COLUMBIA, S.C. — Shawn Elliott can say his first head coaching stint was a success.
In seven years in charge of the Georgia State program, he led the Panthers to their first bowl win and in 2021, GSU recorded a program-best eight victories, One of those victories in that season came in Conway against #21 Coastal Carolina, marking the first win over a ranked program for the Panthers.
Last week, Elliott was immersed in spring practice in Atlanta when his coaching career took a major detour and on Friday, that detour brought him back to Columbia when he was formally hired as the new tight ends coach/run game coordinator at South Carolina.
The Camden native had served as USC's offensive line coach from 2010-2016 before taking the Georgia State job. His wife and kids had remained in Columbia which meant a lot of hours driving on I-20 for football games and cheerleading competitions.
So, after seven years of commuting and living three hours down the road, Shawn Elliott made the decision to return home and the opening on Shane Beamer's staff provided Elliott the opportujnity to come back to more than familiar territory.
It will also take him back to his days at Appalachian State as he was a tight ends coach before he began his long career working on the offensive line.