TheBadCock
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COLUMBIA — They were each quite comfortable and doing quite well where they were. Justin Stepp was a highly regarded receivers coach at Arkansas after several other college stints, and Erik Kimrey was a high-school head coach stacking state championship rings like cordwood.
But South Carolina called.
Neither had to think very hard once South Carolina did.
“I guess being in the business since 2008, you don’t ever see a lot of guys get to do this where they grew up,” said Stepp, a native of nearby Pelion. “When I was talking to mentors about this job and where I was with the decision, they said, ‘You can do this the next 20, 30 years and you may never have a chance to be 4-5 hours within family, much less 20-30 minutes.’”
“It was always a dream, for a long time. I’d put it probably at about 10 years,” Kimrey said. “I didn’t think there was a high-percentage chance it would ever happen, but I always said, ‘You know what? I’m going to pursue it.’ If something comes of it, then my wife and I kind of felt like it was God’s plan, honestly.”
Stepp and Kimrey each thought that maybe, if Tab A fit into Slot B and Circumstance C all happened, perhaps there’d be an opportunity. They weren’t going to base their existences on it, because each had a family to care for and was considered a star in his respective field.
Stepp was a local legend, catching passes thrown by his twin brother Josh during their record-setting days at Pelion (still mis-spelled as “Pellon” on his official Arkansas bio). Williams-Brice Stadium was a popular destination while growing up.
“I still run around that stadium every day at lunch, and I pass the student gate and think I was getting in that student gate when I was in the 10th grade, trying to find a way to watch the Gamecocks,” Stepp said. “I would walk by the practice fields when I was growing up and they had the black tarp around the fences so you couldn’t see anything, and just dreaming one day, ‘Man, I wish I could be out there practicing.’ And I would have never in a million years dreamed I’d be coaching here.”
His coaching journey began at Fort Mill High after he set more records as a Furman wide receiver, and he progressed to spots at North Greenville, Clemson, Appalachian State and SMU before Arkansas. His receivers were catching touchdowns and heading to the NFL while his recruiting was landing more and more high-profile prospects, ensuring he could write his own ticket to wherever he chose.
He was happy. Stable. His wife and children were comfortable.
But South Carolina called.
“It’s always in the back of your mind. You always think, ‘Man, how cool would it be to actually be back home?,’” Stepp said. “That was obviously one of the things that was really important to me, was being back close to my family and being part of this program that I grew up watching.”
The logistics weren’t pleasant. Stepp undertook a 14-hour drive with a 3-year-old and a 6-week-old in the car, and for the first six weeks in Columbia, the family was crammed into a one-bedroom apartment (“Definitely made us realize that we did not want three kids, I can tell you that,” he quipped). But settled in now, Stepp is still thrilled every morning when he sees the sun rise above Williams-Brice.
“A kid I taught in first grade (in Fort Mill) is my manager,” Stepp said. “The first day I got out there, I looked at him and said, ‘Man, we have come a long way from Orchard Park Elementary.’”
Kimrey was the same local star, setting his own batch of records while flinging spirals at Dutch Fork High under the direction of his dad, coach Bill Kimrey. He came to USC and knew right away chances weren’t good he’d ever get to play, but he was enjoying being on the team he grew up rooting for.
“What a dream it was for me, when I was 19 years old and on that practice field for the first time, I was more scared than anything,” Kimrey said. “There’s probably one or two times a week I look around the office and I say, ‘OK, this is happening. I’m here. This is incredible.’”
That changed in 2000, when a span of five seconds forever transformed his life. He went from unknown walk-on backup QB to the thrower of “The Fade,” a 25-yard touchdown pass that was the difference in a win over Mississippi State. Kimrey is more than twice the age he was when his 25-yard flick landed in the hands of Jermale Kelly and eternally in the hearts of USC fans, but that pass will always be stapled to him.
He parlayed that success into coaching, accepting a graduate assistant spot from then-USC coach Lou Holtz and being hired at The Hammond School when he was just 24. He coached for 17 years, won 194 games, only lost 20 and set a state record with 12 state championships. After the 12th, he figured No. 13 and on were out there and he might as well keep grabbing them.
But South Carolina called.
Recruiting has been the easiest part of Kimrey’s new position, and not just because he welcomed some of the nation’s top coaches to talk to his players when he was at Hammond.
“I think the one thing that I feel like I have an advantage is I don’t sell anything. I’m at a school that I love, I’m in a town that I lived in my whole life,” he said. “My grandma went to South Carolina, two of my brothers, my mom and my dad and my wife. So when I talk about it, they hear the authenticity in my voice and how much I truly love this place because I believe in it and I believe we have great days ahead.”
Each has settled in and constantly references similar terms. It’s a dream job, a match made in heaven, a flawless marriage. Stepp and Kimrey feel they hit the lottery.
All because South Carolina called.
But South Carolina called.
Neither had to think very hard once South Carolina did.
“I guess being in the business since 2008, you don’t ever see a lot of guys get to do this where they grew up,” said Stepp, a native of nearby Pelion. “When I was talking to mentors about this job and where I was with the decision, they said, ‘You can do this the next 20, 30 years and you may never have a chance to be 4-5 hours within family, much less 20-30 minutes.’”
“It was always a dream, for a long time. I’d put it probably at about 10 years,” Kimrey said. “I didn’t think there was a high-percentage chance it would ever happen, but I always said, ‘You know what? I’m going to pursue it.’ If something comes of it, then my wife and I kind of felt like it was God’s plan, honestly.”
Stepp and Kimrey each thought that maybe, if Tab A fit into Slot B and Circumstance C all happened, perhaps there’d be an opportunity. They weren’t going to base their existences on it, because each had a family to care for and was considered a star in his respective field.
Stepp was a local legend, catching passes thrown by his twin brother Josh during their record-setting days at Pelion (still mis-spelled as “Pellon” on his official Arkansas bio). Williams-Brice Stadium was a popular destination while growing up.
“I still run around that stadium every day at lunch, and I pass the student gate and think I was getting in that student gate when I was in the 10th grade, trying to find a way to watch the Gamecocks,” Stepp said. “I would walk by the practice fields when I was growing up and they had the black tarp around the fences so you couldn’t see anything, and just dreaming one day, ‘Man, I wish I could be out there practicing.’ And I would have never in a million years dreamed I’d be coaching here.”
His coaching journey began at Fort Mill High after he set more records as a Furman wide receiver, and he progressed to spots at North Greenville, Clemson, Appalachian State and SMU before Arkansas. His receivers were catching touchdowns and heading to the NFL while his recruiting was landing more and more high-profile prospects, ensuring he could write his own ticket to wherever he chose.
He was happy. Stable. His wife and children were comfortable.
But South Carolina called.
“It’s always in the back of your mind. You always think, ‘Man, how cool would it be to actually be back home?,’” Stepp said. “That was obviously one of the things that was really important to me, was being back close to my family and being part of this program that I grew up watching.”
The logistics weren’t pleasant. Stepp undertook a 14-hour drive with a 3-year-old and a 6-week-old in the car, and for the first six weeks in Columbia, the family was crammed into a one-bedroom apartment (“Definitely made us realize that we did not want three kids, I can tell you that,” he quipped). But settled in now, Stepp is still thrilled every morning when he sees the sun rise above Williams-Brice.
“A kid I taught in first grade (in Fort Mill) is my manager,” Stepp said. “The first day I got out there, I looked at him and said, ‘Man, we have come a long way from Orchard Park Elementary.’”
Kimrey was the same local star, setting his own batch of records while flinging spirals at Dutch Fork High under the direction of his dad, coach Bill Kimrey. He came to USC and knew right away chances weren’t good he’d ever get to play, but he was enjoying being on the team he grew up rooting for.
“What a dream it was for me, when I was 19 years old and on that practice field for the first time, I was more scared than anything,” Kimrey said. “There’s probably one or two times a week I look around the office and I say, ‘OK, this is happening. I’m here. This is incredible.’”
That changed in 2000, when a span of five seconds forever transformed his life. He went from unknown walk-on backup QB to the thrower of “The Fade,” a 25-yard touchdown pass that was the difference in a win over Mississippi State. Kimrey is more than twice the age he was when his 25-yard flick landed in the hands of Jermale Kelly and eternally in the hearts of USC fans, but that pass will always be stapled to him.
He parlayed that success into coaching, accepting a graduate assistant spot from then-USC coach Lou Holtz and being hired at The Hammond School when he was just 24. He coached for 17 years, won 194 games, only lost 20 and set a state record with 12 state championships. After the 12th, he figured No. 13 and on were out there and he might as well keep grabbing them.
But South Carolina called.
Recruiting has been the easiest part of Kimrey’s new position, and not just because he welcomed some of the nation’s top coaches to talk to his players when he was at Hammond.
“I think the one thing that I feel like I have an advantage is I don’t sell anything. I’m at a school that I love, I’m in a town that I lived in my whole life,” he said. “My grandma went to South Carolina, two of my brothers, my mom and my dad and my wife. So when I talk about it, they hear the authenticity in my voice and how much I truly love this place because I believe in it and I believe we have great days ahead.”
Each has settled in and constantly references similar terms. It’s a dream job, a match made in heaven, a flawless marriage. Stepp and Kimrey feel they hit the lottery.
All because South Carolina called.
