Three Takeaways: Travian Robertson reintroduced in Columbia
New South Carolina defensive line coach Travian Robertson needed no introduction in or to Columbia.
The former Gamecock’s press conference Tuesday night was like a love letter to Carolina fans — it featured Brad Lawing stories, an Andy’s Deli reference, and the reveal that he now only met his wife at South Carolina but also married her on the historic Horseshoe.
There’s no such thing as a perfect coach but Robertson may be the most widely accepted football hire in school history among fans.
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Checking the boxes
Shane Beamer clearly does not care about SEC coaching/recruiting experience. He cares that a coach checks all of the other boxes.
The Gamecocks have consistently gone the route of plucking coaches who maybe lack in Power 5 experience but have excelled at other levels while also having the personality and work ethic to succeed in recruiting.
Look no further than one of Carolina’s most recent hires. Sterling Lucas joined the staff from the NFL with no recruiting experience to speak of and has quickly become one of the best on staff.
Recruiting has always been about having the ability to connect with people and the willingness to work at it and Robertson should bring both to the table.
Developing the talent
A defensive line coach almost surely has to be a developer of talent and Robertson has a track record of getting more from lesser-recruited players at both Georgia State and Tulane.
Make no mistake, a coach has to sign players with SEC traits in succeed in this conference but being able t take someone like T.J. Sanders — a high, high upside player with relatively little high school experience in the game to use an example on the current team — and develop them into an SEC starter is a quality that has to be there.
Robertson’s former coach Brad Lawing made a living in Columbia with the combination of landing the can’t-miss prospects like Jadeveon Clowney while developing the high-upside, under-the-radar players like Devin Taylor.
One source brought up Robertson’s work with DL Thomas Gore who transferred to Miami after becoming a very productive player at GSU. The same source also mentioned how the 72 sacks in two years (2020-2021) at State was the 6th most out of all FBS schools.
Current Gamecock and former Panther Jordan Strachan was a big part of what GSU did one of those seasons.
“Jordan was at Georgia State when Travian was there, and I called Jordan about Trav during the process,” Beamer said. “And Jordan flat out said, if it wasn’t for this guy right here, he wouldn’t have had the year that he had at Georgia State where he led the country in sacks, like it was because of this guy. And so I think when you get in there and you develop guys at different levels, it certainly helps because you’re now recruiting at the highest level as well. And you find ways to be resourceful as well and find a way to make things work.”
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Much like Beamer left South Carolina when he was an assistant in order to season himself to possibly later return as a head coach, Robertson took the route of climbing the coaching ladder at places other than his alma mater.
But that doesn’t mean his career to this point hasn’t been littered with South Carolina connections.
From former South Carolina kicker Mark Fleetwood giving Robertson his first coaching job at the high school level to former Gamecock Cedric Williams getting Robertson in touch with Shawn Elliott at Georgia State to former Gamecocks Cory Peoples and Chris Hampton hiring Robertson at Alabany State and Tulane, respectively, Robertson’s roots have never been too far away.
Robertson made it clear behind the scenes that he was interested in a return to Columbia last time the Gamecocks had an opening and this time all of the pieces fell into place with Beamer making one call and one call only.
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