On an afternoon when sophomore wide receiver Robert Woods’ school-record 17 receptions, three touchdowns and 177 yards set the social media world ablaze in the hours following USC’s 19-17 win over Minnesota, the man directly responsible for the sophomore wideout’s performance had no idea what the fuss was all about. After all, he was too busy making his USC coaching debut.

Showing the ropes · USC wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore, pictured with senior wide receiver Brandon Carswell, uses a different coaching style compared to others. Rather than yell and scream, Gilmore believes showing respect is important in teaching football. - Chris Pham | Daily Trojan

“Honestly, I had no idea he had that many catches,” wide receiver coach Ted Gilmore said. “In the course of a ball game, I don’t really care who catches the ball as long as it’s being caught. I was happy for the young man because of the type of work he puts in on the practice field. That’s his moment though and his moment alone.”

Though it would be easy for Woods to bask in his newfound stardom, the second-year wide receiver has not been shy in trying to share the limelight with his first-year receiver coach.

“Since the day [Gilmore] stepped on this campus, he has been pushing me to become a better receiver,” Woods said. “People see me making the plays, but he’s the one who takes the time to really teach me. Every thing he taught me was on display Saturday. And the great thing about him, is even after the Minnesota game, he believes he can still get more production out of me.”

Gilmore’s name will likely never trend nationwide on outlets such as Twitter like his star pupil’s did Saturday, but in his first season at USC, the 44-year-old position coach isn’t concerned with recognition or popularity. He’s here to teach.

“I am just happy to be able to coach [Woods] every day,” Gilmore said.

Though he graduated from the University of Wyoming with a sociology degree in 1991, the former college standout — 72 receptions and five touchdowns between 1988 and 1989 — admits he didn’t graduate thinking he would ever enter the coaching world. When he returned to Laramie, Wyo., in 1994 as a graduate assistant, he recalls the move was more or less a chance for him to buy some time before choosing an actual profession. What he quickly found out, however, was that he was born to teach the game.

“That fire for athletics was rekindled when I came back,” Gilmore said. “I wanted to make a difference in the lives of young men, and I found that in coaching.”

After serving as Nebraska’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for the last six years, the Wichita, Kan., native said when USC coach Lane Kiffin approached him last winter to replace John Morton, it was an opportunity he simply couldn’t refuse.

Though the pressure of coaching at a tradition-steeped university like USC can be daunting, especially considering what is at stake every Saturday, Gilmore, a devout Christian, coaches the only way he knows how. His teachings require no cursing or screaming, but instead show a rare quality typically unseen on a college football field: a genuine respect for his players.

“My philosophy when coaching these guys is to coach them the way I would if they were my children, with respect and in a manner that isn’t degrading,” Gilmore said. “We cannot forget that we are teachers first and foremost.”

Freshman wide receiver Marqise Lee, who in three months has leapt from prized recruit to starting wide receiver, believes his progress has everything to do with Gilmore’s passion for making him a better player and man on and off the field.

“He just has such a big heart and is always willing to help me in every way possible,” Lee said. “I am not going to lie, I mess up everyday. But he doesn’t give up on me, he keeps pushing me to make sure that I am ready to play come Saturday.”

With just a game under his belt, the rookie of the USC coaching staff admits he is still getting his feet wet in Los Angeles. But just seven months on the job, Gilmore’s already proud of the new students he’s had the privilege of working with.

“We ask our players to stretch themselves all the time, and I have had to do the same in my first year in terms of learning a new playbook and a new way of doing things,” Gilmore said. “It’s been a good experience thus far, and it doesn’t hurt having young men like we do here, who have such high character.”

For some, the thrill of the spotlight makes the grind of coaching worthwhile.

In Gilmore’s eyes, whether it’s coaching wide receivers or potentially getting the call to one day run his own program, the joy comes not from Twitter trendiness, but from having a hand in developing great football players and even better men.

“If I am fortunate enough, I would love to sit in that head coaching seat one day,” Gilmore said. “But, for the meantime, my job is to do the best I can here under my current position. I just want to continue doing what I am doing, and that’s coaching. Regardless of what capacity that may be in.”