Conway’s Jordan ready to lead S.C. All-Stars in Shrine Bowl

Conway coach Chuck Jordan has done plenty of teaching this week in Spartanburg as head coach of the South Carolina squad for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

He’s also done his fair share of learning.

“As a coach you are always looking to improve,” Jordan said Friday. “I’ve had the benefit of having six other coaches with me with different perspectives on things. You pick up little things here and there [from the other coaches]. Everybody skins a cat a different way.

“It’s nice to learn how others skin that cat.”

Jordan is in his second Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and his first as head coach. One major challenge the coaching staff has dealt with is figuring out how to best use the wealth of talent on the roster for Saturday’s game against some of the best from North Carolina.

“First of all, they’re just kids. Just because their body is bigger and they’re faster and stronger, they’re still kids. They’re not that much different than our kids [at Conway] in that respect,” Jordan said. “The athleticism is what you have to get used to. The biggest challenge this week is learning how to use these guys to be most beneficial for the team. They’re all very talented, but putting them in position to use that is not easy.”

In addition to Jordan, the Grand Strand will be represented by a pair of defensive backs in Conway’s Robert Nelson and Myrtle Beach’s Daquarius Wilson.

Neither has committed to play at the college level, but both were aware that this week could play a big role in where they wind up.

Wilson was feeling the Shrine Bowl jitters as early as last week, Seahawks coach Mickey Wilson said Friday.

“He came out to the North-South practice last week and he was watching and asking a bunch of questions,” said Mickey Wilson, whose school hosted the annual North-South All-Star game last Saturday. “I said, ‘Hey man, you nervous [about going to the Shrine Bowl]?’ He said, ‘Yeah, coach, I really am.’ I told him, ‘Just go out there and be yourself and you’ll be fine. Practice will be a lot like out here at Myrtle Beach.’

“I think once he got in there and settled in he did fine.”

The scene this week has been quite raucous, Jordan said.

“Obviously [the players] have been under the microscope all week long,” Jordan said. “We’ve had college coaches coming in and out of here all week. The sidelines have been crowded at each practice. It’s been a carnival-type atmosphere in some ways. It gives the kids a tremendous amount of exposure.”

It all leads up to the game, which kicks off at 1 p.m. Jordan believes he has a game plan in mind that could lead to a victory.

“I think first of all the thing everybody wants to talk about is [North Carolina’s] defensive front. They’re extremely talented there,” Jordan said. “That could be a tough thing to deal with for us on offense. I think we need to focus on trying to run and pass. I don’t think we can just control them out front without using the width of the field and length of the field. We’ve got to be able to stretch the field vertically and horizontally.”

Win or lose, Jordan said the week has been an enjoyable experience.

“We’ve had some wonderful weather and I’ve got some mighty fine athletes to work with,” he said. “I wish I could bring them all back to Conway.”