CHARLESTON – Charleston Southern football announced the hiring of Cameron Gardner on Friday morning as a new assistant coach for the program. Gardner will work with the running backs and joins the Buccaneers following a short stint at Drake University, the 2025 Pioneer League champions who advanced to the FCS Playoffs.
 
Gardner joined the offensive staff at Drake last February and worked with the Bulldogs for one season where he coached the running backs and returners. At the end of the season, Drake finished with the top rushing offense in the Pioneer League and the #18 in the nation.
 
"Thank you to Charleston Southern University, its administrators and Coach Giardina for this opportunity," said Gardner. "I am excited to join the family and get to work!"
 
This fall he coached Nick Herman, one of the highest profile backs in the nation. Herman earned a spot on the Freshman All-American Team, was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award and was selected First-Team All-Pioneer League. He finished the year with 144 carries for 1034 yards and six touchdowns. His yards per carry average of 7.13 topped the league and was fourth in the nation while his rushing total also led the league and was a top 20 mark in FCS.
 
Prior to that, he worked at Montana State during the 2024 season as an offensive analyst and with the wide receivers. The team won the Big Sky conference and finished as the national runners-up, playing in the championship game.
 
Gardner began his playing career at the University of Utah in the summer of 2019, being a two-year member of the program before transferring to Montana State for the 2021 season. He was a wide receiver and returner at each institution. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Social Science from California State University, Chico.