Eric Wolford will not coach in South Carolina’s bowl game after taking the Kentucky job, and instead coach Big Farm will be the offensive line coach.
Mike Bobo said Landon Martin has been elevated to offensive line coach for the bowl after spending the last few years as an analyst on the offensive side of the ball.
“Landon Martin, who has been a quality control guy. I don’t know how long he’s been at South Carolina. I think he’s been here five years,” Bobo said. “He’s a guy who played at Newberry College on the offensive line. He’s a guy I’ve been impressed with since the day I walked in.”
Martin goes by the nickname of Big Farm—so much so Bobo didn’t know his last name off the bat when asked about him, instead calling him Big Farm—and has been at South Carolina going on five years.
Martin has spent the last three seasons as an offensive analyst at South Carolina, and was a graduate assistant in Columbia the two years prior, also working with the offensive line.
He’s worked hand-in-hand with both of South Carolina’s offensive line coaches in Shawn Elliott and most recently Wolford, who just took the same job at Kentucky.
“(Martin’s) very, very organized. He worked hand in hand with coach Wolf with what he could do per NCAA rules. He understands the guys,” Bobo said. “The guys know who he is. He’s knowledgeable in what we’re doing offensively. Obviously it won’t be coach Wolford and we’re going to miss him but Coach Big Farm has jumped in there and done a nice job.”
Outside of the switch up front, Bobo said things are “status quo” with all of the coaching staff duties and it will be the same as it was the final three weeks of the season.
Bobo said defensive and special teams coordinators Travaris Robinson and Kyle Krantz will return to coach this week after being notified they will not return next season under Shane Beamer.
Saturday’s Gasparilla Bowl will serve as their final games at South Carolina.
“Hats off to those guys for coming back to coach a bowl for these kids. I can’t say enough of what this whole staff’s done in a tough time for them the last three weeks now in a bowl game,” Bobo said. “They know it’s important to show these kids how to work when you’re put in situations you may not like. You have a job to do and these guys are showing these guys how to handle their business like adults."
It’s an interesting time for the staffers, who are all learning whether or not they’ll be retained by incoming head coach Shane Beamer and if they need to begin looking for other jobs.
“I want to say thanks to the staff. They’ve done such a nice job of being professional. It’s not an ideal situation for anybody,” Bobo said. “I can’t say enough about the staff and how they’ve handle themselves professionally and personally around each other. It’s been a joy to work with.”