great idea. I had a chance to do that, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Robinson said securing good field position is a major goal for USC’s special teams. The unit gave the offense a major boost last week, allowing four of its drives to begin on Missouri’s side of the field. Sanders’ 49-yard return gave the Gamecocks the ball on the Tigers’ 4-yard line.
“[Spurrier] knows what our defense can do when the field is long, and he knows what our offense can do when the field is short,” Robinson said. “We talked a lot about field position. We talked a lot about making plays. He talked a lot about some of the teams in the conference that make plays on special teams,and he’s talked about that with the players.”
The first-year Gamecock coach said the opportunity to impact the game is what makes his job rewarding.
“I think it makes a difference in every game,” Robinson said. “I think we’ve seen that. Having a chance to make a difference is something that you enjoy doing.”