JaMarcus King likes Chipotle. Taylor Stallworth loves Gatorade. But sometimes, you have to give things like that up for the game you love.

That’s where South Carolina’s nutrition staff, led by Kristin Coggin, comes in to try and help the players out and find a healthy balance during the season.

"It's a critical part of your program to make sure the guys know what to eat, what's good, what's bad,” USC head coach Will Muschamp said.

Also see: Breaking down the tape before Saturday's game against Wofford

While he saw it a little during his time at LSU, Muschamp was first introduced to the added importance of a nutritionist when he was an assistant under Nick Saban with the Miami Dolphins. That philosophy followed him to his time as defensive coordinator at Texas under Mack Brown.

He dabbled in the program some while a head coach at Florida, but it really took off once he got to Columbia. Coggin has been a tremendous asset for this year’s team, making sure players get down to a healthy playing weight for the season.

Javon Kinlaw went from 340 to 300 pounds in the span of three months and other players are eating a lot better after meeting the nutrition staff.

“Kristin will take them to the grocery store to shop for groceries and show them the box and go through all the nutrients and the different things that are good for them and bad for them and what they can't eat,” Muschamp said. “It's really helped our football team."

Also see: Assessing the Gamecock need at defensive tackle

In an effort to make players slim down and bulk up, Coggin persuaded Kinlaw to give up cheeseburgers and Stallworth cut down on the amount of juice and Gatorade he’s putting in his body.

Players are given essentially a walk-in pantry full of food to choose from on a daily basis with different snacks, fruits and meals they can eat. It’s so full of complimentary food that Donell Stanley joked he didn’t need Coggin to take him grocery shopping.

“The weight room is like a grocery store so I don’t know why you would want to go to a grocery store,” he said, flashing a wry smile.

Some players joked they haven’t been shopping with Coggin, but don’t think she’d approve of their dietary choices.

“If I go grocery shopping with her I’m just going to go to the snack aisle and take everything on the snack aisle and put it in the cart,” Stallworth said laughing. “She may not want to go with me.”

Also see: See how Gamecock commits are doing this football season

Regardless of the snacking habits, the Gamecocks have shown some vast improvement in overall team speed, something Muschamp has critiqued at points over his tenure, and physical play.

That’s in part because of Coggin’s daily interactions with the players and making sure they eat right. They all love what the nutrition staff does and it’s paying dividends.

“She does a great job,” Stallworth said, clapping. “I give her two claps.”