COLUMBIA — Nobody knew what to do.

“My reaction was, ‘Did he just quit?,’” recalled South Carolina offensive lineman Mike Matulis. “Nobody was 100 percent sure.”

It was Oct. 12, 2015. South Carolina had returned from another humbling loss two days earlier. LSU strung up the Gamecocks 45-24 in Baton Rouge, dropping USC’s record to 2-4 and 0-4 in the Southeastern Conference. The Monday evening practice — what the Gamecocks called “Monday Night Football” where the starters and veterans mostly ran and conditioned while the younger guys practiced and scrimmaged — went on as usual.

Afterward, the head coach gathered the team around as he always did, and delivered a short message, as he always did. The season had started rotten, but six games remained, beginning that week at home against Vande

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