Could other neutral site games be on the horizon?
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL
South Carolina isn’t a stranger to neutral site games and, in fact, Will Muschamp is always open to the idea of more unique games away from Williams-Brice.
Muschamp, talking Friday before a luncheon in Charlotte, said he and Ray Tanner have talked in the past about doing neutral site games at various locations across the Gamecocks’ recruiting footprint.
“Absolutely. Coach Tanner, I want to say maybe two or three years ago came to me about a kickoff game in Orlando that we’ve talked about that,” Muschamp said. “Obviously every year we’re in the conversation to play in Atlanta. I think these games are great for us, great for our fan base and great for college football.”
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The Gamecocks start the 2019 season at Bank of America Stadium against North Carolina and have one more game scheduled in Charlotte, a 2023 game against North Carolina again to open the year.
Muschamp likes playing these types of games because it not only gives players a chance to play in professional stadiums, fans trips to different road trips but also gives the Gamecocks a chance to play in areas they recruit frequently.
North Carolina is one of the main four states the coaching staff recruits on a consistent basis along with Georgia and Florida, which is why he wouldn’t mind seeing a few other games at professional stadiums in those states.
“Our concentration is obviously number one in the state of South Carolina but we go North Carolina, Georgia and Florida,” he said. “We have people in coaches in every part of those areas.”
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The Gamecocks have done a great job since Muschamp took over recruiting their upstairs neighbor, especially the Charlotte area.
There are nine scholarship players from North Carolina on the roster with five—Jaylen Nichols, Jovaughn Gwyn, Eric Douglas, Derek Boykins and Rick Sandidge—coming out of the Charlotte area.
“Well we made Charlotte a priority for us. Jaylen Nichols came in mid-year from Myers Park, Ricky Sandidge from Concord, Derek Boykins from Central Cabraris is a really good player,” Muschamp said. “We’ve done a really nice job recruiting this area and the state of North Carolina. I just view it as the Carolinas. I don’t view it as North and South. We have to do a great job recruiting Charlotte.”
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The Gamecocks are also no strangers to the site of the game Aug. 31, starting the season up in Charlotte once already under Will Muschamp and playing there again last year in the Belk Bowl.
Muschamp won his first game in Charlotte, a 35-28 win over but the last time up didn’t go as well with South Carolina getting blanked 28-0 to Virginia last December, something they’re eager to avenge come August.
“It was a disgusting performance and it falls on my shoulders,” Muschamp said. “I know our guys will be motivated this summer as we have been in the offseason program and were in spring practice to right a lot of the issues we’ve had there.”