![]() ![]() The Gamecocks face road games at Georgia and Tennessee within their first five games. OUTLOOK Turnover margin, the run game and run defense must be drastically improved. OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Dowell Loggains (first season)ĭEFENSIVE COORDINATOR Clayton White (third season) KEY PLAYERS QB Spencer Rattler, WR Antwane Wells, DT Tonka Hemingway, SS Nick Emmanwori, TE Trey Knox, C Vershon Lee RETURNING STARTERS 11: Offense 5, Defense 4, Specialty 2 The Tar Heels and Tigers played in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game last year.ĬOACH Shane Beamer (15-11 in third season at South Carolina) They open against North Carolina in Charlotte, in a game that will serve as host for ESPN’s “College GameDay,” and close against Clemson. The Gamecocks are presented with a rugged schedule. We’re working on the run defense techniques, learning to be precise with everything, staying in our gaps.” “That’s probably like one of our biggest problems, trying to make plays. “We’re working on staying in our gaps,” defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway said at SEC media days. On the other side of the ball, South Carolina must be more physical after giving up 198 rushing yards per game, ahead of only Texas A&M (209.0) in the SEC. Wells had 68 receptions for 928 yards and 6 touchdowns last season. Knox had a big spring and is expected to join Antwane Wells as a key target. Receivers coach and Columbia, S.C., native Justin Stepp coached for three years at Arkansas and he recruited Trey Knox to the UA as a wideout before Knox moved to tight end, then transferred to South Carolina for his final season. Loggains is one of three Gamecocks on offense with strong ties to Arkansas. Now I could do without Rattler’s ill-advised passes and sacks that come with this type of QB, but the ice in his eyes and chip on his shoulder cover a multitude of football sins.” ![]() Not just me but the whole group played at a high level, and we’re trying to do that a lot this year.”įormer New York Jets scout Daniel Kelly has given Rattler a first-round NFL Draft grade, calling him: “a gunslinger who conjures up memories of Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre. “Just having fun out there, like being a kid again and just in that flow state I like to call it,” he said. Rattler said the 63-point explosion against Tennessee was surreal. “As you see, the last couple of weeks we did that and had a lot of success.” “We changed up some things that needed to be changed and that was the product of it,” Rattler said. Rattler said he is hoping the late-season surge from last year continues into the fall. The Gamecocks averaged 118.9 rushing yards per game last season, ahead of only Kentucky and Mississippi State in the SEC and 106th nationally. While Rattler’s numbers were big, he could use a hand with a better running game. “Nobody in this league has fumbled and thrown more interceptions than we have the last two seasons and that has to improve and that starts with me as the head football coach.” “Two years in a row our offense has been last in the SEC at turning the ball over,” Beamer said. South Carolina had 24 turnovers in Beamer’s debut season, giving the program a whopping 51 during his short tenure. While South Carolina led the SEC with 23 takeaways last season, on the flip side the Gamecocks turned the ball over 27 times to rank last in the league and tie for 126th in the nation. One of Loggains’ top objectives is improving ball security. “He’s coached quarterbacks his whole career in the NFL and he’s taught me a lot already in these few months and I’m excited to get into camp with him here in a few weeks.” “Dowell’s a great guy,” said Rattler, the former 5-star signee at Oklahoma, who passed for 3,012 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his first season at South Carolina. Loggains replaces Marcus Satterfield, who took the offensive coordinator position for Matt Rhule at Nebraska. “I could not be more excited about him as an addition to our program on and off the field,” Beamer said of Loggains, the ex-Arkansas quarterback. “Those were two monumental wins for us, there’s no question about it,” said Beamer, 46, who has a 15-11 record with the Gamecocks.Īfter securing their first back-to-back wins over top-10 teams in school history, South Carolina looks to build upon an 8-5 season with quarterback Spencer Rattler back to pair with new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, the former University Arkansas tight ends coach and long-time NFL coordinator. 7 Clemson to break a seven-game losing streak against their in-state rival. The Gamecocks followed that up with a 31-30 road win at No. 5 Tennessee 63-38 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. The week after suffering a 38-6 road loss to Florida, South Carolina stunned No. 13 Kentucky, when a fuse lit under the Gamecocks late in the season. South Carolina was having a ho-hum second season under Coach Shane Beamer last fall, highlighted by a 24-14 win at No. ![]()
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