USC's football program a picture of diversity
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp emphasizes that he's only trying to hire the best person for the job. But under his watch the Gamecocks football program has become a picture of diversity.
South Carolina's football coaching staff features four African-American coaches with a mix of long-time SEC experience (Pat Washington), likely future head coaches with strong recruiting and coaching track records (Bryan McClendon and Travaris Robinson), and an up-and-comer with a successful NFL playing background (Mike Peterson).
The fact that South Carolina is the only Power 5 football program, out of 65 possibilities, with two African-American coordinators has been given plenty of deserved attention.
"It’s not about skin color,” Muschamp recently told The State, in discussing McClendon and Robinson's prominent positions with the football program.“It’s about what kind of football coach they are. It’s about what kind of person they are, what kind of father, what kind of husband. Those two guys are outstanding people."
A 2018 study by Shaun Harper of the University of Southern California's Race and Equity Center noted that 55 percent of college football student-athletes at Power 5 programs are African-American. And reviewing data from the NCAA's Race and Gender Demographics Database shows that the number of minority assistants and graduate assistants at Power 5 programs has risen over the years. But the coordinator spots, more often than not the biggest springboard positions to head coaching jobs, have not. There are plenty of qualified candidates, but Muschamp is one of just a few Power 5 head coaches to have gone this route, and the only current.
"I think a huge strength of ours is the city of Columbia," Muschamp said during the Charleston 'Spurs Up Tour' stop two years ago. "The diversity, the culture that we have."
A peek behind the curtain of the program at South Carolina reveals that, aside from the full time assistants and coordinators, there are plenty of other African-American individuals that that have earned opportunities and helped put the program in a position to be successful both on and off the field.
Muschamp has often referred to Senior Association Athletics Director/Academics Maria Hickman as the best in the country at what she does, overseeing academic and life skill operations for student-athletes at the university since 2013. Many around South Carolina's program have said Hickman is the best coach that South Carolina has on staff.
Herself an African-American, Hickman has presided over impressive statistics in the classroom for years. Among them: a 98 percent graduation rate for student-athletes, first in the SEC and tied for fourth nationally, and a 98 percent graduation rate for African-American football players.
Former Gamecock great Marcus Lattimore (player development director) and Charles Jackson Jr. (director of character and life skills) head up the "Beyond Football" arm of the Gamecocks' program.
"I empathize with every single player in that locker room," Lattimore said during the press conference announcing his hiring. "I know what they go through. I know what it's like to go through a 6:00 a.m. workout and go to class, then practice, then training table. It's a tough grind that these guys go through. I'm looking to set up these guys for life after. I'm not looking at what they're doing on the field. I'm looking at the next 40 years of their life and what I can do to help them and prepare them for that."
From the strength staff, three of the four full-time coaches (Mark Campbell, John Griffin, and Corey Miller) and three of the four graduate assistants (Montell Allen, Brent McClendon, and Benji Russell) are African-American, as are team orthopedist Dr. Jeff Guy, director of wellness/mental health Dr. Tim Malone, and assistant athletic trainer Daryl Faulkner.
Inside the Gamecocks' operations for the team and recruiting, football operations director George Wynn, director of on-campus recruiting Jessica Jackson, coordinator of football administration Carina Hargreaves, and assistant to head coach/coordinator of operations Kim Fields are all also African-American. Former college student-athlete Charles Waddell is the university's deputy athletic director and oversees the football program.
Ahmad Tinker, the Executive Director of the Minority Coaches Association of Georgia, praises Muschamp for the inclusiveness of his program.
"I think it shows that he’s a guy that, regardless of the skin color, he wants to win football games," Tinker told GamecockCentral.com. "Coach Muschamp, I’ve had the opportunity for him to come speak at our conference several times. He’s a fiery guy and he wants to win. It’s all about teaching guys to be men and winning football games."