USC football coach Shane Beamer is ringing in the New Year by shaking up his coaching staff, at least at one position. Beamer has fired running backs coach Montario Hardesty according to reports across the Gamecock media landscape with TheBigSpur first out with the news.
Hardesty was one of Beamer’s original hires when he came to South Carolina in December of 2020. The former Tennessee and NFL running back coached at Charlotte for two seasons before joining the Gamecocks.
During his tenure, Hardesty help develop Kevin Harris into a sixth round NFL Draft pick. But he did not come close to producing a thousand yard runner.
The Gamecocks best running attack under Hardesty was in his first season when they averaged 137 yards per game. In 2022, the average dropped to 118 yards per game. And this season, the Gamecocks averaged only 85 rushing yards per game.
Not all of the Gamecocks’ running game ills, however, can be placed on the running backs. Injures to the offensive line and regular shuffling of the lineup did not help the cause.