South Carolina tight ends quickly buying into expected intensity from Shawn Elliott
When Shawn Elliott was hired as South Carolina’s tight ends coach this offseason, it didn’t take long before words like, ‘intensity’ and ‘energy’ were thrown around knowing what the Camden, S.C. native brings with him wherever he goes.
“Energy. Pure energy,” former Gamecock wide receiver Ace Sanders told GamecockCentral about what it’s like to be coached by Elliott. “(Have) you ever been ready and willing to run through a brick wall? Coach Elliott will get you there.”
Spending more than half of his career coaching the offensive line, it’s easy to understand why Elliott has had many similar expectations for South California’s tight end room.
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“For me, off the field, I’m probably just like everybody else. I’m always in good spirits,” said Elliott. “It’s just that the game of football was built around moving people against their will.”
So far, Elliott says that message has been received loud and clear from the tight ends.
“I think there’s a little bit more of an intense outlook from that room. They understand that we have to be physical football players. Those guys can be great players. I say it all the time, they can be physical out on the perimeter, they can be physical inside of the box, even catching the football and route running and concepts like that. You can still become physical. That’s what the great tight ends do.”
Understanding that message is one thing. But responding to an intense, old-school coach like Elliott is another thing.
“I think they like (coaching) like that. You can’t be like that the entire time. I’m as intense on the football field but at times on that football field I’m just the opposite. I can let it down a little bit. They’ve responded well. I think they all want to be what we talk about being in that room and that’s being a physical group… We have a great relationship. Our communication is on point. They know where they stand and they know where I stand and that’s the way coaching should be.”
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For Elliott, intensity was a mindset instilled in him at a young age away from the football field.
“It came from my dad. 100 percent from Charles Elliott. He was tough as hell and tough as nails. That’s the way he wanted us to be. He brought us up to be tough, intense, and not to be pushed around.”
While Elliott knows what it takes to get to that level, he’s been challenging his tight ends to be the ones to bring that intensity out of him. A lesson that he believes will create more accountability in the room.
“I’d like to think that I’m an intense individual. Game days are a little bit different for me. Half the time I don’t even remember what happened in the game. It’s just that I get caught up in it. Practices are (intense) when they need to be. A lot of times, I leave it to the players to kind of bring that intensity out of me. I want to see their attitudes and efforts to see if they can bring that from the meeting room and bring that attitude.”
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The post South Carolina tight ends quickly buying into expected intensity from Shawn Elliott appeared first on On3.
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