Mike Bobo is quickly becoming a South Carolina football villain.
Mike Bobo came to Columbia as a last-ditch effort to save Will Muschamp’s job, with Muschamp hiring his University of Georgia friend to call the shots for the South Carolina attack. The plan didn’t work out for Muschamp, who was just fired seven games in the season, and now the Gamecocks are finding out how much damage can be done by a person who claimed to dedicate himself to his role in South Carolina football officials.
Bobo was only one season on the show, but he is certainly making his mark on the team.
Bobo started to gain the ire of Gamecock fans when he chose Collin Hill as a full-back instead of fan favorite Ryan Hilinski. This is not to say that Hill was not the best option at the start of the season, but his uncompromising loyalty to Hill angered South Carolina fans.
Hill was chosen earlier this year due to his knowledge of the booklet. The coaches reaffirmed this throughout the off-season, saying that Hill and Hilinski were side by side during the quarterback competition, but this familiarity with the play’s call gave Hill approval.
Advancing eight games in the year, Gamecocks sat at just 2-6. Hill had made as many choices as there were touchdowns. Instead of giving someone else a chance, Bobo continued to launch Hill and watch the struggle for the offensive unit. The Texas A&M game, in particular, saw Hill trot back into possession after possession, even though the Gamecocks lost by five points and failed to score a single point in three and a half quarters of the game.
Bobo finally made an adjustment in a game against Missouri, although it took another goalless time and a 17-0 deficit for the coordinator to act.
It is rumored that this perceived favoritism was one of the main reasons why Ryan Hilinski left the program. Hilinski chose to enter the transfer portal shortly after the news that Bobo was kept as the author of the move in 2021.
Still, some fans gave Bobo a pass as it looked like the team was moving in a new direction with Luke Doty in the center for the start of the next season. Many fans also liked Bobo’s call for players who left the program in the middle of the year and his preaching of loyalty to those who remained on the team.
That loyalty was nowhere to be found when Bobo fled to Auburn just two days after signing a contract to stay with Shane Beamer’s team in Columbia.
News of Bobo’s departure from the team was released just a week after Ryan Hilinski left the Gamecocks. Collin Hill did the same.
Then, in less than two weeks, Bobo left Gamecocks without a coordinator and a quarterback before the 2021 season, but it gets worse.
His departure has now impacted the 2022 recruiting class. The news was released earlier today that Gunner Stockton, a five-star passenger who committed to the South Carolina program in August, has now reopened his recruitment. Auburn’s signing of Bobo has always seemed like a ploy to put Stockton in place, and it seems to be paying off for the Tigers.
Of course, this is not going to appeal to South Carolina fans, who hoped to get the best quarterback on the show of all time.
The term of a Bobo season in Columbia left a disgusting taste in the mouth of Gamecock fans.
To recap:
- Bring in Hill to start the QB
- Run away from Hilinski
- Leaves as OC in less than a week at work
- Take Stockton with him
With Gamecocks not having to face Dabo Swinney in the 2020 season, Bobo easily became the most hated man on the South Carolina show this year. Fortunately, Gamecocks can take revenge when they face Auburn in 2021.