Shaw: Muschamp has his 'most complete team' this year

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

If there’s two things Connor Shaw knows a thing or two about, it’s South Carolina football and winning.

The Gamecocks’ all-time winningest quarterback, Shaw was the team’s leader during the three most affluent years in program history and knows what a good team looks like.

Which is why, as Will Muschamp enters his fourth season in Columbia, Shaw likes what he’s seen from this year’s team.

“Boy, rewind two years ago just looking at the personnel and the bodies; they’ve changed completely,” Shaw said. “I think Coach Muschamp and his staff has done a great job recruiting people and developing over the course of time. It’s a cycle; it’s a process. I think this is by far his best team, his most complete team by depth. But it’s also his toughest schedule.”

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Shaw was the starting quarterback on the Gamecocks’ three 11-win teams, finishing his career with 27 wins, the most in school history, that included never losing a game at Williams-Brice.

Soon after he left, the program started on a downslide that bottomed at Steve Spurrier leaving midseason and a 3-9 year before Muschamp was hired entering the 2016 season.

Since then, Shaw’s seen a lot of progress in terms of upgrading the talent on the roster and has seen a renewed energy around the program.

“It’s not easy to replace Coach Spurrier, who made this place relevant. You set the bar so high, for it to drop off like that, there’s a lot that goes into it behind the scenes and it’s tough,” Shaw said. “You have to have a guy who’s intense, passionate, knows how to recruit and who’s been a head coach before. I think they have the right guy in Coach Muschamp and he’s done the right thing.”

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Getting more talent in was a priority for Muschamp, who inherited a depleted roster left over by the previous regime, and on paper it looks like he’s done that.

The Gamecocks have won more games (23) in the first three years of his tenure than any other start to a coach’s career at South Carolina and they’ve hauled in three straight top 20 recruiting classes and have the No. 23 overall recruiting class for 2020.

He’s made it a point to dominate in-state recruiting and in the 2019 class landed four of the top 10 prospects in the state and has six of the top 11 in the 2020 class with a chance at landing five-star Jordan Burch as well.

“Coach Muschamp obviously inherited a mess, and I think his one point of emphasis was to flip the program in the recruiting standpoint to rejuvenate it,” Shaw said. “Everyone’s been on a mission since they stepped on campus and we’re starting to see the dividends of that.”

Shaw does think this is the Gamecocks’ deepest team but, like he said earlier, it’s an obstacle course of a schedule with three games against top 12 teams: No. 1 Clemson, No. 2 Alabama, at No. 3 Georgia, No. 8 Florida and at No. 12 Texas A&M.

“He talked about it, and you can’t deny it. From a player’s perspective, I can tell you, you just focus on each week and fight your tail off and see what happens on Saturday,” Shaw said. “Of course, come Saturday, you’d like to start strong. It’s always a good gauge to see where you stand, but it’s critical to come out on top in this first game.”

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Shaw does have a few more similarities to this year’s roster in Ryan Hilinski, who’s the team’s backup as a true freshman. Shaw did the same thing his first year on campus, backing up Stephen Garcia.

“Injuries happen, so you have to stay ready. That’s one thing I learned so much in the NFL is how up and down a roster can be. Obviously you want Jake to stay healthy, but take mental reps during practice, make sure you stay in it and competitive during a game. Make sure you’re right next to the play caller, stay mentally sharp and when you’re number’s called on, you’re ready to go,” Shaw said of Hilinski. “It’ll be a good test for him and a good experience to build on after he plays a little bit. But he’s a sharp kid and I’m a big fan of Ryan.”

Shaw also has high expectations for Bentley as well, who’s entering his third full year as a starter and is in year two of the Bryan McClendon offense.

“I think, Jake specifically, it’ll be a big difference in the second year with his play caller. Once you learn that system after your first year, especially as a four-year starter, things start to slow down for you. You understand the offense a little better and become a coach on the field,” Shaw said. “He has all the tools and intangibles to go play well.”