On Tuesday, South Carolina’s top football coach Shane Beamer announced the signings of players from Taylor Edwards and Drew Hixson and solidified Connor Shawrole in the program. Edwards will be the players ‘personnel director, Hixson will be the players’ assistant personnel director and Shaw will be the soccer relations director.
Launch of South Carolina Athletics Communications and Public Relations
Taylor Edwards has been named the Player’s Team Director for the program. He came to Carolina after serving as Director of Recruitment Operations in Maryland for the past two seasons, where he worked with coach Mike Locksley. Edwards was instrumental in helping Terrapins recruit the 31st ranking class in 2020, and one of the top 20 recruiting classes in 2021.
Prior to his time in Maryland, Edwards spent a season (2018) as Recruitment Director in Arkansas, where he worked alongside the current Gamecock Wide Receivers coach. Justin Stepp. In his one year at Fayetteville, Edwards helped first-year coach Chad Morris secure a recruiting class in the top 25, despite coming out of a 2-10 season.
Edwards started at Jacksonville State as a personnel and operations assistant in 2013. He left JSU to become UAB’s Recruitment Director in 2014. He then served as Player Personnel Director at Samford before joining Nick Saban’s team at Alabama in 2017 as a Personal Assistant Player.
Born in Pleasant Grove, Alabama, Edwards graduated in 2011 from the University of Montevallo in business administration. He earned his master’s degree in sports and fitness management from Troy University in 2013.
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Drew Hixson will work with Edwards as the Assistant Personnel Director for the Player. Hixson came to Carolina from the University of Kansas. He joined the KU football team in February 2019 as a scout director, where he was responsible for identifying and evaluating potential customers. He also assisted recruitment personnel in all aspects, including unofficial and official visits.
Prior to his arrival in Lawrence, Hixson spent the 2018 season in Virginia working in the football department, assisting in the program’s recruiting efforts and activities.
Hixson graduated from Georgia in May 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. During his time in Georgia, he spent two years in the football recruiting office, first as a student assistant and then as a volunteer recruitment assistant.
Born in Bethlehem, Georgia, Hixson married his wife, Charlee, in June 2018.
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Connor Shaw he received the title of Football Relations Director. With his responsibilities expanded, he will assume more emphasis on football / recruiting under NCAA rules, in addition to serving as contact with former Gamecock players.
In addition, Shaw will continue in its role of relating to players, working closely with Derrick Moore, who was recently appointed Executive Director of Character and Player Development. Shaw, the most winning quarterback in the school’s history, returned to the Carolina football program in January 2020 as Director of Player Development. In this role, he focused on student-athlete career development, mental health, financial education and life skills, while leading the “Beyond Football” program.