SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head coach Frank Wilson announced Tuesday that he has hired Everette Sands as running backs coach.

"Adding a coach the caliber of Everette Sands to our staff is a coup for UTSA," Wilson said. "He is a veteran coach who has a history of developing NFL-caliber running backs. He has a wealth of knowledge and expertise and I can't wait to see him get to work with his position group with the return of 1,000-yard back Jarveon Williams and a host of quality depth."

Sands, who has tutored 1,000-yard backs at four different schools, comes to the Alamo City after a four-year stint as the running backs coach at South Carolina under Steve Spurrier.

"I am looking forward to joining Coach Wilson and helping him and the staff build something really special at UTSA," Sands said. "The pieces are starting to come together and we have the right man in Coach Wilson leading the way. San Antonio is a great city and I am eager to help lead these young men on the pathway to success here at UTSA."

During Sands' tenure with the Gamecocks from 2012-15, he mentored a pair of future NFL Draft picks in Mike Davis and Marcus Lattimore and recruited five ESPN Top 300 players to the program. He helped South Carolina to three bowls victories, back-to-back 11-win campaigns in 2012-13 and final rankings of No. 6 in 2013 and seventh in 2012.

In Sands' first season in Columbia, the Gamecocks rushed for 19 touchdowns and averaged 139 yards on the ground. Lattimore piled up 835 yards from scrimmage (662 rushing) and 11 scores before sustaining a season-ending knee injury in the ninth game of the season against Tennessee.

In 2013, Davis racked up 1,183 yards on the ground in registering the school's 10th 1,000-yard campaign. He was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference by both The Associated Press and the league's head coaches.

In his third year with the Gamecocks, Davis (982) and Brandon Wilds (570) each rushed for more than 500 yards and combined for 13 rushing touchdowns. Davis fell just 18 yards shy of joining Hesiman Trophy winner George Rogers as the only back in school history to record multiple 1,000-yard seasons.

Sands spent the 2011 campaign as the running backs coach at North Carolina State. In his lone season with the Wolfpack, his backs registered four individual 100-yard performances, the first time that had happened since 2007. He also was the program's pro football liaison.

A native of Conway, S.C., Sands served two stints at The Citadel, first from 1999-2000 and again from 2005-10. During his second tenure, he coached three Southern Conference All-Freshman team selections and all-league performer Tory Cooper, who rushed for 1,041 yards and a school record 19 touchdowns in 2007.

Between his stints at The Citadel, Sands coached the offensive backs at Ohio from 2001-04. One of his running back, Chad Brinker, rushed for 1,099 yards en route to all-conference accolades in 2002.

Sands got into the coaching profession at the high school level in 1995 when he was at Sea Island Academy in Johns Island, S.C. At that time, he was considered to be the youngest head coach in the history of South Carolina high school football.

His first college coaching position came at Elon from 1996-98.

Sands also was an intern with the Carolina Panthers in 2000 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2015, assisting the running backs coach with both franchises.

Sands was a four-time All-Southern Conference running back at The Citadel. He ranks second in school history with 3,926 career rushing yards and 16 100-yard rushing games, third 3,977 all-purpose yards and fourth with 34 touchdowns and 204 points. He garnered All-America accolades as a junior when he led The Citadel to a conference title and the school's first 11-win season after rushing for 1,449 yards and 12 touchdowns. He served as a team captain in 1993 and was inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sands earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from The Citadel in 1993.

Sands is married to the former Yvette Newton and the couple has two sons, Everette III "Tre" and Josiah, and one daughter, Sierra.