Shane Beamer: 'We've got to get better at wide receiver in a hurry'

South Carolina‘s 41-20 loss to Tennessee this past weekend was highlighted by struggles in the passing game, as the offense that ranks third in the SEC in yards through the air per game barely reached 200 on the day and failed to record a passing touchdown.

The Gamecocks are without star wide receiver Juice Wells for the second straight week and it showed, and following the game, head coach Shane Beamer spoke about the state of the wide receiver room without Wells in the lineup.

“Not just Juice but all these other guys, we played AB [Ahmarean Brown] tonight he was a little banged up,” Beamer said. “We gotta get better at wide receiver in a hurry and that means these young freshmen, I know y’all are tired of me saying it, we gotta play them more. And Tyshawn Russell, Nyckoles Harbor, we’ve got to play them more, we’ve got to get better gotta get better at wide receiver, there’s no doubt about it.”

Russell recorded one catch for seven yards against the Volunteers, while Harbor has only had one catch on the entire season, which was also a seven-yard reception that he caught for a touchdown in the team’s blowout victory over Furman. But the freshman duo along with others may have to grow up fast and contribute more soon, especially if Wells remains out of the lineup.

Quarterback Spencer Rattler had his most disappointing outing of the season without his top target, throwing for a season-low 169 yards, one interception, and zero touchdowns. It’s clear that he’ll need more help from his pass catchers moving forward if the Gamecocks’ offense wants to get back to their prime form, as they’re currently leaning on a pair of upperclassman to shoulder a majority of the pass catching responsibilities.

“We gotta get healthy at wide receiver, but to sit here and say that we’re just gonna rely on Xavier Legette every single game and Trey Knox, I thought he’d have an opportunity to have a big game tonight, he did. But we’ve got to continue to develop depth and get better at that position,” Beamer said.

Knox ended the night as the team’s leading receiver with seven catches for 51 yards from his tight end position, with Legette trailing behind him with five catches for 50 yards.

But aside from those two, nobody recorded more than two caches on the evening of the Gamecocks.

South Carolina definitely has to figure out things in their wide receiver room, and they’ll need to do so fast as they face a Florida team next Saturday that currently ranks first in the SEC in pass defense so far this season.