DOK: OSU hires Gillespie to coach running backs

[snuffy]

OSU hires Gillespie to coach running backs
By Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Published: January 14, 2009

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s offensive staff is full again, with the addition of a running backs coach Wednesday.


Former South Carolina running backs coach Rob Gillespie has agreed to an offer to join the Cowboys in the same position, according to multiple sources.

Gillespie was a running back and team captain at Florida under current South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier from 1998-2001. Gillespie played two seasons in the NFL and one in NFL Europe.

A 29-year-old native of Hattiesburg, Miss., Gillespie has been at South Carolina since 2005.

Gillespie’s hire comes one day after OSU recruiting coordinator Robert Matthews was promoted to coach quarterbacks, filling the positions vacated when Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor left to take jobs at Auburn earlier this month.

[Verb]

I heard that this guy is a bigtime recruiter.

[MarkOSU]

Looks like a great hire

[legelegel]

Robert Gillespie is in his third season as a full-time college football coach. He was promoted to the Gamecocks' running backs coach on Dec. 16, 2005, after spending the 2005 campaign as a graduate assistant for video at South Carolina.

In his first season as running backs coach, he saw two of his backs - Cory Boyd (three times) and Taylor Rank (once) - rush for more than 100 yards in a game, and two others, Mike Davis and Bobby Wallace, have games with more than 90 yards on the ground.

Under Gillespie's watch, the South Carolina backs combined to rush for 1,876 yards in 2006, marking a 61 percent increase from the year prior to his appointment as running backs coach for the Gamecocks. South Carolina averaged 144.31 rushing yards per game in 2006, ranking 49th nationally just one year after ranking 108th among Division I-A teams with a 95.17 yards per game average. The increased productivity of the Gamecocks running backs catapulted Carolina's third-down conversion percentage from 34 percent the year prior to Gillespie (95th nationally) to 48 percent his first year (12th nationally).

In 2007, tailback Cory Boyd rushed for 903 yards, the most yards for a Gamecock back since Derek Watson logged 1,066 yards rushing in 2000. Boyd also was selected in the NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Bucs.

A former running back and team captain at the University of Florida, Gillespie played for Steve Spurrier from 1998-2001, earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC Player of the Week recognition during his time with the Gators. Gillespie finished his college career ranking second all-time at Florida in receiving yards by a back. A two-time selection to the SEC Fall Sports Academic Honor Roll in 2000 and 2001, Gillespie returned to Gainesville to earn a degree in sports management from Florida in 2005.

Gillespie played for the NFL's Washington Redskins in 2002 and 2003 and played for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe in 2003 before taking a teaching job at his alma mater, Hattiesburg HS in Hattiesburg, Miss., in 2004. He stayed on at Hattiesburg HS for an internship in the athletic department in 2005 before making his way to South Carolina.
http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/gillespie_robert00.html

[legelegel]

Let us hope Robert continues to score for the Cowboys


http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/2582/robertgillespiejr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

as a coach.


http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4964/robertgillespie2fz0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/4852/robertgillespie3cc9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[jbug]

Hope he can hook us up with some of the Ga. kids?

Also some of the S. Car. fans are thanking us for taking
this guy because they say their running game sucked. But
when you look at it I think it's their OL or OL coach!! They
made no holes or didn't get coached on how to handle
the D's they faced.

Your thoughts?

[ARPoke]

The improvements he has made in the run game for the gamecocks should speak for themselves. The people complaining about him probably weren't paying attention to just how craptastic their run game was before he arrived.

[MarkOSU]

Johnie Barr is the new recruiting coordinator, per Robert Allen

[andyokstate]

Johnie Barr is the new recruiting coordinator, per Robert Allen

Wasn't he here in the '80s?

[jbug]

Barr an Ou man, but heck he has been with us twice before and
he is married into the osu family ( old tennis coaches daughter,
Grouse/Grosse (sp) )/

[OSU-DNA]

He appears to have a strong reputation for interfacing and assisting players in their personal development. That fits nicely with Luper's strength and will substantial help the stablization of the team.

On the recruiting side, there are two aspects. First, he seems to get you in the door, however, the actual signee number is not particularly high. SC may have had him spread to thin covering too many prospects and as he matures he may improve significantly in the ability to close. And second, this orients the staff further into the Southeast area of the country. Expanding the recruiting territory is critical for moving to the next level.

[PokesFanatic]

OSU hires Gillespie to coach running backs
By Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Published: January 14, 2009

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s offensive staff is full again, with the addition of a running backs coach Wednesday...

The staff is full? Did I miss where we got a confirmation on a DC? All I've seen on several boards is conflicting media accounts and rampant speculation. Any official word on this?

[mt_goat]

The staff is full? Did I miss where we got a confirmation on a DC? All I've seen on several boards is conflicting media accounts and rampant speculation. Any official word on this?

"offensive staff is full"

[snuffy]

OSU hires Gillespie to coach running backs
By Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Published: January 14, 2009

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s
offensive staff is full
again, with the addition of a running backs coach Wednesday.

Gillespie’s hire comes one day after OSU recruiting coordinator Robert Matthews was promoted to coach quarterbacks, filling the positions vacated when Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor left to take jobs at Auburn earlier this month.

The staff is full? Did I miss where we got a confirmation on a DC? All I've seen on several boards is conflicting media accounts and rampant speculation. Any official word on this?

Just wanted to take the time to quote myself is all, thanks for the opportunity:biggrin:.
(usually the only time that happens is when the voices are talking to each other)

[TheLoveDoctor]

It is a little confusing in that we lost an offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach and a running back coach but then promoted a recruiting coordinator to quarterbacks coach and hired a new running backs coach. So who is doing wide receivers and the offensive coordinator positions? And who used to be the quarterbacks coach?

[PokesFanatic]

"offensive staff is full"

Ah, gotcha. I'll be the one sitting in the corner wearing a dunce hat.:ph34r: