South Carolina Football alum gets new coaching gig

There are a number of South Carolina football alums who have gotten into coaching.

Erik Kimrey is one of the most successful high school coaches in the history of the sport (and spent a year with the Gamecock staff).

Travian Robertson has become a rising star in the defensive line coaching industry, parlaying that into the Carolina job this past offseason.

Former players like Bryson Allen-Williams, Byron Jerideau, Chris Hampton, and Addison Williams are coaching at various spots around the country.

Shaq Wilson, Devonte Holloman, Patrick DiMarco, and others have bounced around different levels of coaching with stops at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels.

The late Dan Reeves likely will end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he is 9th in NFL history in coaching wins.

There are even more former Gamecocks in the coaching world, and naming them all would take far too long.

This week, though, South Carolina football alum Jason Barnes was named the wide receivers coach for the Charlotte 49ers under head coach Biff Poggi. The 2024 season will be his second with the program. He was an offensive analyst in 2023.

During his career with the South Carolina football program, Barnes had 778 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns as a dependable wide receiver. Both of his career touchdowns came in the Gamecocks’ 2008 road victory over the Ole Miss Rebels as he led the Gamecocks with 7 catches for 76 yards and the 2 scores.

Prior to the “Covid redshirt,” he owned the record for most games played by a Gamecock wide receiver with 51. Josh Vann now owns the record with 57 wide receiver games, and Xavier Legette is 2nd with 53 games played.

When Barnes was in high school, he played for legendary head coach Tom Knotts at Independence High School in Charlotte. South Carolina football fans may recognize Knotts more now as he coaches at Dutch Fork High School in the Columbia area.

Barnes coached under Knotts at Dutch Fork before moving on to the college game, getting gigs with Georgia Military, Bridgewater College, Coastal Carolina, and Charlotte. He was an offensive analyst for Charlotte before his promotion to wide receivers coach.