What South Carolina assistant coaches Shawn Elliott, Joe DeCamillis said on Thursday
On Thursday, a pair of South Carolina met with the media. They were run game coordinator/tight ends coach Shawn Elliott and special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis.
Below are a few things the coaches said, as well as links to their full press conferences.
[Become a GamecockCentral member for $1]
SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR JOE DeCAMILLIS
– Opens up by sharing that in his brief time at USC, it’s evident that players are bought into the culture
– Placekicker Alex Herrera has been dealing with a heel injury and has missed some time. There’s been some good competition as they look to replace Mitch Jeter.
– Has been pleased with how guys have bought into what he wants to do. Admits that there’s things that he does differently from Pete Lembo but so far players are adjusting well.
[Get breaking news from GamecockCentral]
– Mentioned by name that Vicari Swain, Jalon Kilgore, Payton Mangrum, and Gage Larvadain are a few of the players who have been back returning kicks. At this point, they don’t really have a scout team for special teams because he wants to see what guys can do to compete for spots as starters.
– Always thinking about preparing every player for different situations. Shared today that they had up backs back returning kicks off the jugs machine to prepare them for situations for shorter kicks.
RUN GAME COORDINATOR/TE COACH SHAWN ELLIOTT
– Sees his title as “run game coordinator” as someone who can bounce ideas off of OL coach and OC. While he says there’s a balance with doing so, his first focus remains on coaching the tight ends room.
– There’s been an improvement in physicality through ten practices with the tight ends. That’s what he expects to see this season from his room. When he thinks of tights ends being physical it’s not just at the LOS but out on the perimeter as well.
– Loves working with Josh Simon. Joked that he reminded Simon that when he was at Western Kentucky while Elliott was at Georgia State that they “kicked his ass” and he needs to get tougher and he has. Has been really pleased his how he’s responded this spring.
[GamecockCentral Business Network]
– Shared that when he was a head coach he got lonely a good bit because you’re not with a positional group consistently, because you’re always hopping around. Loves being able to walk into a room and have his own “group.”
– In this new era with the transfer portal, some coaches have shared that they have had to change their style. Elliott says that won’t be the case with him. He’s a fiery guy and admits “if a guy needs to get his ass chewed out,” he’s not gonna hold back. Adds that the day he’s not able to do that then he’ll look for another profession. “Maybe I’d go and be a librarian.”
