Former South Carolina football players take over new coaching jobs

A pair of South Carolina football alums will be taking over new coaching jobs in the Palmetto State, joining the long list of former Gamecocks who will be coaching in the South Carolina High School League this fall.

According to a report from WCIV ABC Charleston sports director Scott Eisberg, former USC linebacker Eric Brown (who played for the South Carolina Gamecocks back in the 1990s before beginning his coaching career) will be the next head coach of the St. John’s High School Mighty Islanders. He is also bringing on board former Carolina running back Cory Boyd (who has been coaching in a few capacities since an NFL and CFL professional career that came after playing for the Gamecocks during the Lou Holtz-Steve Spurrier transition) as his team’s offensive coordinator.

Brown spent five years as a player with the South Carolina football program, redshirting in 1989 before becoming a four-year starter as an inside linebacker. Brown is one of just a handful of Gamecock linebackers to log multiple 15-tackle games in a single season and was one of the top defensive performers during the Sparky Woods era in Columbia. He has over 20 years of coaching experience, having worked at both the high school and college levels.

Boyd also spent five years with the Gamecocks, playing during the transition between Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier. He ranks in the top-10 in program history in both rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and receiving yards, and he owns most of the running back career receiving records for USC. He had a brief professional career in both the NFL and CFL before beginning his coaching career.

Brown had been a high-ranking assistant with Winston-Salem State before coming down to John Island, and Boyd had been in various coaching jobs in South Carolina in recent years. Brown will be reunited with former teammate and fellow linebacker Hank Campbell, who is St. John’s High School’s athletic director. Campbell is best remembered as the linebacker who stopped the Tennessee Volunteers’ 2-point conversion attempt in the closing minutes to preserve the Gamecocks’ win in 1992.