Mangus named USC's QB coach

COLUMBIA — The initials were appropriate back in the early 1990s, when G.A. Mangus was a graduate assistant at Florida under Gators coach Steve Spurrier.

But G.A. elevated himself above G.A. status. Now he'll again work with Spurrier.

South Carolina hired Mangus on Friday to become the Gamecocks' new quarterbacks coach, the school announced through a release.

"I really believe G.A. is the best quarterbacks coach I could hire," Spurrier said in the release. "He's one of the best in the country."

Mangus fills the position held by David Reaves until he left to join Tennessee's coaching staff just after the Nov. 29 loss at Clemson.

In the days following Reaves' departure, Spurrier strongly considered hiring a receivers coach. To the point that SEC veteran Woody McCorvey was on the hook, only to be let off when the school didn't want to offer him a multi-year deal.

McCorvey wound up in an administrative job at Clemson the following day.

At that point, Spurrier said he would wait until January to make any hires. In the meantime, Spurrier served as USC's quarterbacks coach for the Outback Bowl preparations.

Around the time of the game, word surfaced that Spurrier wanted to hire a quarterbacks coach.

He spoke with former Gators Shane Matthews and Noah Brindise, as well as former USC quarterback Phil Petty, before settling on Mangus.

"Obviously this is an exciting opportunity to get back with coach Spurrier, the one who gave me a start in the coaching profession," Mangus said in USC's release. "He has an excellent coaching staff in place and the SEC is a great conference. It's the best place to coach, and having the opportunity to do that is very exciting for me."

Mangus was at Florida when Spurrier arrived, with the walk-on playing for the Ball Coach his final two years.

He hung around after graduation to become a grad assistant and then an offensive line assistant.

He left for a couple of Division III assistant jobs before taking over his own D-III program, Delaware Valley.

The school went 2-8 in his first season, but then went 33-4 and made two national quarterfinal appearances in the following seasons.

Mangus was twice named his conference's coach of the year. He was a regional D-III coach of the year and his name was discussed for the national award.

"He's earned his way up the coaching ladder," Spurrier said.

Mangus had been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the past three seasons with Middle Tennessee State, where he worked under former USC assistant Rick Stockstill.

The hire leaves two vacancies on the staff, safeties and the strength coach.

The secondary search now appears locked in on Arkansas assistant Lorenzo Ward, who was a right-hand man for USC coordinator Ellis Johnson when they were at Mississippi State.

Johnson wanted to bring Ward with him a year ago, when Johnson and Spurrier initially talked about the Gamecocks' job. There wasn't room for another assistant, so Johnson and Ward wound up at Arkansas. Johnson left three weeks later for Columbia, and Ward stayed on Bobby Petrino's staff.

He's under a lucrative, multi-year deal with the Hogs, and that's been a challenge for Johnson and USC as it works to get Ward on board. As of Friday afternoon, both sides were working toward that, with Arkansas' blessing. USC seems somewhat flexible to offer a multi-year deal, but only somewhat flexible.

For the strength coach, USC has focused its search internally. The candidate is thought to be already in place or within the city limits.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com and check out the new South Carolina blog at www.charleston.net/blogs/gamecocks.