When Will Muschamp was announced as the new head coach at South Carolina, he brought with him a focus, an edge, and a renewed energy for the Gamecock program.
Almost immediately, Muschamp and his staff brought an intensity to Columbia during the off season that players had really responded well to, and that, coupled with some mature leadership from players, led to a really solid off season of hard work.
However, five games into the 2016 season, Muschamp's squad is sitting at 2-3, with the two wins coming by a total of eight points against Vanderbilt and East Carolina. The losses have all been close as well, with an 11-point loss coming to the hands of a top ten Texas A&M squad last weekend, a seven-point loss to Kentucky the week before, and a 13 point loss to Mississippi State in week two of the season.
Asked about what he told players in the locker room after the loss to the Aggies, Muschamp explained that the idea that hard work always equals success is simply a myth.
"I told them that life isn't fair. Sometimes you can work really, really hard, and you're not guaranteed of anything."
"So you can't get frustrated. You can't let the negativity start to seep into your body and your brain. You've got to block it out and just understand that we've just got to continue to work, and continue to buy in, and continue in the things that they're doing as players on offense, defense, and special teams and have that belief because right now it's going to be negative."
"It's easy to kick the guy on the curb, and that's part of it. Right now we've got to continue to have the belief in what we're doing."
Hear more from Muschamp in the clip.
I highly recommend athletes taking some time to hear this. Great message on handling adversity by Will Muschamp following Saturday's loss. pic.twitter.com/tRtX80FF5S
— Mike Uva (@Mike_Uva) October 3, 2016