Travian Robertson climbs coaching ladder to USC with plenty of Gamecock ties along way

Travian Robertson sat on the charter plane from New Orleans to Columbia last week deep in thought.

Leaving a cushy defensive line coaching gig at Tulane for his alma mater, Robertson was introspective about the not-so-distant memories of the connections that placed him on that plane headed to South Carolina.

He thought back to when former USC kicker Mark Fleetwood allowed him to help part-time at Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia when Robertson’s NFL career was coming to a close.

He recounted former South Carolina offensive lineman Cedric Williams, who connected him with Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott, also a one-time USC assistant, landing Robertson his first college coaching job as a graduate assistant on the Panthers’ staff in Atlanta.

There was also the phone call with former Gamecocks defensive back Corey Peoples — who hired Robertson as his defensive line coach at Albany State — and the text message from USC teammate Chris Hampton that earned him, most recently, a spot at Tulane.

Ultimately, it was a chat with Shane Beamer two weeks ago as incumbent defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey contemplated an offer from LSU that brought a close to Robertson’s garnet-and-black-tinged coaching loop.

“Without Gamecocks and the way we connect, the way we do things,” Robertson said during his introductory press conference last week, “I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Robertson became Beamer’s second on-field hire of the offseason after Lindsey departed for Baton Rouge on April 28. He’s also the second former Gamecock to join the staff in an on-field coaching capacity since Beamer became head coach in December 2020.

By any measure, Robertson’s coaching career is short — six seasons at three different schools. Now he’s on a staff whose assistants average over 15 years experience. Only running backs coach Montario Hardesty, who had a brief NFL career of his own, has been in coaching for less than a decade.

Yet there’s few, if any criticisms of Robertson’s hiring in Columbia. He’s a natural fit in a place and at a school that’s profoundly influenced most every inch of his coaching path.

“He had texted me right after he got offered the job, and I had spoken to Coach Beamer about him,” Elliott told The State. “He was so appreciative. He said, ‘Thank you. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be in this position.’

“I said, ‘Man, you’ve earned every right to go coach the Gamecocks.’ ”

Climbing the coaching ladder en route to South Carolina

Robertson has an even-keeled temperament about him. He certainly looks the part of a former defensive lineman, standing 6-foot-4 and a smidge slimmer than the 302 pounds he weighed in at during the 2012 NFL Combine. But there’s also a softness and sincerity to his voice. He’s equal parts motivational and approachable.

Former Albany State coach Gabe Giardina can attest.

Strolling through the weight room during an offseason workout two weeks after he hired Robertson as his defensive line coach in 2018, Giardinia noticed one of his players mouthing off and slogging through a workout.

Robertson got on him. The player didn’t want to hear it. Robertson tried again with a shift in tone.

“Hey, man,” he said. “I’m here because I love you.”

Giardina perked up.

“(Robertson) was here to take care of every kid,” he said. “I always tell the coaches, ‘Every face inside of the facemask and every heart inside of the jersey is important.’ And that just showed me at that point. … I was like, ‘All right, this guy’s bought into what we’re doing.’ ”

That’s the general gist you get from Robertson’s former colleagues and bosses. There’s a genuineness in what he does coupled with legitimate coaching talent.

It’s what Beamer touted in his new assistant’s introductory press conference last week. It’s also what Elliott will tell you made Robertson a sparkplug as a college player — one he tried to convince to play offensive line at USC but couldn’t win over — and as a graduate assistant at Georgia State.

“When you got him as a GA, you felt like you were stealing,” former Georgia State defensive line coach Skylor Magee said, “because his knowledge wasn’t that of a graduate assistant.”

Added former Georgia State defensive coordinator Nate Fuqua: “He’s got a big demeanor — I wouldn’t say a gentle giant — but he’s got a switch when he needs to get after it.”

Magee laughs when asked what that switch looked like in practice. “Yeahhh, I remember one moment,” he said, chuckling. “It’ll be some funny material.”

Robertson and Magee were overseeing a pass-rush drill during the middle of fall camp. Both were “kinda ill and ticked off,” as Magee put it. So when the defensive line slogged through the drill with little fervor, Robertson jumped in.

“All right, everyone line up,” he barked. “Everyone one-on-one versus me.”

“He proceeded to beat the first five guys in one-on-one pass rush and this guy had no pads on at all,” Magee recounted. “And he kicked the crap out of five guys in a row and the rest of them were like, ‘Nah, we’re good.’ ”

Elliott, making his way over to the defensive linemen, took notice.

“See (Travian),” he started to joke, “if you’d have gone and played O-line, you’d probably still be playing in the NFL.”

Landing at USC and next steps in Columbia

That Beamer settled on Robertson as his new defensive line coach feels poetic. The son of legendary head coach Frank Beamer, Shane has spent two decades carving out his own path, fiercely determined to create a niche independent his father.

There’s a similar sentiment in Robertson and the tone he takes.

Walking through his litany of South Carolina connections that helped him navigate his first six years in coaching, Robertson points to a suggestion from a friend toward the end of his brief NFL career that he ought to call up Spurrier and mention that he wanted to get into coaching.

Robertson declined. Perhaps some stubbornness. Determination, too.

“For whatever reason, I never contacted Coach Spurrier,” Robertson conceded, “because I wanted to do it in a different way. I didn’t want to just be entitled to a position because I played here or just because I was a captain here or that I graduated from here.”

Robertson’s personal connections to Columbia run deep. His wife, Kettiany, won an SEC title in the pentathlon at South Carolina. The two were married on the Horseshoe. Their son’s first birthday party was held at Andy’s Deli.

But this hire isn’t some charity case to appease fans or board members.

Stars aligned, sure. Ask anyone close to Robertson, though, and they’ll echo similar sentiments: This guy can coach.

“You don’t get to that level (the SEC) by anything other than earning it,” Giardina said.

Robertson is back in Columbia because he did it his own way — albeit with a little help from his Gamecock friends.