South Carolina Football Era Debate: Best running game

Almost every era of South Carolina football that had any success also had a strong running game. From the way back time of Rex Enright to even the normally pass-happy Steve Spurrier, running the football was a critical point of offensive and team success. It makes sense then that some of the best and most popular players in school history were backs who carried the rock and, at times, the team. But which era of South Carolina football had the most successful running game?

First, let’s define the eras.

The Rex Enright Era: Anything before 1956

While Coach Enright did not literally coach all of these seasons, he was by far the longest-tenured coach during this time period, having coached twice as many games as any other coach who came before him. This is, by far, the longest of the eras but also has the fewest amount of games per season and the lowest overall amount of talent to choose from.

The ACC Era: 1956-1974

The Gamecocks joined the ACC in 1953 and left in 1971. In an effort to not split coaching tenures between two eras, 1953-1955 will be included in the Rex Enright Era, and 1971-1974 will be included in the ACC Era. 1956 was the school’s first season post-Rex Enright, and 1974 was Coach Paul Dietzel’s final year in Columbia. South Carolina did not win a ton during this era but did capture its only conference championship, claiming the ACC crown in 1969.

The Independent Era: 1975-1988

Jim Carlen, Richard Bell, and Joe Morrison led the Gamecocks through life as an Independent program. Schedules were difficult, but South Carolina managed to win at a decent clip through these years. The Gamecocks actually became Independent in 1971, but Paul Dietzel’s final years are included in the ACC Era. The program would not officially join a conference again until 1992, but after Joe Morrison passed away and Sparky Woods became coach in 1989, the move to a conference (ultimately, the SEC) was inevitable.

The Early SEC Era: 1989-2004

The years leading up to South Carolina football’s move into the best conference in college football and its first 13 years in the conference were up and down. Sparky Woods and Brad Scott struggled but had brief periods of success including the team’s first-ever bowl victory in a win over West Virginia in the Car Quest Bowl. The Lou Holtz tenure in Columbia started horribly (0-11), soared to heights Gamecock fans hadn’t seen in almost 20 years (17-7 from 2000-2001), then fizzled (three straight non-bowl seasons and a brawl that put a black eye on one of football’s best rivalries).

The Steve Spurrier Era: 2005-2015

The Steve Spurrier Era in Columbia was the brightest time in South Carolina football history. Sure, individual seasons like 1969, 1984, 1987, 2000, and 2001 happened during earlier time periods, but no time in Carolina history produced more sustained success for the garnet and black. Even with a poor ending in 2015 that saw Shawn Elliott finish the season after the Head Ball Coach resigned, Spurrier’s overall success at Carolina is unrivaled, so giving him his own era just makes sense.

The Modern Era: 2016-Present

In an era that is still building, the Gamecocks have been on a wild ride. Will Muschamp came in and fixed some of the structural issues in the program from the Spurrier era and seemed to be on the road to glory after a good second season. However, he showed he was incapable of getting things done on the field and was replaced by former Spurrier assistant Shane Beamer. Beamer and his staff have since dug the program out of a bad culture that was present at the end of the previous regime, and the South Carolina football program is on the rise once again.

Best Pass-Catching Era of South Carolina Football

Each era of Gamecock football will have its positional group analyzed, and the top-three eras will be given a “starting lineup” that will be ranked against each other. Talent and positional fit will be the biggest factors, and depth will serve as a tie-breaker if the groups are just too close to point out any real distinction. For the run game comparison, running backs are most important, running quarterbacks will be factored in, and fullback and offensive line blocking will serve as tie-breakers.

The Rex Enright Era: The South Carolina offense of the Rex Enright Era was built on a tough and grinding rushing attack. All-American backs like Phil Cantore and Norris Mullis ran behind tough offensive lines that were led by some of the best centers in team history. The undoubted leader of all old-school backs, however, was Steve Wadiak. Some of the most impressive rushing performances and seasons were produced by backs from this era, especially by Wadiak. “The Cadillac” owned almost every Gamecock rushing record at the time of graduation.

The ACC Era: Not much changed during the ACC Era in terms of offensive philosophy. Quarterbacks got in on the fun, as well, as Tommy Suggs, Dan Reeves, Ron Bass, and Jeff Grantz were integral parts of the running game for their teams. The best running backs of the ACC Era were All-Americans Warren Muir, Billy Gambrell, and Alex Hawkins. Kevin Long, Clarence Williams, and Jay Lynn Hodgins were All-ACC backs who don’t get enough recognition from this era. Bill Wohrman was also one of the best blocking fullbacks in Gamecock history.

The Independent Era: The independent era saw an increased focus on throwing the football, but the best back in school history forced the Gamecocks to revert back to their run-heavy ways. Heisman Trophy-winner George Rogers put up over 5000 yards on the ground during his career, and Harold Green was a stud in the late ’80s. Backs like Thomas Dendy, Johnnie Wright, and Kent Hagood also had good careers.

The Early SEC Era: As the Gamecock offenses under Spark Woods and Brad Scott threw the ball more than ever, Brandon Bennett and Duce Staley still became some of the top Carolina rushers of all-time. Versatile fullbacks like Stanley Pritchett and Rob deBoer and dual-threat quarterback Anthony Wright were important contributors in the ’90s, as well. It wasn’t until Lou Holtz prowled the sidelines that the Gamecocks became a primary running team again. Backs like Derek Watson, Ryan Brewer, and Andrew Pinnock were very good in their three-back system.

The Steve Spurrier Era: Most fans thought the Gamecocks would throw the ball 1000 times per game under the Head Ball Coach. While his “fun and gun” system sometimes poked its head out, Spurrier found his greatest success at South Carolina while running the football. Marcus Lattimore, Cory Boyd, and Mike Davis (the second one) headlined his running backs, but Brandon Wilds had a solid career.

The most consistent offensive lines in school history played under Spurrier, and quarterbacks Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw were some of the best runners among all Carolina signal callers. Patrick DiMarco is probably the best fullback to ever play in Columbia, as well.

The Modern Era: A disappointing era of offensive football still fielded considerable amounts of talent on that side of the football. This was true in the running game as Kevin Harris led the SEC in rushing, and backs like Rico Dowdle, Ty’Son Williams, and MarShawn Lloyd all had stretches of very solid play.

The Verdict

One of the most difficult verdicts in this series, most eras of South Carolina football have been good at running the football. The modern era has been largely underwhelming but still has time to grow. The Early SEC Era and Rex Enright Era were barely on the outside looking in on this one, but the top three rushing eras in Gamecocks history are the Steve Spurrier Era, the Independent Era, and the ACC Era.

3rd Place: The Steve Spurrier Era

Utilizing an offense with Marcus Lattimore running behind Pat DiMarco and a good offensive line would be a success without any added elements. Including the best quarterback in school history in Connor Shaw and Mike Davis as Lattimore’s back-up, and this group being in the top-3 makes sense. Amazingly, most of this group actually did play together at one time. It’s no wonder the Gamecocks experienced their best run of football in this era.

2nd Place: The Independent Era

George Rogers. His greatness alone puts the Independent Era into the top-3. However, once one includes Harold Green and Thomas Dendy at running back and Mike Hold as a solid runner from the quarterback position, the Gamecocks of the late ’70s through the ’80s were formidable on the ground.

1st Place: The ACC Era

There wasn’t a ton of on-field success during the ACC Era, though the Gamecocks did win their one conference championship in 1969. The lack of much winning football was not the fault of the running game, however, as Carolina had one of their two multi-time All-Americans at the position (Warren Muir) and two more All-Americans (Billy Gambrell and Alex Hawkins) during the ACC Era.

Add in Kevin Long, Clarence Williams, and Jay Lynn Hodgin at running back, an elite blocking fullback in Bill Wohrman, and some of the best runners in school history at quarterback (Jeff Grantz, Ron Bass, Dan Reeves, Tommy Suggs), and it becomes clear: the ACC Era was the best era of Gamecock football for running the ball.