Gamecock Connections Lead Travian Robertson To Long-Awaited Return

South Carolina's Football program had a wide-reaching impact on Travian Robertson's coaching career, and lead to him eventually returning to Columbia.

When Travian Robertson was at home this past Thursday night, he had one simple mission to complete: make a Salmon dinner for the whole family while his wife and two kids were out at track practice, and then afterward, he would be able to watch the NFL Draft where hundreds of young men would live out lifelong dreams of becoming NFL players. One surprise call that same night from South Carolina head Football coach Shane Beamer would lead to Travian Robertson living out his own dream of coming back to serve an on-field role for South Carolina's coaching staff.

Robertson made it abundantly clear at his introductory press conference on Tuesday evening that while he was grateful for attaining his current position, that he never wanted to feel like he was entitled to getting the role purely based off his experiences at South Carolina. Travian wanted to earn his stripes, but he didn't realize that when he began his coaching journey back in 2015, that it would multiple former South Carolina Gamecocks that would give him the opportunities that lead to him officially being named the Gamecocks' new defensive line coach on Monday.

"Soon as I got done playing football in 2015, I lived two miles from Peachtree Ridge High School, where coach [Tommy] Fleetwood, [who] was a kicker here, gave me an opportunity. Then coach [Shawn] Elliott took the head coaching job from here to Georgia State... He had hired a former Gamecock [in] Cedric Williams, and Cedric answered my phone call and got me connected with coach Elliott," Robertson continued. "Then leaving Georgia State to go to Albany, no one knows this but Cory Peoples was a former Gamecock, [he] was the defensive coordinator at Albany State. Coached at Georgia State for [another] three years and all of the sudden I get a former text message from another former Gamecock, Chris Hampton... To have the opportunity to coach with him last year was huge for me. Without Gamecocks, and the way we connect and the way we do things, I wouldn't be here right now."

From an objective standpoint it's quite remarkable how the connections with fellow alumni, by happenstance, led Travian Robertson back home, where he can now leave a legacy bigger than the one he left as a player.

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