Shawn Elliott addresses his return to #Gamecocks as TE coach and run game coordinator (AUDIO)

Shawn Elliott, a Camden native and former interim head coach at South Carolina, met with the media Tuesday morning to discuss in detail his decision to leave his job as head coach at Georgia State and accept the offer from Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer top rejoin the program as the tight ends coach and run game coordinator.

Basically, Elliott said the move was a no-brainer for him. It took him literally no time to accept the offer when Beamer called him last week. When Elliott left Columbia following the 2016 season, he left his family behind in a move they all felt was the best. Over the last seven years, Elliott has been up and down I-20 hundreds, if not thousands, of times to be with his family as much as possible.

Beamer likes to use the two-word phrase “Welcome Home”: when he lands a commitment. This was truly a case of “Welcome Home” when it came to Elliott and his family. He said his family’s situation was the only reason for the move. Not NIL. Not Transfer Portal, though he said he lost 22 players to bigger programs over the past two years.

Elliott has a son who plays football at AC Flora and a daughter who is in competitive cheer there. Family was the driving reason he made the tough decision to not only walk away from a program he had built, but to do so two days into spring practice.

Elliott received a three-year contract from the Gamecocks that will start out at $750,000.

Shawn Elliott press conference