Clemson assistant's touch felt in South Carolina football

CLEMSON, S.C. - There&#39;s a coaching tree limb from the formidable trunk of Florida State&#39;s Bobby Bowden that&#39;s sprung up quite nicely around the Palmetto State this season.<br> <br> And while it&#39;s not nearly as thick and substantial as Bowden&#39;s which has yielded champions and bowl winners like Mark Richt at Georgia, Chuck Amato at North Carolina State and Bowden&#39;s sons, Terry at Auburn and Tommy at Clemson the influence of Tigers assistant head coach Brad Scott can be seen throughout the Palmetto State.<br> <br> Scott&#39;s former South Carolina star, Steve Taneyhill, has revived Chesterfield High to a 5-2 start while Scott&#39;s son, Jeff, is 6-1 as coach in Blythewood High&#39;s first year of varsity football.<br> <br> In college, Scott&#39;s former Gamecock graduate assistant, Zak Willis, has turned Newberry from a Division II program few thought could ever win to a force in the South Atlantic Conference with its first 6-0 mark in 35 years.<br> <br> ``Brad&#39;s been such an inspiration to me,&#39;&#39; Willis said. ``There&#39;s things I find myself doing today that I learned from him.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Jeff Scott remembers a decade ago when he and Willis would attempt to pick off the opponent&#39;s defensive signals from South Carolina&#39;s sidelines. ``It&#39;s fun to see this happening,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Taneyhill was Scott&#39;s record-setting quarterback with the Gamecocks in 1994 and 1995. At Chesterfield, Taneyhill has turned around a team that won just one game in 2004. The biggest victory came last month when Chesterfield topped Pageland Central, 12-6, a county rival it had not beaten in 37 years.<br> <br> The younger Scott watched Taneyhill from the sidelines as a teenager a decade ago. As a coach, his startup program has already beaten Richland Northeast, a state Class 4A finalist last December.<br> <br> ``I knew we had the potential to do that,&#39;&#39; Jeff Scott said.<br> <br> Last year&#39;s undefeated junior varsity season ``gave our kids a winning attitude and they expected to win. There&#39;s nothing you can say to them to put that attitude in them,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Jeff&#39;s father gained his attitude from 11 mostly successful seasons with Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles. Brad Scott was Florida State&#39;s offensive coordinator in 1993 during its first national championship season.<br> <br> Brad Scott took on the South Carolina job in 1994 and, with Taneyhill throwing 19 touchdowns, led the Gamecocks their first postseason win, 24-21 over West Virginia at the Carquest Bowl.<br> <br> However, Scott could not maintain that success. After going 1-10 in 1998, he was dismissed by South Carolina and joined the staff of new Clemson coach, Tommy Bowden. In eight seasons since, Scott has served as the Tigers assistant head coach, tight ends coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.<br> <br> Willis praised Scott for his ability as a teacher and friend.<br> <br> ``I remember whether I&#39;ve been going through good times or bad times, he&#39;s always stuck by me,&#39;&#39; Willis said. ``I think Steve would tell you the same thing. I love coach Scott and he did teach me a lot of football.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Willis, Taneyhill and Jeff Scott all rely on the spread offense, a wide-open scheme Brad Scott used at times during his Gamecock years.<br> <br> ``That&#39;s all we run,&#39;&#39; Willis said.<br> <br> Taneyhill, who set the South Carolina single-game record with 473 yards passing against Mississippi State in 1995 in Scott&#39;s offense, put in a spread attack against opponents who&#39;ve run the ball for decades. ``I don&#39;t think we&#39;ve seen 30 passes combined in six games,&#39;&#39; Taneyhill said. ``We&#39;re averaging 27 a game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Taneyhill says he&#39;s given some of his plays the same names used during his Gamecock days. The offense is just as effective. Chesterfield had won only one game in 2004. It improved to 3-8 last year.<br> <br> Brad keeps up with all the programs. Beside his own duties with the 15th-ranked Tigers, his priority, naturally, is his son. Brad recalls he and his wife having dinner in a fancy Boston restaurant last month the Tigers lost to Boston College on Sept. 9 that discouraged using cell phones while dining. But the Scotts stayed on the line with Jeff&#39;s wife, Sara, during the last stretch of Blythewood&#39;s 21-19 victory over powerful Richland Northeast.<br> <br> ``You don&#39;t understand,&#39;&#39; Brad recalled telling the restaurant, ``we&#39;ve got to know what&#39;s going on.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Brad has seen himself in his oldest son during games. There&#39;s was one when a call didn&#39;t go Blythewood&#39;s way and Jeff got on the officials fairly hard, Brad said.<br> <br> ``Oh boy,&#39;&#39; the elder Scott thought. ``Even some of the things he was saying. (But) he was taking up for his kids and was pretty persistent.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> His talks with Jeff are more about broad football topics than game plan specifics.<br> <br> ``The experiences I&#39;ve had with my dad over 25 years,&#39;&#39; Jeff Scott says, ``you lean more on that than daily interactions. ... The times being in his locker room, watching what he does.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Brad&#39;s happy Willis, Taneyhill and his son are thriving in the profession and is glad he had an influence. ``Every guy has to be his own guy,&#39;&#39; Brad Scott said. ``But you sit back with a lot of pride and say, &#39;The boys are doing good.&#39;&#39;&#39;

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