Three Good Decisions Will Help USC Move Forward
posted by Scott Hood, Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Let’s start with Eric Norwood. When he supposedly announced after the Outback Bowl that he was turning pro, it was a head scratcher. We all knew that Norwood would be projected as a late round draft pick, at best. Why would a kid leave for that?
Well, it turns out cooler heads prevailed. I credit Norwood for going home and talking it over with his mother and other people of influence, and reaching the correct decision.
Obviously, the USC defense will be better off next season with Norwood in the mix. The front seven, in particular, is shaping up very nicely and should be just as productive as this past season.
The D-Line loses just two players of significance – Jordin Lindsey and Jonathan Williams. But there’s plenty of talent remaining with players like Cliff Matthews, Clifton Geathers and Ladi Ajiboye.
Sure, USC has to find a replacement for Jasper Brinkley, but there should be plenty of capable candidates when spring practice begins in March, starting with Rodney Paulk.
Norwood’s decision also means the 2009 USC defense will have an undisputed leader. This will be Norwood’s defense and the spotlight will shine brightest on him. Based on my conversation with him a couple of days ago, he appears primed for the challenge.
The major question mark on defense will be the secondary, and that brings us to Ron Cooper. It was evident when I spoke with him on Monday that he strongly believes he is headed to a better place.
Sources I have spoken with have told me unequivocally that a significant amount of tension existed between Cooper and some of the other coaches on the staff, especially Ellis Johnson.
In my opinion (meaning it’s just a theory), Cooper felt Tyrone Nix was treated poorly last year when he was essentially let go. Fortunately, Nix hooked on with Houston Nutt and Ole Miss and received a healthy raise for his troubles.
Then, Johnson arrives on the scene in January and Cooper’s role as secondary coach is reduced to safeties coach. Moreover, his title of Assistant Head Coach was also given to Johnson.
A recipe for ill feelings? Yes. And that’s exactly what happened. Now add in the recent reports that Cooper has, apparently, encouraged some of his players to leave early, and it’s fairly easy to figure out why Cooper was encouraged to look for employment elsewhere.
And why Cooper sounded happy to be getting out of Columbia. Granted, he did a very good job while he was at USC considering the secondary was one of the strongest parts of the team.
But a point of no return had been reached, and Spurrier had to act.
But as one coach leaves, another one arrives. I was very impressed with Eric Wolford during our 15-minute phone conversation today. He is a young, energetic, passionate coach that has moved up the ladder quickly.
Sources I spoke with at Illinois said Wolford was one of the most popular coaches on the staff, and had quickly established a recruiting niche for the Illini in the State of Ohio. His players loved him, which may be one reason they played so well for him. Hey, happy players make better players.
John Hunt was an excellent X’s and O’s coach, but I’m not sure he possessed the energy on the recruiting trail you must have to compete in the SEC.
Wolford has that energy. I look for him to become one of USC’s most relentless recruiters as well as one of the best O-line coaches in the conference. It appears he holds his players accountable for their actions on and off the field, and that’s something USC needs right now.
As USC’s running game coordinator, all eyes will be on Wolford this spring, just like everyone was watching Ray Rychleski last year when he was hired as special teams coordinator.
Hopefully, the ground game will exhibit the same amount of improvement in 2009 that USC’s special teams did this past season. If that happens, it will climb from putrid to respectable.
Could Wolford's presence on the USC staff give the Gamecocks a greater presence in a fertile recruiting state like Ohio? It should. I suspect USC might be able to pull one or two players a year out of that state.
Of course, USC has a couple of other assistant coaching positions to fill. It’s likely the job of quarterback coach will be filled by someone Spurrier knows and who will come into the job with an extensive pre-existing knowledge of the offense, i.e. a former Florida QB.
The most likely candidates – Shane Matthews, Noah Brindise and G.A. Mangus, who is currently an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee under Rick Stockstill. Mangus was a backup QB for Florida from 1988-91.
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There have been three important decisions this week affecting the South Carolina football program and all of them have been good ones. In other words, USC has become a better team.
Let’s start with Eric Norwood. When he supposedly announced after the Outback Bowl that he was turning pro, it was a head scratcher. We all knew that Norwood would be projected as a late round draft pick, at best. Why would a kid leave for that?
Well, it turns out cooler heads prevailed. I credit Norwood for going home and talking it over with his mother and other people of influence, and reaching the correct decision.
Obviously, the USC defense will be better off next season with Norwood in the mix. The front seven, in particular, is shaping up very nicely and should be just as productive as this past season.
The D-Line loses just two players of significance – Jordin Lindsey and Jonathan Williams. But there’s plenty of talent remaining with players like Cliff Matthews, Clifton Geathers and Ladi Ajiboye.
Sure, USC has to find a replacement for Jasper Brinkley, but there should be plenty of capable candidates when spring practice begins in March, starting with Rodney Paulk.
Norwood’s decision also means the 2009 USC defense will have an undisputed leader. This will be Norwood’s defense and the spotlight will shine brightest on him. Based on my conversation with him a couple of days ago, he appears primed for the challenge.
The major question mark on defense will be the secondary, and that brings us to Ron Cooper. It was evident when I spoke with him on Monday that he strongly believes he is headed to a better place.
Sources I have spoken with have told me unequivocally that a significant amount of tension existed between Cooper and some of the other coaches on the staff, especially Ellis Johnson.
In my opinion (meaning it’s just a theory), Cooper felt Tyrone Nix was treated poorly last year when he was essentially let go. Fortunately, Nix hooked on with Houston Nutt and Ole Miss and received a healthy raise for his troubles.
Then, Johnson arrives on the scene in January and Cooper’s role as secondary coach is reduced to safeties coach. Moreover, his title of Assistant Head Coach was also given to Johnson.
A recipe for ill feelings? Yes. And that’s exactly what happened. Now add in the recent reports that Cooper has, apparently, encouraged some of his players to leave early, and it’s fairly easy to figure out why Cooper was encouraged to look for employment elsewhere.
And why Cooper sounded happy to be getting out of Columbia. Granted, he did a very good job while he was at USC considering the secondary was one of the strongest parts of the team.
But a point of no return had been reached, and Spurrier had to act.
But as one coach leaves, another one arrives. I was very impressed with Eric Wolford during our 15-minute phone conversation today. He is a young, energetic, passionate coach that has moved up the ladder quickly.
Sources I spoke with at Illinois said Wolford was one of the most popular coaches on the staff, and had quickly established a recruiting niche for the Illini in the State of Ohio. His players loved him, which may be one reason they played so well for him. Hey, happy players make better players.
John Hunt was an excellent X’s and O’s coach, but I’m not sure he possessed the energy on the recruiting trail you must have to compete in the SEC.
Wolford has that energy. I look for him to become one of USC’s most relentless recruiters as well as one of the best O-line coaches in the conference. It appears he holds his players accountable for their actions on and off the field, and that’s something USC needs right now.
As USC’s running game coordinator, all eyes will be on Wolford this spring, just like everyone was watching Ray Rychleski last year when he was hired as special teams coordinator.
Hopefully, the ground game will exhibit the same amount of improvement in 2009 that USC’s special teams did this past season. If that happens, it will climb from putrid to respectable.
Could Wolford's presence on the USC staff give the Gamecocks a greater presence in a fertile recruiting state like Ohio? It should. I suspect USC might be able to pull one or two players a year out of that state.
Of course, USC has a couple of other assistant coaching positions to fill. It’s likely the job of quarterback coach will be filled by someone Spurrier knows and who will come into the job with an extensive pre-existing knowledge of the offense, i.e. a former Florida QB.
The most likely candidates – Shane Matthews, Noah Brindise and G.A. Mangus, who is currently an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee under Rick Stockstill. Mangus was a backup QB for Florida from 1988-91.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.