South Carolina football: Gamecocks hire Torrian Gray as DB coach

South Carolina football’s defensive staff is nearly set.

Shane Beamer announced the hiring of coordinator Clayton White earlier this week, ending a month long search for the defensive play caller. Now, White’s staff of assistants is nearly set, as the Gamecocks have announced the addition of former Florida secondary coach Torrian Gray.

Gray becomes the fourth member of the defensive staff, joining White, defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, and linebackers coach Mike Peterson.

Gray had been with the Gators for the last two seasons, and has been a secondary coach at both the collegiate and professional levels. Prior to his latest two year stint in Gainesville, he was a member of the Washington Football Team’s defensive staff. Gray has also made stops at Maine, Connecticut, and Virginia Tech, as well as the NFL’s Chicago Bears.

Gray’s time at Virginia Tech, his alma mater, overlapped with Shane Beamer’s. Gray was with the university between 2006-2015, while Beamer joined the staff from 2011-2015. The two were also college teammates for a short time in the late 1990s.

Gray has overseen the development of a handful of NFL stars throughout his 20 year coaching career, including Teez Tabor, Marcus Maye, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Flowers, Kendall Fuller, and Kyle Fuller. He also coached Kair Elam and CJ Henderson with the Gators in 2019, both of whom went on to earn All-SEC honors following the season.

Gray will have his hands full as South Carolina’s defensive backs room is extremely thin heading into the offseason. A total of five members of the secondary have either entered the transfer portal or opted to pursue professional careers. Another, RJ Roderick, opted out of the 2020 season after Will Muschamp’s firing, and has yet to make his plans known for the future.

With the staff nearly complete, South Carolina coaches can hit the recruiting trail as we close in on the February signing period.