Essential South Carolina football recruiting staffers get deserved promotions

Earlier in July, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer hired a new director of player personnel and recruiting when he brought Darren Uscher (a USC alum) from the Oregon Ducks to replace the suddenly-fired Taylor Edwards. Edwards had been let go for unspecified rules violations, and Uscher didn't wait long before making some changes to his department.

South Carolina football recruiting staffers Sam Serbay and Brandon Middleton have been important behind-the-scenes stars in the Gamecocks' efforts to bring new talent to Columbia. Now, both of them have been promoted and given new titles.

According to their bio pages on Gamecocksonline.com, Sam Serbay will be the director of offensive recruiting, expanding on his previous role of player personnel and recruiting assistant. Brandon Middleton, who had been a player personnel assistant who handled evaluating high school prospects' game films and helped with opponent scouting, will be the director of defensive recruiting.

Serbay, who has been with the South Carolina football program since 2021, has been a big part of the Gamecocks' successful offensive line recruiting over the past several years. Middleton, who came to Columbia in 2019 under previous coach Will Muschamp and was retained by Shane Beamer, is well-respected for his ability to help with on-campus recruiting and his eye for evaluating film.

The promotions could be indicative of plans to expand the Gamecocks' recruiting department. Recent NCAA rules have made it easier for college football programs to give coaches (both on-field and off-field) any titles they want. With Serbay and Middleton as the top off-field names on Darren Uscher's recruiting staff, they will partner with on-campus recruiting director Jessica Jackson and her staff to keep the best in-state players in South Carolina and convince the best out-of-state players that the Palmetto State is where they want to be, as well.