Shane Beamer updates status of Juice Wells for opener against UNC
South Carolina star receiver Juice Wells is still not back fully participating in practice, but Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer still expects him to suit up for the opener against North Carolina next weekend.
Beamer joined WCCP Thursday evening and provided an update on where Wells is from a health standpoint.
“His health is, you know, good. I wouldn’t say it’s great,” Beamer said. “But we fully expect him to be ready to go next week. He was out at practice [Thursday] running around and doing a little bit, and he’ll get better and better each and every day.”
When healthy, Wells is one of the best receivers in the SEC.
He caught 68 passes for 928 yards and six touchdowns last season and was the go-to guy for South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler.
Wells also came up big in big games, catching 20 passes for 308 yards and two scores combined in wins over top 10 teams Tennessee and Clemson last season.
Beamer also spoke about how important Wells is to the Gamecocks team.
“He means a lot. I mean obviously he was first-team all-conference last year for a reason, because of the year that he had,” Beamer said. “Just whether it be big plays in the Clemson game last season where he catches an explosive pass for a touchdown, or the very last play of the game where we throw a screen to him and he breaks two or three tackles and with extra effort gets the first down to lock that game away. He’s just a competitor and fantastic player.”
If Wells is indeed healthy, North Carolina and other teams are sure to show him plenty of attention. When that happens, other playmakers have to be ready to step up for South Carolina.
“We’ve just got to be great around Juice, as well,” Beamer said. “I’m excited about the tight ends and receivers that we have with him in the passing game. And confident that he’s going to continue to build on what he did last season as well and continue to get better.”
Shane Beamer shares how South Carolina offense will be different under Dowell Loggains
While Juice Wells and Spencer Rattler are back, South Carolina will have a new offensive coordinator for 2023 in Dowell Loggains.
Beamer recently spoke about how the offense will be different under Loggains.
“I think probably to the naked eye, I don’t know if people would really see or notice a lot of difference in what we did last year and what we’re doing this year,” Beamer said. “Certainly we need to be more consistent than what we’ve been the last two seasons. We’ve been way too up and down. But I think no matter who the offensive coordinator is, defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, you always want to accentuate the positives and the strengths of your team.”