December is for trolling, pt. 2

If you follow recruiting more closely than I do — admittedly, that’s not saying much — then you’re probably aware that Georgia hosted a bunch of its top targets this weekend, including this kid:

The nation’s No. 1 strong-side DE prospect (Hammond School/Columbia, SC) has been a mystery across the entire recruiting cycle. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound senior does no media. He plays in the same city as South Carolina. His quarterback at Hammond is the son of Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp.

That would be Jackson Muschamp, who is also a senior.  Why mention him specifically?  Welp, according to some on the South Carolina 247 message board, Kirby has offered Jackson as a preferred walk on.

That’s a lovely box Smart’s constructed for Agent Muschamp.  Especially if, as one commenter there put it, “Lol if we lose Burch because Will’s son is going to UGA”.

A thought to warm a chilly December

Just remember one thing as you ponder another Sugar Bowl trip to watch a Georgia team with key players sitting out against another Big 12 opponent likely to be better motivated:

True story, Georgia might've made the Playoff even with a blowout loss to LSU if not for one man pic.twitter.com/8U27e8xK0X

— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) December 8, 2019

Then again, without the upset, Boom might not be coming back for another year of greatness in Columbia.  Life is full of trade offs.

Trick or treat, MFer!

It’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the soap opera in Columbia.  This is kind of like comic relief:

Aubrey C. Walker, a USC student manager on Muschamp’s staff, was let go from his position after being arrested on Halloween night. Columbia police records show he was charged with public disorderly conduct and taken to jail after physically fighting with another man in Columbia’s Five Points district.

Walker apparently took offense to the man’s Halloween costume, which depicted Muschamp holding a sizable check.

LOL.

You will be shocked, shocked to learn the next part of the saga.

The costumed man’s name was not listed on the police report. But with the incident happening at a crosswalk in the middle of Harden Street on Halloween night, several people witnessed it.

Walker “appeared to be intoxicated” at the time, the police report says, and continued to be “loud and boisterous” when an officer attempted to stop the fight. He was taken to jail and released the next day on a $257.50 personal recognizance bond.

“I heard one of the cops say, ‘He said he works for USC football,’” one person who witnessed the incident said. “I thought, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’ He never said a word the entire time but he didn’t like that check.”

Perfect.

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UPDATE:  Oh, Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.

.@uofsc president Robert Caslen says he misspoke to the Florence Morning News when he said athletics director Ray Tanner had talked with FSU about how to manage a sizable buyout for a football coach. pic.twitter.com/RUUVuP717r

— Avery Wilks (@AveryGWilks) November 20, 2019

Vote of confidence is confident.

This is what a snafu sounds like… well, except in Columbia, South Carolina, where it merely sounds like business as usual.

University of South Carolina President Robert Caslen said Monday he has not asked Florida State how it came up with money to fire football coach Willie Taggart earlier this month and pay him a buyout worth a little more than $18 million.

“No, but our athletic director (Ray Tanner) has,” Caslen said during an interview session at the Morning News. “And they’ve got a whole lot more money in their athletic endowment than we do. I know that, for a fact.

“Listen, for the record, (South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp) is my coach, period. And he’ll remain my coach, just for the record. If you look at the athletic director’s statement (Saturday, supporting Muschamp before his team’s 30-6 loss to Texas A&M), that’s the same that I endorse.”

Several hours later…

Okay, cool.  But what about this?

Caslen, the university’s president since August, was then asked what Muschamp’s fate would be if Clemson wins by a large margin on Nov. 30 at Williams-Brice Stadium.

“If we’re totally imploding and no one shows up, I’d say we’ll have a discussion,” Caslen said. “But there’s no desire intended to make a change.”

And this?

“Coach Muschamp is my coach. That’s the message. He will be my coach through the end of the season,” The Greenville News attributed to Caslen. “And then, just like any other coach that’s out there, whether it’s a soccer coach, whether it’s the equestrian coach, whatever, they’re going to do an end-of-year assessment, the athletic director does. Then, we’ll see what’s up.”

Caslen, on Monday, then gave his version of what happened.

“I did not say that,” Caslen said. “Those were three-minute-apart statements. I said, ‘Coach is my coach.’ Three minutes later, we had a discussion about what happens at the end of every athletic team’s season. A common practice that has gone on forever is that you assess. Frankly, I’m assessing my role: How can I as the president help his program? I have leadership responsibilities, too. Season assessment is important.

“You take THAT statement, and you take the statement, ‘He’s my coach until the end of the season,’ and then they twisted my words, and it … me off to no end. How clear can I make it? He’s my coach. He’s the university’s coach. And the statement by Ray Tanner last week is the same that I support 100 percent.”

Dude sure seems to contradict himself. A lot.  Maybe he’s just confused, which is understandable at South Carolina.

Then he gets profound.

Earlier in the interview, Caslen referred to South Carolina’s 20-17 upset over Georgia, now the nation’s fourth-ranked team.

“That just shows we have the potential to be halfway decent,” Caslen said.

That may be the best mashup of Will Muschamp’s career and South Carolina’s place in the world you’ll ever see.  It’s inspiring.

By all means, keep Boom.  Hell, sign him to an extension while you can.  Y’all clearly deserve each other.

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UPDATE:  Yep, this is going well.

AUDIO: In a story yesterday from the @VoiceOfPeeDee, @UofSC President @Bob_Caslen said The @GreenvilleNews "twisted my words" in a story last week about football @CoachWMuschamp. Here's the recording of exactly what he said to reporter @_ManieRobinson. https://t.co/ni459ulFtb

— The Greenville News (@GreenvilleNews) November 19, 2019

They must not teach the First Rule of Holes at South Carolina.

“We’ve had a rough year.”

Fun times in Columbia, South Carolina.

South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp admitted that where his team sits is not where it should be.

The Gamecocks’ history might not include much contending for SEC titles, but missing bowls is never accepted.

“It’s frustrating,” Muschamp said. “It shouldn’t happen — call it like it is — at South Carolina. Never would’ve envisioned this. This is where we are right now. We’ve got to continue to play hard, coach hard, get ready to play Clemson.”

It had been a trying week around South Carolina in terms of public perception and discussion.

New school president Robert Caslen spoke early in the week about Muschamp, saying he was the coach through the season, and then things will be assessed. It led to athletic director Ray Tanner issuing a statement Friday in support of Muschamp.

Some reports even said Board of Trustees members were talking to a potential replacement as USC’s athletic director.

I’m trying to figure out Boom’s best argument for keeping his job.  It’s either “I went 4-8 at Florida and came back for another season” or “who are you gonna get that’s better?”.  While both are true, neither is exactly a ringing endorsement for a triumphant return.

One can only hope that Kirby did Boom enough of a solid with that embarrassing loss in Athens.

From a cannon shot…

… to the dreaded vote of confidence.

Email from South Carolina just now regarding Will Muschamp pic.twitter.com/PKjgYLwIWU

— Gentry Estes (@Gentry_Estes) November 15, 2019

Boom will have plenty of time to express his appreciation, since his team isn’t going bowling this season.

Today’s semi-meteor game

If you haven’t been paying attention — and, really, who could blame you for that? — the South Carolina-Tennessee series has been amazingly close for years now.

The Gamecocks have won the past three series meetings by a combined 12 points, the Vols won the three before that by a combined eight points and the matchup has not been decided by more than two touchdowns since 2009.

Whatever the reason for that, I don’t think it’s this:

“This matchup is always close and always a nail-biter, because they’re a good team, we’re a good team and good teams always fight it out until the very end,” Tennessee senior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor said.

Yeah, I’m not going with that, Darrell.  Sorry.

And how about this factoid?

Will Muschamp has never lost to Tennessee as a head coach, going 4-0 at Florida prior to winning the past three with the Gamecocks.

Between that and the Vanderbilt streak, these have definitely been the glory years for Vol football.  Today’s meeting has all the makings of a classic.