Shane Beamer acknowledges whiff on Rocket Sanders joke during SEC Media Days
Shane Beamer is excited at the potential Raheim “Rocket” Sanders has exuded since he joined South Carolina via the NCAA Transfer Portal.
That much was evident at SEC Media Days on Monday, when the former Arkansas running back’s name came up during Beamer’s time at the podium. Speaking about Sanders’ injury history and how he’s recovered with the Gamecocks, Beamer dropped a joke that he obviously found funnier than the crowd.
“One of our strength coaches the other day, they said what we’ve done with Rocket, or what Rocket’s been doing since January is, ‘Rocket Science.’ I thought that was funnier than I think you guys did,” Beamer said, after being met with silence from the crowd.
Regardless of his swing and a miss on the podium, Beamer still provided some interesting insight into how Sanders has progressed since joining South Carolina.
“He’s come in, you talk about hungry and starving, Rocket’s very hungry to get back to the Rocket Sanders of ’22. I think a lot of people have forgotten how talented a running back Rocket Sanders is, and the season that he had in 2022,” Beamer added. “There’s no doubt, in the 2022 season, the two best running backs in this league were [Quinshon] Judkins at Ole Miss at the time I believe, and Rocket Sanders. He will make our run game better, along with the other running backs that we’ve brought in. But he’s done a great job.
“He came in, in January, he had to get healthy. He’s worked really, really hard to get healthy since then. It’s been a process, with our strength and conditioning staff, and our training staff. He’s shaved six percent of body fat off of his body since February. He’s lost a considerable amount of weight. He’s stayed in Columbia the entire month of May, when most of our team had left, outside of our offensive line. … Rocket stayed up there on his own, so he could be in ideal shape, when our players came back in June. So he’s done a great job.”
Last season, Sanders appeared in just six games due to injuries. He rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns on just 62 carries. Looking at Sanders’ career stats are more impressive though, as he’s gone for 2,230 yards and 17 touchdowns.
It’s easy to see why Shane Beamer is excited, even if he’ll need to work on his comedic timing moving forward. Rocket Sanders will be looking to change the narrative around his name, and get back to being an impact player in 2024.