Former Gamecocks coaches will square off in Cure Bowl on Saturday

Josh Kendall
The State

On Nov. 25, after winning six of its previous seven games, Shawn Elliott’s Georgia State football team lost 31-10 to Appalachian State.

Shortly thereafter, Elliott heard from disgruntled fans, and it was comforting in a way for the former South Carolina assistant coach and interim head coach.

“I said ‘Hey guys, we must be doing something right. They are starting to care. There are people who are starting to take notice, and they are starting to vent. We want that because we want people to have that much passion for our football program,’” Elliott said.

Shawn Elliott served as South Carolina's interim head coach after Steve Spurrier's resignation.

The Camden native spent seven seasons at South Carolina before taking over the Georgia State program this year. He was Steve Spurrier’s offensive line coach for five-and-a-half seasons, then served as the Gamecocks' interim head coach after Spurrier’s resignation, and then spent one year as offensive line coach under current South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp before leaving to go to Georgia State.

He inherited a program in its eighth year of existence that had a 10-39 record since joining FBS football in 2013, and now he’s taking the Panthers to their second bowl game in history.

“I didn’t set any goals or have any expectations,” Elliott said. “What we did was try to take it day by day and change the culture and learn how to fight and kind of will ourselves to victories. We were not blessed with a bunch of very talented players, but we have some players who will work, and they learned to fight through the course of the year.”

The Panthers (6-5) will play Western Kentucky (6-6) in the AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday. The Hilltoppers' offense is coordinated by Steve Spurrier Jr., who was on South Carolina’s staff as wide receivers coach for the duration of Elliott’s career with the Gamecocks.

“We exchanged texts and talked about what we were going to do when we saw each other down there,” Elliott said. “It’s interesting seeing him on the other sideline.”

The stakes will be different from the last time the two shared a field, though.

Steve Spurrier Jr., right, served on the South Carolina staff of his father, head coach Steve Spurrier.

“When you play in the SEC, all eyes are on you. Everything you do, whatever you say, you get critiqued every single minute, whether it’s a spring scrimmage or a fall scrimmage and of course game day,” Elliott said. “We just go out there and really enjoy the game of football. These players don’t have to worry about all that outside influence stuff, and they can really focus on the game itself. Sometimes you can get caught up in that social media hoopla and all that stuff, and it takes your mind off things. I am telling you, it’s just ball here. That’s what’s really good about it.”

The Panthers, who had an early season game against Memphis canceled, are guaranteed their first non-losing season in school history and could notch the program’s first bowl win this year. They finished 3-9 a year ago.

“You probably think I’m lying, but I haven’t had a moment where something has come up and surprised me or shocked me,” Elliott said. “When you do this for so long and you have been preparing for a long time, you have kind of been preparing for every scenario. I haven’t had that moment where I am speechless or shell-shocked. It has been a real smooth transition.”

Despite moving to Atlanta, Elliott has retained a presence in South Carolina, at least on the recruiting trail. Four of Georgia State’s 17 commitments for the Class of 2018 are from the Palmetto State.

“We have really stressed the state of South Carolina because I have seen so many players who are not recruited as heavily as you might expect,” Elliott said, “and I see a lot of great players either somehow, someway go to the FCS level, and they are fantastic guys.”