For a rookie, Shawn Elliott has been phenomenal head coach.
Elliott took the job in mid-October when Steve Spurrier stepped down and inherited a difficult situation.
South Carolina is severely lacking on the talent front. Recruiting has been down and the Gamecocks have neither the depth, nor the play-making ability to be a true contender in the SEC. When Elliott took the job, he knew it would take two upsets for the Gamecocks to simply become bowl eligible.
Elliott got right to work. First, Elliott handed over full control of the offense to offensive coordinator G.A. Mangus. Since then, Elliott has made gutsy call after gutsy call to keep the Gamecocks in close games against superior opponents.
South Carolina was a 17-point underdog to Tennessee heading into Saturday’s contest. Few experts gave the Gamecocks a chance win and two possessions in, the game had the makings of a blowout.
Elliott’s players dug down. The Gamecocks fought. Where the team would have given up in September, they followed their interim head coach and played with reckless abandon.
Coming into the game, the Gamecocks had scored touchdowns on just nine of their 24 red zone possessions, last in the nation. The offense did not even get inside the 20 in the first half, but after the break, the offense started to click. The coaching staff put all of their faith in quarterback Perry Orth, and the offense went to work.
With just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter, South Carolina reached the red zone for the first time in the game. Mangus called for a throwback linebacker Jonathan Walton, who, unbeknownst to the media, had been working with the offense at fullback. The play resulted in a touchdown.
Less than 30 seconds later, the Gamecocks were faced with a fourth-and-goal situation and down seven. Elliott left the offense on the field and Jerell Adams scored on a 7-yard reception from Orth.
After allowing a Tennessee touchdown, South Carolina’s offense again went to work. Faced with a 2nd-and-6 at the Tennessee 41, Mangus called a flea-flicker. Orth checked down to Matrick Belton, but the play still went for 18 yards and eventually led to a Pharoh Cooper touchdown pass.
Somehow, the Gamecocks went 3-3 in the red zone in the third quarter and Elliott had the team, and the fan base, believing they could win a game that looked like a blowout just two quarters earlier.
There’s no way South Carolina should have had the opportunity to win the game on the final drive. The Gamecocks started a former walk-on at quarterback who threw to a hodgepodge of receivers behind a makeshift offensive line.
South Carolina simply does not have the talent to compete with loaded SEC teams — but they are.
This team will not make a bowl. Elliott will likely become a successful coach with a smaller school. Most of the other coaches will likely be fired. However, Elliott’s contagious motivation is bringing hope to Gamecock football.
South Carolina’s next head coach, whoever that is, will be excited when he gets to Columbia. A team that could have rolled over and given up fought to the final whistle and nearly pulled off an upset for the second straight week. Elliott is a big reason for that.
This year has not gone the way Gamecock fans wanted, but the last three games have brought hope. If the next coach can recruit some talent to Columbia, the Gamecocks have the culture in place to become a contender once again.
An interim head coach is often in an unfair situation. Elliott was the underdog from the moment he was promoted, and he won’t get the job come season’s end. But, when South Carolina hires an outside head coach, Elliott's efforts will be noted.
This won't be the last time we hear, "head coach Shawn Elliott."