Sometimes things need to go horribly wrong for you to learn a lesson. Will Muschamp can attest to that.
Muschamp, now the head coach at South Carolina, told GridironNow.com his experiences as head coach at Florida – when he completely overhauled the Gators’ offense – has prepared him for his new gig with the Gamecocks.
At Florida, Muschamp tried to install a pro-style offense with Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator. That was a stark contrast from the spread, read option offense employed by Urban Meyer.
It didn’t go well.
“I probably made a mistake at Florida trying to change schematically from what they had done before,” Muschamp said. “As a result, we ended up not being very good at anything. These days you just don’t have time to make a lot of changes. You have to adapt to what your kids can do.”
Muschamp’s tenure at Florida lasted just four seasons until he was fired. The 2012 season was a good one – an 11-2 record and a trip to the Sugar Bowl – but Muschamp was a combined 17-19 in his three other seasons. He juggled three separate offensive coordinators over those four seasons and the team consistently struggled offensively.
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So now Muschamp is implementing a system catered to the skills of his roster with Kurt Roper running the offense. Roper was Muschamp’s OC for his final season in Gainesville, but early indications from spring practice are that the offense won’t differ much from Steve Spurrier’s system.
Muschamp indicated Monday that his quarterback competition, which began with five contenders, is pretty much down to two – senior Perry Orth and true freshman Brandon McIlwain.
“Brandon and Perry had distanced themselves coming out of Saturday because of Perry’s command and Brandon’s ability,” Muschamp said per The State.
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Orth will miss the rest of spring ball due to a broken collarbone suffered during a scrimmage over the weekend, Muschamp confirmed. That will give McIlwain, a four-star January enrollee from Newtown Pa., a chance to receive increased reps with the first team offense. McIlwain will also be able to showcase his dual-threat capabilities during the Gamecocks’ spring game on April 9.
Orth, who started eight games last season and threw for 1,929 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions, is “not able to return to football activities until June 1,” according to The State. Thusly, Muschamp says the quarterback competition will extend “into fall camp.”
For more South Carolina news, visit GamecockCentral.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
