TWO GAMECOCK COACHES OUT AFTER EMBARRASSING LOSS AT CLEMSON

A pair of University of South Carolina football coaches are done in Columbia following Saturday’s 31-14 drubbing at the hands of arch-rival Clemson.

Much-maligned offensive line coach John Hunt has been fired and recruiting coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach David Reaves is on his way to Tennessee, sources confirmed to The State on Sunday.

Hunt has been under heavy criticism again this year as the Gamecocks struggled to protect their quarterbacks and run the ball. The 46-year-old Hunt coached with Steve Spurrier at Florida and with the Washington Redskins before joining Spurrier’s inaugural USC staff four years ago.

Reaves is joining his brother-in-law, Lane Kiffin, Tennessee’s new head coach, as the Volunteers’ quarterbacks coach. Reaves interviewed with Kiffin two years ago with the Oakland Raiders, but decided to stay at USC. [The State]

I don’t think too many in the Gamecock nation are disappointed about this. Obviously, almost all of yesterday’s offensive woes stemmed from the Clemson defensive line dismantling their USC counterparts. So it seemed only natural that someone would get thrown under the bus.

The other major problem yesterday was Spurrier’s refusal to bench on-again-off-again starting quarterback Chris Smelley, who lived up to his last name with three interceptions in the first half alone (four total). It appears, though, that Spurrier has learned his lesson for the Gamecocks’ bowl game — which will likely be announced after next week’s SEC championship game — and will start Stephen Garcia.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 30th, 2008 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.