Gamecocks officially hire Thomas Brown
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL
South Carolina has officially hired former Georgia running back Thomas Brown after news broke Tuesday that the Gamecocks were expected to bring on the 32-year-old running backs coach.
The South Carolina Board of Trustees approved a contract Wednesday morning paying Brown $300,000 per year that runs through May 31, 2020 with a chance for incentives.
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"I’m excited about the opportunity,” Brown said. “I have great respect for Coach (Will) Muschamp - I’ve known him for a long time. Obviously, I’ve been around Coach (Bryan) McClendon. We played together at Georgia and worked together for a year at Georgia, and always talked about having the opportunity to get back on the same side together. This is a great place and I’m looking forward to it.”
Brown will coach the Gamecocks' running backs with assistant coach Bobby Bentley sliding over to tight ends and tight ends coach Pat Washington moving on to "pursue other opportunities," according to athletics director Ray Tanner.
“Thomas is an accomplished running backs coach who has done a great job at multiple spots, including Wisconsin, Georgia and Miami,” head coach Will Muschamp said in a statement. “He’s an outstanding young football coach, having been a coordinator at Miami, and is an outstanding recruiter. We are excited to have him part of the Gamecock family.”
Brown, who most recently was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Miami, joins the program after three seasons in Coral Gables.
Brown followed Mark Richt to Miami after spending the 2015 season in Georgia as Richt's running backs coach. Georgia rushed for 2,513 yards (194.3 yards per game) that season as Sony Michel rushed for 1,076 yards.
Prior to his year at Georgia, Brown coached Heisman Trophy runner-up Melvin Gordon at Wisconsin in 2014.
Under Brown's tutelage, Gordon posted the second-best season ever by a running back with 2,587 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns as he and sophomore Corey Clement combined to run for 3,536 yards to break the single-season FBS record for rushing yards by teammates.
The Badgers average of 6.91 yards per rushing attempt ranked as the fourth-best mark in FBS history.
Brown coached running backs at Marshall in 2013 and at UT Chattanooga in 2012 after spending 2011 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Georgia.
The 32-year old Brown played college football at Georgia, where he was a teammate of South Carolina offensive coordinator (and former Dawgs wide receiver) Bryan McClendon.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Brown starred at Tucker High School before enrolling at Georgia and helping the Bulldogs to the 2005 Southeastern Conference championship.
He finished his career as the fifth-leading rusher in Georgia history with 2,646 career yards and led the Bulldogs in rushing in 2005 and 2006. For his career, Brown averaged 5.0 yards per carry and scored 25 touchdowns. He was elected by his teammates as the permanent offensive team captain in 2007.
Brown was selected in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and spent the 2009 season with the Cleveland Browns before retiring to pursue coaching opportunities.
Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in speech communications from UGA. He and his wife, Jessica, have three children, Orlando, Tyson and Judah.
