Another South Carolina assistant to follow Dowell Loggains to Appalachian State

On Thursday, news broke that a South Carolina football staffer was following former offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to Appalachian State. Riley Watkins, an offensive graduate assistant, spent the 2021 season with Loggains at Arkansas before joining him in Columbia the past two years. He was with the Missouri Tigers between those two gigs in 2022. Now, he will join the new Mountainers headman in Boone as an offensive assistant. App State announced the move but did not detail his specific assignment in the release.

In the Appalachian State announcement, Loggains called Watkins, “a huge part of our offensive success at both South Carolina and Arkansas.” In addition to his work with the USC offensive, he has experience working in recruiting from his Arkansas days.

Watkins joins Ryan Yurachek (another former Arkansas assistant) in following Loggains to ASU. With the Gamecocks in 2023 and 2024, Watkins worked with the quarterbacks and wide receivers. Yurachek was the team’s assistant tight ends coach.

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As things stand, Loggains’ departure and the two off-field assistant departures are the only moves for the South Carolina coaching staff. In fact, head coach Shane Beamer told the media this week that one assistant turned down a head coaching job and another turned down a coordinator position.

In Loggains’ stead, Mike Shula was promoted to offensive coordinator following his work with quarterback LaNorris Sellers this fall. When Shula’s contract was announced, the news also came with a raise and extension for every on-field assistant on staff.

The NCAA has relaxed its rules regarding assistant numbers and duty restrictions. Because of that, South Carolina will have the freedom to add (or not add) replacements for Watkins or Yurachek. They also could bring on multiple assistants in their stead.

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