South Carolina Technician Gamecocks Shane Beamer appointed seven assistant coaches.
Below is the statement from the South Carolina public relations department …
University of South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer appointed seven assistants who will be part of its initial technical team in 2021, pending the approval of the UofSC Board of Trustees, which will hold its next scheduled meeting on January 4, 2021.
Four coaches – offensive coordinator / defender coach Mike Boborunning backs coach Des Kitchings, defensive line coach Tracy Rocker and coach of external linebackers Mike Peterson – will be maintained from the Gamecocks 2020 team. Besides, besides, Connor Shaw will return in a role to be determined, off the field, within the football program.
Joining the Carolina team for the first time in 2021 are Will be friend, who was named the coach of the offensive line, former Gamecock defender Erik Kimrey, who will act as the coach of the tight ends, and Pete Lembo, who will be the lead associate coach / coordinator of special Gamecocks teams.
“I am excited about the quality of the coaches this team has,” said coach Beamer. “I am looking for coaches who teach and connect with our players, who have unlimited energy to recruit young people for our exceptional university and program, and who do it the right way.
“One of the first things I did when I was hired was to visit the coaching staff that has been in place since the 2020 season,” continued coach Beamer. “After a lot of thinking and a lot of conversations with the players on our team, I knew that Coach Bobo, Coach Kitchings, Coach Peterson and Coach Rocker would be excellent additions to this new team and would need to stay here in Columbia. All four had a great training career and have an understanding of what it takes to compete at the Southeast Conference. I would also like to thank Coach Bobo for taking over the reins as an interim coach at the end of this season. He did an excellent job leading the team inside and outside field. “
“I am also excited to have Connor (Shaw) on our team in a broader role on the football side,” added coach Beamer. “He loves this school and this program. Connor is committed to helping our players succeed and reach their maximum potential.”
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Friend has extensive work experience both at the SEC and with the offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. The Philadelphia, Mississippi native has spent the past three seasons as an offensive line coach at the University of Tennessee, where he mentored Trey Smith, who was appointed to the All-SEC first team unit in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, UT linemen offensive Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright both were selected for the Freshman All-SEC squad, while Morris was classified as Freshman All-American.
Friend arrived at Rocky Top after a three-year stint (2015-17) as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Colorado State University, where he worked with Coach Bobo. In 2017, he led an attack that ranked 11 in the country in total attack, with 492.5 yards per game. Friend and Bobo also worked together at the 2011-14 University of Georgia. Friend served as coach of the offensive line of the Bulldogs in 2011, then added the title of coordinator of racing games in 2013. During his last season in Athens in 2014, Friend helped guide a Bulldog attack that averaged 41.3 points per game, which came in eighth place nationally, and accumulated 457.8 yards of total attack per game.
“Will has a history of developing excellent lineworkers during his coaching career,” noted coach Beamer. “He knows what it takes to compete in the SEC and brings the momentum and energy that we want in our team.”
A four-year titular guard in Alabama, a two-time All-SEC selection and a member of the Alabama Decade Team in the 1990s, Friend started his coaching career in West Alabama in 2001. He was an offensive assistant at Tuscaloosa Central High School in 2002, before joining the Georgia team as a graduate assistant (2003-04). He spent the 2005-06 seasons as an offensive line manager at Gardner-Webb, then had a four-year stint (2007-10) as an offensive line manager at UAB. Overall, Friend coached nine strikers who were selected in the NFL Draft.
Graduated in 1998 from the University of Alabama, Friend and his wife, Carrie, have three children – Katie, Brooks and Charlie.
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Kimrey, a highly successful high school coach, returns to his alma mater for his first stint as a college coach. He spent the past 17 seasons as a head coach at Hammond School in Columbia, where he guided SkyHawks to 12 SCISA state titles, more than any coach in South Carolina history, while compiling a 194-20 overall record. He was the youngest and fastest coach to achieve 100 wins in South Carolina’s history and the only coach to have won six consecutive state championships. Among the players who played for Kimrey at Hammond are current Gamecocks Jordan Burch, Alex Huntley, Bradley Dunn and Fabian Goodman. He taught Philosophy of Religion and physical education at Hammond.
“Erik is a Gamecock,” said coach Beamer. “He is the type of person and coach that I want on our team. In addition to having an astute and offensive footballing mind, he connects well with his players and cares about his progress at all stages of their lives. It is extremely important to have former players of this team and this football program. We are not done yet. “
Kimrey graduated from Dutch Fork High School in Columbia, where he played as a defender for his father, Bill Kimrey, who was a head coach at a high school in South Carolina for 34 years. He set five state pass records as a senior and was the state’s Offensive Player of the Year. Kimrey was a reserve defender and a three-card winner in South Carolina from 1998-2002. He is best remembered for leaving the bank to replace an injured Phil Petty and completing a fourth down fade route pass to Jermale Kelly to raise the Gamecocks for a frustrating victory over the State of Mississippi during the 2000 season.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Kimrey spent two years as an offensive graduate assistant on Lou Holtz’s team in South Carolina, training tight end and studying offensive line and playing tight end with the coach Dave DeGuglielmo.
Kimrey is a third generation Gamecock. His grandmother, father, mother, brothers and wife attended the University of South Carolina. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Erica Russell, and they have three children – Kaitlyn Dean, Karis and Ty.
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Lembo arrives in Carolina after two seasons as a technical assistant and special team coordinator in Memphis. Nominated for the Broyles Award, the Tigers 2019 special teams ranked in the top 10 in six NCAA / FBS statistical categories: kickback yards (2nd), kickback TD (2nd), blocked kicks (6th) , 6th blocking punts), kickoff touchbacks (6th) and kickbacks (9th). He was also one of three finalists for FootballScoop.com’s Special Team Coordinator of the Year award.
“Pete brings tremendous experience to our team, he trained at various levels and was the head coach,” noted Coach Beamer. “His football IQ is excellent, especially on special teams. He was a successful coach and as coordinator of special teams, his units contributed a lot to the team’s overall success.”
Before arriving in Bluff City, Lembo’s special teams were ranked among the best in the country in Rice (2018) and Maryland (2016-17). In Maryland, he also served as assistant head coach and tight end coach.
Their special Rice 2018 teams ranked fifth on FBS with only 16.12 kickoff yards allowed and 15th with 24.41 kickoff yards per game. As a unit, Rice’s special teams ranked 17th in the country in ESPN Team Efficiency Rankings (60.8 percent), after reaching 114th in the season before Lembo’s arrival.
In their passage through Maryland, Lembo’s special teams were classified as some of the best in the country. In two seasons, Terps drew in fifth place nationally with nine blocked shots.
Lembo spent five seasons as a coach at Ball State (2011-15). During their tenure, the Cardinals set more than 60 school records, including season marks for points (501), total offense (6,199 yards), passing yards (4,214), TD passes (35) and total TD (64) in 2013 .
Their special Ball State teams also ranked among the best at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in each of their five seasons. Kicker Steve Schott was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist and bettor Scott Kovanda was a finalist for the Ray Guy award in 2012. In 2014, kicker Scott Secor MAC Special Player of the Year was elected.
In five seasons, Lembo posted a 33-29 mark, improving his career coach mark to 112-65 in 15 seasons. He was the first coach in Ball State history to win at least 30 games in his first four seasons. Lembo guided the Cardinals to a 9-4 record and an appearance at the 2012 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl and a 10-3 mark and an appearance at the GoDaddy Bowl in 2013. It was only the second time in the Cardinals’ 91-year history that the program went to bowling games in consecutive seasons.
He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant in Albany (1992-93), and then spent three seasons as a technical assistant in Dartmouth (1994-96) and a season in Hampden-Sydney (1997) before joining Lehigh’s team in 1998. There, Lembo started as an assistant coach before being named head coach in 2001. In five seasons at the helm, he reached the 44-14 mark, leading Lehigh to the 2001 and 2004 Patriot League crowns and the FCS playoffs. Its overall winning percentage, 759 and its winning percentage in the league, 0.778 is the second highest in the history of the Patriot League. He was named the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year and Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2001, when his team finished 11-1 and placed fifth in both NCAA Division I-AA polls.
In 2006, Lembo took over the Elon program. In the next five years, Lembo led the Phoenix with 35 wins, more than double the total wins in the previous five years (14). Elon de Lembo’s teams broke 124 NCAA, Southern Conference (SoCon) and school records and boasted a 24-14 record in the SoCon game. He was named SoCon Coach of the Year in 2007.
Lembo, who graduated in 1992 from Georgetown University, was a starter for four years in the Hoyas offensive line and served as team captain in 1991. Born in Staten Island, NY, Lembo is married to former Jenifer Kochis. The couple has three children: Sophia, AJ and Victoria.
2021 SOUTH CAROLINA COACHING TEAM (on December 27, 2020)
Shane Beamer, Head coach
Mike Bobo, Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
Will be friend, Offensive line
Erik Kimrey, Tight tips
Des Kitchings, Running Backs
Pete Lembo, Associate Principal Technician / Special Teams Coordinator
Mike Peterson, External linebackers
Tracy Rocker, Defensive line