Jan. 13, 2004

Columbia, S.C. – The University of South Carolina announced Tuesday that David Reaves, a Gamecock football graduate assistant for the past two seasons, has been elevated to full-time status and will assist Ron Cooper with the secondary. Reaves worked with the defensive backs last season after working on the offensive side of the ball his first year at Carolina.

Reaves was assistant head coach at Tampa (Fla.) Catholic High School for one season prior to coming to Carolina. He was team captain and a three-year starter at quarterback for Appalachian State University, where he helped lead the Mountaineers to three straight national playoff berths. Reaves was a standout quarterback at Columbia’s Spring Valley High School, where he graduated from in 1996.

“David Reaves is a bright, enthusiastic and talented young coach,” said Coach Lou Holtz. “I’ve been impressed with how he has handled things and believe he has a promising future in coaching.”

Reaves comes from a football family. His father, John, was an All-America quarterback at the University of Florida and later played in the NFL. John Reaves also coached at Florida and was on the coaching staff at South Carolina from 1996-97. David’s younger brother, Steven, plays quarterback at Michigan State University.

“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to work under a legend like Coach Holtz and I’m really looking forward to working with this staff and this team as we develop a championship caliber program,” said Coach Reaves.

USC also announced that its two football graduate assistants for the 2004 season would be a pair of former Gamecocks – Phil Petty and C.J. Frye. Petty, who led USC to back-to-back Outback Bowl championships and top 20 national rankings as the starting quarterback during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, will work with the offense. A four-year lettermen (1998-01), Petty was named Most Valuable Player of the 2002 Outback Bowl. Frye, who was a four-year letterwinner (1999-02) and started along the offensive line for USC’s Outback Bowl championship squads, will work with the defense.

“I had a great experience playing at Carolina and I’m excited to be back in the program,” said Petty. “I think this football program has a promising future and I look forward to being part of it.”

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to come back to the school that you played at and work towards building a championship team,” said Frye.