Bio Blast: South Carolina Gamecocks

Kentucky is fresh off its first loss of the season and must get off the mat quickly before the SEC opener finally happen on Saturday at Kroger Field. The Cats are set to face a foe they are very familiar with.

Shane Beamer is in year two at South Carolina, and the SEC East program enters Week 6 on a two-game winning streak after handling Charlotte and South Carolina State at home to end September. However, the Gamecocks are off to a slow start in league play and need a win to avoid an 0-3 start.

Kentucky could see a desperate Carolina team on Saturday night. Let’s dive into the Gamecocks who have talent but a roster that still has its fair share of holes.

Disappointing passing game

There were a lot of quarterback transfers during the offseason, but Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler making the move to the SEC got a ton of positive buzz. The former five-star recruit was hailed as the most talented quarterback to play at Carolina in a very long time as expectations became very high for the Gamecocks. The offensive line returned a lot of starts, and the coaching staff loaded up in the transfer portal at wide receiver and tight end.

Unfortunately, the results through five games have been up and down.

Rattler will enter Saturday’s road contest with Kentucky owning an ugly passing stat line. The redshirt junior out Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle is struggling in Marcus Satterfield’s multiple pro-style scheme. Let’s take a look at the data

• 7.4 yards per attempt on 30.2 throws per game
• 4 touchdowns/7 interceptions
• 37.3% passing success rate
• 30.5% first down/touchdown rate

Rattler has provided some explosiveness to the offense connecting on six throws of 30-plus yards, but overall, this has been a very inefficient operation under Satterfield. The Gamecocks are often falling behind the chains, and defenses have a strong interception rate with picks on 7 of 16 (43.7%) passes defended.

In the last two games, Carolina has gotten more run-heavy (55.9%) by leaning on MarShawn Lloyd and a veteran offensive line to take some pressure off of Rattler. However, the Gamecocks will eventually need the high-profile transfer to go make some plays in big spots.

So far, the results have been underwhelming.

Iffy run defense

Last season under defensive coordinator Clayton White, South Carolina had a bad run defense (No. 102 in yards per rush allowed) but were able to put a top-50 product on the field due to forcing 24 takeaways in 13 games.

In 2022, the run defense is the same, but the unit is not forcing takeaways. Therefore, offenses are scoring points against Carolina.

White’s defense will enter Saturday ranking No. 98 overall in yards per rush allowed (4.44) as Arkansas, Georgia, and Georgia State all rushed for over 200 yards against the Gamecocks. Carolina ranks No. 88 in 10-plus yard rushing plays allowed (25) as this defensive front has had some issues fitting the run.

The run defense is again a major weakness. Kentucky rolled up 230 non-sack rushing yards in the matchup with South Carolina last season. Can the Cats have their breakthrough rushing performance on Saturday?

Confusing personnel usage

Transfer additions created most of the buzz around the South Carolina offense, but it was getting two key players back that had many folks really believing in a potential offensive resurgence at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Both tight end Jaheim Bell and wide receiver Josh Vann returned to Columbia with high expectations after solid seasons in 2021. Both former four-star recruits earned some All-SEC honors in the preseason. Yet, to this point, neither has made a sizable impact through five games.

Bell was being called a “swiss army knife” as the junior was expected to play running back, wide receiver, and tight end for Marcus Satterfield’s offense. After a huge performance against North Carolina in the Belk Bowl, he has been a hard man to find this season. The Valdosta (Ga.) High product only has 22 touches (13 rushes, 9 receptions) for 169 yards. However, half of those touches came in the Week 1 win against Georgia State. South Carolina has had issues getting the versatile player involved despite using him at multiple positions.

At wide receiver, super senior Vann returned for his fifth year at South Carolina after leading the team in receptions (43), receiving yards (679), and receiving touchdowns (5) last season. The Tucker (Ga.) High product also received some preseason accolades but is fourth on the team in wide receiver snaps (120) and has just three receptions for 13 yards on the season.

South Carolina’s struggles on offense have a lot to do with some of their best players not being heavily involved in the offense.

Beamer Ball

At Virginia Tech, high level special teams play got a lot of attention and was nicknamed “Beamer Ball” as the Hokies consistently made game-changing plays in the third phase under Frank Beamer. Shane Beamer is committed to building something similar at South Carolina.

Under special teams coordinator Pete Lembo, the Gamecocks blocked two punts against Georgia State and returned each for a touchdown to turn a close game into a blowout win. Against both Charlotte and South Carolina State, the SEC squad used a swinging gate formation on an extra point attempt to catch defenses in a bad spot. Each resulted in a successful two-point conversion.

Tonka Hemingway with the 2-point conversion! #Gamecocks take the lead 8-0 against South Carolina State 🤙 pic.twitter.com/KN6DP3LqZo

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) September 29, 2022

Meanwhile, Mitch Jeter has been very good at placekicker, and Josh Vann has provided some quality punt returns. Kentucky must be ready for some wrinkles in the third phase on Saturday night.