The plan for Rod Wilson this spring

Rod Wilson interviewed for a spot on Will Muschamp’s staff four years ago and, while it didn’t work out then, Wilson joining the Gamecocks didn’t take long to ultimately happen.

After an offseason of shuffling on the coaching staff, Wilson comes back to his alma mater to coach linebackers and special teams and will get to be part of his first spring practice Wednesday as he slow-rolls into his duties this offseason.

“I’m working with the linebackers with him right now. We have a certain vernacular and verbiage and how we want to teach things,” Muschamp said. “He’s going through that right now. It has nothing to do with his expertise to coach linebackers, believe me. He’s going to be fine but we want to make sure he’s on the same page. He’ll take them over after spring ball as we move into the fall.”

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This spring, Wilson will work with Muschamp as he gets up to speed on the defensive scheme. Wilson was just approved officially Friday and he’ll need time to get fully acquainted with Muschamp’s system and the personnel he’ll be working with.

Wilson will also be secondary to Kyle Krantz with the special teams unit, taking on that role as Krantz takes over as the primary in that phase of the game and assists defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson on that side of the ball.

This is Wilson’s first on-field coaching job on the defensive side of the ball since serving as the inside linebackers’ coach at Charleston Southern from 2013-16. The last three seasons he was with the Kansas City Chiefs as the assistant special teams coach.

“He’s a Gamecock. He wanted to be a Gamecock,” Muschamp said. “One of the things he expressed to me was getting on the defensive side of the ball and felt like this would be a great opportunity for him. He wants to be a coordinator and eventually a head coach. He and I talked about that. We felt this move would be the best for him.”

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Wilson was the final hire in what was a flurry of late moves this offseason with the coaching staff getting shaken up after the New Year.

Coleman Hutzler and John Scott Jr. both left their positions, leaving Muschamp to replace both, including finding Scott Jr.’s replacement a few weeks before spring practice started.

He’d ultimately hire Tennessee defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, who’s made stops at five different SEC schools before South Carolina and had a three-year stint in the NFL with the Titans.

“I tried to hire Tracy Rocker before and was able to do it this time. He’s a guy that understands how we play,” Muschamp said. “We have a certain teaching progression but he’s grown up in our system and understands how we want to coach whether it’s two-gap or one-gap and how we want to play blocks up front. It’s really good to have him on staff. His experience for our staff and our players is huge for the front seven. He’s done an outstanding job wherever he’s been in developing players, and that’s what it’s all about.”

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The way the staff sets up now is Kyle Krantz, who moved back into an on-field role after the Hutzler departure, is coaching special teams and assisting in coaching the secondary, Rocker is coaching defensive line, Wilson and Muschamp the linebackers and Mike Peterson's the defensive end and BUCK spots. Robinson is the DC and secondary coach.

Offensively, Mike Bobo is the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Bryan McClendon is the receivers coach, Bobby Bentley moves to running backs coach while Joe Cox comes over from Colorado State as tight ends coach. Eric Wolford stays as the offensive line coach.

“You need to be adaptable in what you do in life. That’s true in your job if your boss changes and someone else comes in and wants to do things differently,” Muschamp said of the late changes. “You either adapt or leave, one or the other. That’s the message this morning and that’s part of it. If you want to play in the NFL, more than likely your position coach is going to change about every two years on average. Learn to adapt to it now.”

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Muschamp also brought on a new director of player personnel in Drew Hughes after Matt Lindsey took another similar role at Ole Miss.

Hughes was with Muschamp at Florida and so far has been a vital piece of the daily operation.

“He and Matt Lindsey came up together as far as where they’ve been,” Muschamp said. “They crossed each other’s paths. I had Drew when I was at the University of Florida and did a fantastic job for me there. It’s been a real seamless transition for us as far as our day-to-day operation in recruiting, evaluation and how we work.”