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Former Tennessee Vols standout fired by SEC rival

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated 1/3/24

A former Tennessee Vols standout was fired by an SEC rival on Wednesday.

According to Football Scoop's John Brice, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has parted ways with Gamecocks running backs coach Montario Hardesty.

Hardesty, who played for Tennessee from 2005 to 2009, had been on South Carolina's coaching staff since the 2021 season.

NEWS: Sources tell @FootballScoop that South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has parted ways with running backs coach Montario Hardesty, a former All-SEC RB for the #Vols https://t.co/mxvzEOi67q
— John Brice (@JohnDBrice1) January 3, 2024

Prior to Hardesty's time with the Gamecocks, he was on staff at Charlotte for two seasons as the program's wide receivers coach.

In 2018, Hardesty served as a quality control coach at Tennessee under then head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Hardesty also spent a year on Lane Kiffin's staff at Florida Atlantic as the assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2017 (Hardesty played under Kiffin during his final season at Tennessee).

After a standout career at UT, Hardesty was selected with the No. 59 overall pick (second round) by the Cleveland Browns in the 2009 NFL Draft. Hardesty spent four seasons in the NFL before transitioning to coaching.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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