Travian Robertson shares what he looks for in defensive line recruits

Shane Beamer recently hired Travian Robertson to be South Carolina’s new defensive line coach. For Robertson, it’s an emotional return to his alma mater. Still, as Beamer explained during his introductory press conference, Robertson is getting ready to head on the recruiting trail immediately.

At that introductory press conference, Robertson shared what he’s looking for in defensive line recruits.

“For me, a guy that loves football,” Travian Robertson said. “One thing I learned when I was at Albany State is you don’t spell love l-o-v-e. You spell love, t-i-m-e. And you can’t go into your home and tell your wife, ‘Hey, I love you,’ without spending time.”

As of now, South Carolina has the sixth-ranked class in the Class of 2024. However, there aren’t any defensive linemen committed to the Gamecocks, yet.

“So, I look for guys that really love football and that want to be here. You know, that’s important. You recruit a lot of guys that want a lot of different things, nowadays, but I’m looking for guys that want to be here and that want to win.”

No matter what, Travian Robertson is going to give it everything he has at South Carolina, which he described as his dream job.

“For me, this wasn’t something that happened just because I was coaching. It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time, I remember when I was in the league playing, and I had talked to plenty of people asking me what I wanted to do when I was finished. I had no idea at the time, but I told a guy, a close friend, that I want to coach,” Robertson said.

“Coach [Steve] Spurrier was here at the time, and he kept telling me to stay in contact with Coach Spurrier and for whatever reason, I never contacted Coach Spurrier because I wanted to do it in a different way. I didn’t want to be entitled to a position just because I played here.”

Travian Robertson on getting the call from Shane Beamer

It only took one phone call for Travian Robertson to jump at the opportunity to go to South Carolina. He explained that he was actually on the phone with his wife, trying to figure out dinner, when he got that call from Shane Beamer.

“Well, like I said, I was on the phone with my wife and I told him the story of the call and she was like, ‘I’m gonna take the boys to track and you got dinner’ and she had the dinner. And I was calling her to figure out what to put the food on, like the temperature. And I said, ‘Hold on, Coach Beamer is calling me,'” Robertson said.

“She’s like, ‘Alright, call me back. Call me back.’ Like I said, I was in the house by myself and it took me about two hours to cook that food after he called me. So, man, I was excited. My heart dropped and it was the time when the draft was going on or just about to start and I felt like I was getting drafted all over again.”