Gamecock seniors enjoy some fishing off the Muschamps’ dock before sunset while their teammates take a spin on the pontoon.
University of South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp invites his extensive team out to his home on Lake Murray for afternoons of camaraderie and fun on the water. We at CMM were lucky to take a peek behind the scenes this year and watch the fun in action when the seniors were invited to don ski vests and take a spin behind the boat with Coach at the helm. Inside their beautiful home, Carol Muschamp prepared a gorgeous table spread for a dinner honoring the seniors. “We love having them over, and it’s always so special to spend this relaxed time with the players. We particularly want to make it special for the seniors,” Carol says, smiling.
As she finished making the final preparations before the players arrived, Coach Muschamp, who was loading up the boat, consented to take a few minutes to answer our top questions for the upcoming season.
Q: In anticipating your first game this year against UNC, describe your relationship with Mack Brown and the impact and influence his philosophies have had on your coaching career and style.
A: Mack gave Carol and me a great opportunity to go to the University of Texas. Three of the best years we’ve had in coaching were there. In our first two years, we only lost two games. We had a wonderful experience. Coach Brown created a strong working environment, and he does a great job running his program. I’ve implemented a lot of things here at South Carolina from that experience in Texas.
Q: What do you find to be your biggest motivators and sources of inspiration as you continue to coach, especially going into your fourth season with the Gamecocks?
A: To me, it’s always about doing the best job I can for the players I’m coaching. I love watching the developmental stage when a young man first comes to campus and seeing the maturation process from his freshman to senior year. The small improvements from day one to day two and the large improvements from month one to month 12 are the total motivation for me. And then obviously the arena on Saturdays. We love to win. The fun’s in winning at the end of the day, and that’s what we are looking to do.
Q: With your matchup against Georgia this year at Sanford Stadium, what does it feel like to go back and play against your alma mater, especially with Kirby Smart as head coach? You played together, right?
A: We did. He was a great friend and still is a great friend. But there is no doubt that on game day, no one wants to win more than he or I. I had a wonderful experience there, but after working at five institutions in the SEC, I’ve faced them in so many different uniforms — Auburn, Florida, LSU, and now South Carolina — that I don’t really see it as the same Georgia. It’s a great place, and I always look forward to playing Between the Hedges.
Q: It’s really neat that two of your earliest recruits are now team leaders. How have T.J. Brunson and Bryan Edwards helped shape the culture of the team, and what was it that you saw in them early on that set them apart for you?
A: Bryan was a ninth grader at Conway High School when I was the head coach at Florida, and he was a fantastic player on tape. I didn’t know as much about T.J. before I went on the road recruiting here at South Carolina, but when I watched his tape I realized immediately that T.J. Brunson is the kind of player we want on defense at South Carolina. After my first press conference as coach at South Carolina, my first trip was to Richland Northeast High School to see T.J., and then that night I went to Conway to see Bryan Edwards and his parents, John and Michelle. We had a wonderful meeting, but when Bryan’s grandfather, who played at Clemson, walked in with a Clemson jacket, I felt a little uncomfortable about our chances. At the time, T.J. was committed to another school and Bryan was uncommitted because of the coaching change, and both guys decided to come on board. This was huge to have two of the best players in the state and the Southeast. They could have gone other places, and they decided to stay home where they have both had fantastic careers. It says a lot about staying home because these guys are going to graduate this year and have tremendous success, whether it’s in football or in the business world.
Q: How have you seen Jake Bentley progress over the past three seasons, especially under Coach Warner?
A: Jake is the kind of guy who really energizes his first year. We inherited a team that only won three games and lost to the Citadel, so we probably wouldn’t have gone to a bowl game if Jake Bentley had not been our quarterback. He gave us the spark that we needed to be bowl eligible, which was a major accomplishment at that time. I’ve enjoyed watching his maturation process as he continues to improve, and I’m really excited about seeing him in his senior year.
Q: Is there anyone on the team who you feel is more of a quiet leader behind the scenes, the glue holding things together, but who doesn’t receive a lot of press?
A: Dennis Wonnum was one of only three people in school history to be elected a team captain as a sophomore. He’s not a very vocal guy, but he brings his A-game to work every single day. He works extremely hard and is a great example for our young players. He is an absolute joy to coach.
Q: Is there a player who you feel could surprise people with his performance this year — someone to really watch? Are there any veterans who have bidden their time and are now ready to step up into more prominent roles?
A: I think Kiel Pollard is ready for a great senior year. He’s trained extremely hard and had a really good spring for us, on special teams and on offense. He’s a guy I’m really pulling for to have a special senior season.
Q: Whom do you see stepping up to replace Deebo Samuel?
A: Well, I don’t think you can replace Deebo with one guy. You look at a player like Shi Smith who played in the slot for us last year or Ortre Smith coming back off his injury. Josh Vann is a player who is emerging for us and had a fantastic summer. Chad Terrell, Randrecous Davis — finally getting him back healthy. I certainly think we’ve recruited well with the position, and I’m excited about seeing some people step up for us.
Q: Are there any new recruits who you think will start making immediate contributions?
A: I think it’s always hard to tell. The hardest transformation is going from high school to college — a lot of variables go into that process, especially at such a young age. It can be very difficult learning a new playbook or handling a different style of coaching, and you never can project how a young man is going to respond in front of 80,000 people until the first game. That’s when you really find out who’s ready to play.
Q: On that note, what do you look for in recruits, besides football talent, especially in your summer camps and workouts? What attributes fit with the culture you are trying to build?
A: The first thing I look at is academics. This past fall semester our cumulative GPA as a football team was above a 3.0 — for the first time in school history and my first time as a coach. It says a lot about what our academic people do but also the type of young men we are recruiting. Character is so important, and competitive edge is something you can’t measure with a stopwatch or a tape measure. You can’t teach guys to compete — they have to have heart. If they don’t compete in high school, they’re not going to in college. Do they like football or do they love football? Considering the amount of time we consume for our players, they better love football. There’s a lot to it.
Q: Tell me about your off the field programs, especially having someone like Marcus Lattimore direct the Beyond Football program — how does this promote long-term thinking in your players and prepare them for the “real world”?
A: We don’t just prepare them for academic success and athletic success in college; we’re preparing them for life. Beyond Football does exactly what it says — it’s looking beyond Saturday afternoon and helping our guys be ready for life, whether it’s interviewing for a job, dinner etiquette, tying a tie, writing a resume, or understanding taxes. We introduce as many aspects as we can to make sure they are prepared and are not going to get hit with a sledge hammer when they walk out the door into the real world.
Q: What do you hope to achieve and show your players through an event like today where you have them here at your home?
A: I think it’s really important for them to see me as more than just a football coach but also a husband and a father. In my opinion, the player-coach relationship is a two-way street. There’s some give and take on both ends, and not all players are the same. You’ve got to learn as much as you can about the players. Now that we are going into our fourth season, we recruited most of these guys, so I’ve sat in their living rooms and been with their parents, and I’ve gone through some of the issues that they’ve dealt with in college. We know our team much better than we did on day one, obviously, and I think this is a great setting for them to see us in the light of family.
Q: Now that Jackson is going into his senior year at Hammond, I know it must be surreal to be the dad of a high school player now being recruited. Can you tell me a little about being on the other side of the recruiting process?
A: I’m strictly a dad. I probably understand a little bit more of how things work and what they’re looking for, but I’m strictly a father, and I’ve never been anything more than that with Jackson or Whit. I’ve let the coaches coach, and I’m a dad — that’s it.
Q: Tell me about Whit’s current aspirations with sports. Is he going into eighth grade this fall?
A: He’s going in eighth grade, and he’s taller than me now!
Q: Is football his passion as well?
A: He loves football. He’s really excited about athletics. He loves basketball and lacrosse as well, so hopefully he’ll continue to progress.
Q: How do you balance being a father and a high-profile coach, especially during the season?
A: It’s difficult, but I’ve got to make time for family. They can’t be left out, and that’s something I’ve learned and done a much better job of over the years. I have to include them in the schedule, whether it’s Jackson, Whit, or Carol, and make sure they understand their importance. I’ve got to make time.
Q: Will you be able to make many of your sons’ games this season?
A: Yes, fortunately we do our practices in the mornings, so I’ve been able to see a lot of their games. I go to all of Jackson’s home games on Friday nights. It’s awesome to be a part of it.
Q: As a family, how do you handle the publicity, especially with the ubiquity of social media and everything being online today?
A: We’re pretty private to be honest. We love being here at the lake — grilling out and being on the boat. Carol and I enjoying exercising. We don’t get out a whole lot, but we have some great restaurants here in Columbia, and we love visiting those. But we’re pretty private as far as our family life is concerned.
Q: Were you able to take a family vacation this summer?
A: We went to Pawleys in July for about four or five days. We had a good time.
Q: What are the family dynamics like when you are away from it all and are all together?
A: Hanging out, unfortunately for Carol probably watching football … she gets tired of that. We like walking on the beach, throwing the football with the boys, and enjoying life.
Q: Day to day, what are some of your favorite things to do as a family?
A: I like to grill out together as much as anything, and we obviously enjoy being on the lake tubing, skiing, and fishing and interacting together. We love to be in the pool and always try to find some sort of game — we like to compete as a family. We compete a lot whatever it is, in the pool or out.
Q: I know you are a maestro on the grill. What is your favorite food to cook?
A: Whatever you want me to cook I can cook it; I can tell you that. Steak and salmon are probably my favorites. I really do enjoy it — that’s my downtime, and that’s how I decompress.
Before we all piled on the boat, I asked Jake Bentley, T.J. Brunson, and Bryan Edwards a few questions about their upcoming season as well as about their personal stories and passions. These three seniors accompanied Coach Muschamp to the SEC Media Day later that week and continue to demonstrate their team leadership both on and off the field.
Jake Bentley, Quarterback
Q: What are some of your early memories of football that you feel have been a big part of shaping your career? Did you grow up always playing as a family?
A: Yeah, we were always playing it. My dad was always there coaching us, and I loved watching my two older brothers. I was the youngest in our neighborhood, so I had to be the toughest one, trying to keep up with them and win.
Q: It must be neat to have your dad be a part of your team. Does football tend to dominate your family conversations?
A: Yeah, my mom usually calms us down and says, “Hey, that’s enough football for today,” but it’s really cool. It can be frustrating at times since he’s always on my back — leaving practice he’ll call me and say, “What were you doing here?” But it’s really been a blessing having him there with everything he’s taught me.
Q: How do you cope with pressure and stress before a game?
A: I think just going back to everything I’ve been taught, whether it’s from little league or my dad or what we have been over that week at practice. Trying to focus there and not on the pressure. I try to be as loose as I can before the game and be ready to go. At the end of the day, it’s a game we’ve been playing our whole lives.
Q: What game in your schedule this season do you find yourself thinking about the most?
A: Really just the first one. What’s next is always the most important one, so that’s what I’m thinking about.
Q: What elements of practice sharpen your team skills the most?
A: I’d say where things are getting really hard, like summer practices when it’s really hot. When everyone’s tired, you’ve got to come together as a team and find a way to get better that day. You can waste that day if you don’t.
Q: What are some of your favorite things to do away from football?
A: I really like to hang out with the guys and get to know everyone on the team. I want to try to get to know each player, like where they came from, and invest in people. We play video games a lot, go fishing, tell stories, and argue about whose high school was better. We have fun.
Q: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned on this team?
A: Perseverance really. The first year was tough for us all, and early on we were all playing as individuals. But everyone really coming together, learning how to fight together, taught me a lot.
Bryan Edwards, Wide Receiver
Q: Who has been your biggest influence in playing football?
A: Probably my granddad. He played football at Clemson, and I always looked up to him. He always made me want to play football.
Q: With his background as a Clemson player, what made you choose Carolina?
A: When I met Coach Muschamp and Coach T-Rob, it just felt like the right thing for me to do. Just talking to them and their plans for me, you could tell that I was important to them, and it made me feel at home and made me feel wanted.
Q: Where do you find your inspiration?
A: My family and seeing my mom work really hard — all the hard work she did to try and put me in a great situation really drives me.
Q: What game in your schedule this season do you find yourself thinking about the most?
A: All of them honestly. Obviously teams like Clemson and Alabama, all the big names where you get to play the teams that are highly ranked and it’s on prime time television. It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our talent. I obviously look forward to those big games.
Q: What’s your favorite activity to do together as a team?
A: I feel like if you just put us in a room together, we’ll have a good time. It doesn’t have to be a certain activity. Whether we are doing workouts or just being around each other, being in each other’s presence, you can just tell it’s just like a family so anything we do has a family vibe.
Q: What do you like to do outside of football?
A: I like to hang out with my teammates and roommates and to spend time with my girlfriend and my family. Family time and being around people you love — you can’t get that time back.
Q: How do you cope with pressure and stress?
A: Honestly, I really don’t feel any pressure when I play because it’s something I’ve been doing since I was so young. It’s fun for me, and it really brings me joy.
Q: Do you have any superstitions when you play?
A: I’m a superstitious guy so I get in my usual routine, listen to music. I always change my gloves at halftime; that would probably be the only superstition.
Q: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned while being on this team?
A: Just that it’s not about you. Other people are on this team; it’s a family so it’s not about me, it’s about “we.” That’s how you are successful. Doing things as a team, not as one person, not as I.
T.J. Brunson, Linebacker
Q: Who has been your biggest influence in playing football?
A: I’d have to say my dad. Really my whole family, too — my brothers, my uncles, everybody played football. Having that in our blood and just knowing that it’s something we do has always been a driving factor for me.
Q: Where do you find your motivation to keep going when practices are long and hard?
A: When it gets tough, I just remind myself of why I wanted to play. I originally started so I could get to college and play at the college level. My parents not having to pay for school was already a win for me. I want to make a better life for me and my family at the end of the day, and this is the way I can do it.
Q: Do you have any pregame rituals?
A: Not really, I like to listen to old school jams the night before a game and get my head in a calm space and not get too hyped up. That’s about it. I may read a couple pages of a book and call it a night.
Q: What has it been like staying in your hometown for your football career?
A: It’s been great just growing up and knowing people who are Carolina fans and all the different types of people you run into who all have the same love for the Gamecocks. People tell me their stories of going to school here and being big fans. It’s honestly amazing what’s right in our backyard here in Columbia. I couldn’t have asked to go anywhere better.
Q: What do you like to do outside of football?
A: I’m a big fisherman whenever I get a chance. It’s pretty busy during the season, so off season is when I normally fish the most. Fishing and hanging out with my family.
