USC’s Ward Won’t Rule Out A Move To Georgia State, If Offered

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Darryl Slater of The Charleston Post & Courier has put two and two together.  And South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward isn’t saying that Slater hasn’t correctly arrived at four.

With Bill Curry about to retire as Georgia State’s head football coach, Slater postulates that Ward might have an interest in the job because a) he played for Curry at Alabama and b) he has a lot of recruiting ties to the Peach State.

Asked if he’d be interested in the Panthers’ job, Ward said:

“You can’t ever say ‘no’ in this business, but I have a great job.”

Well there’s a non-denial, denial.  Of course Ward would listen if GSU came calling.  The Panthers make the jump from the FCS level to the FBS next season.  The school is located in the recruiting hotbed of Atlanta and currently there are only two other FBS programs in the state — Georgia and Georgia Tech — which is why so many other schools target the talent-rich state.  Georgia State has promise based on location alone.  If South Florida and UCF can build bowl-worthy programs in a state littered with FBS programs, GSU can do likewise in Georgia.  (USF is down this year, but they’ve had success in the past.)

But even if Ward has no intentions of making such a move — if the job is even offered — the attention from Georgia State alone might help him get another raise from South Carolina.

There’s a reason “you can’t ever say ‘no’” in coaching.