Shawn Elliott soaking in every moment of being back at South Carolina
Shawn Elliott thinks about it every single day. The moment is not far off. Soon, he will be back in the place he loves, surrounded by thousands of Gamecock fans that feel the same way he does.
What you see is what you get with Elliott. There’s no faking anything about him. It’s all real and genuine.
“I’m a fiery guy, I love fans, I love noise, I love excitement, I love that stadium over there and everything about it,” Elliott said.
[GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]
Come next Saturday, Elliott will be back on the sidelines at Williams-Brice Stadium wearing garnet and black. It will be a culmination of all the moments he’s had in the time since coming back to South Carolina as an assistant coach.
But through 10 spring practices, it hasn’t taken long for Elliott to fit in. In a way, it’s almost like he never left.
“I try to bring consistent energy to the room each and every day, consistent energy to our football team each and every day,” he said. “The reason why I can bring that is because I love being here. I love playing and coaching with these guys each and every day at the University of South Carolina.”
Elliott seems to take a deeper sense of pride and joy in what he does. He mimicked the phrase about if you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. And that’s exactly how he feels.
“Man, I come in here every single morning, I wake up and I’m so ready to get to work. It’s hard to run me out,” Elliott said. “I love being around these players, this tight end group. I think we’ve got a great group, we can communicate real well. We have a fantastic time in the meeting room. Our time on the field is not enough. It’s been everything I wanted it to be or needed it to be and more. I just hope they feel the same way.”
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
When the moment does come, it will be an all too familiar one for the veteran coach. He’s been a part of running out to 2001 more times than he could probably count. And it still gives him that special feeling every time.
“I come in here as a coach and an assistant coach, standing there on that first game and listening to 2001 and the fans. It’s just another unbelievable moment,” Elliott said. “And then, I was an opposing head coach coming in here. All those feelings, they just overwhelm you. To think that doesn’t happen to a coach is truly silly. It does, it does.”
Normally, he wouldn’t have time to reflect during a real game since he’s so in-sync with the preparation. However, Elliott said he’ll try to take a step back and soak it all in during the spring game. After all, he’s back home and he couldn’t be happier about it.
“I’ll probably be a little bit crazy come next Saturday night cause shoot, it’s game day and it’s in Williams-Brice,” Elliott said.
