Everything Joe DeCamillis said about South Carolina spring practice on Monday

South Carolina special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis met with the media on Monday to discuss the progress of his group in spring practice so far. Here’s everything he had to say.

Opening statement

“Hey, first up, I don’t know if Shawn (Elliott) did, but I just want to thank Coach (Dawn) Staley and her crew. Man, what an unbelievable season. The kind of consistency that they play with and the kind of tenacity and toughness, hopefully it resonates in this building, which I think it does. It gives me inspiration. Hopefully it gives our guys inspiration, because it’s hard to get to that game. I know it didn’t turn out the way she wanted, but I can promise you, she’s doing everything she can to get back there. And if you don’t play that game, you don’t get a chance to win it. So, kudos to her and her crew.”

Through these first eight practices, what’s been your evaluation of the progress that special teams have made?

“Well, I think, definitely better than what it was last year. The players that have been here know the tempo that we’re going to practice at. They know the drills we’re going to do. Overall, I would say better from a pace standpoint. I think that’s been something that our guys have gotten used to over the last few months. And then I think they want to be part of the good part of this team, and that’s what we’re going to try to keep continuing to do, keep getting better.”

With this being Mason Love’s second year now, how have you seen him grow as a leader and develop in that room?

“He’s done a really good job of doing his job, which right now is really punting and holding for us. And I think guys see the level of work that he’s put in. When I first got here, I looked at him, I think he weighed 159 pounds. Now he’s about 195, so obviously he’s done some work in the weight room. Guys see his work ethic. And then he’s also been a placekicker for us in these practices. So he’s doing everything we’re asking them, and hopefully continues that way.”

Besides Love, who else has stood out at the placekicking position?

“Well, I mean, they’ve all had 14 team kicks, which those are really what’s evaluated. All the practice stuff’s great, but these are team kicks at the current practice. So it’s a very, very even competition right now. I know Coach (Shane Beamer) is going to keep putting them, you know, we put them in a little bit of pressure situation on Saturday, and I know he’ll keep doing that the next two weeks. So we want to see them compete in pressure situations, which is really what the season is all about. So hopefully we can continue that. And then when the summer comes, we get Max (Kelley) in. So then that’ll be another part of the puzzle that we hope we can answer.”

What stands out about Max Kelley’s game from your time recruiting him, and what excites you about bringing him in?

“Well, the main thing is, he’s a bigger type of guy. He’s got power. We thought his technique was at an advanced level, which a lot of these guys, you know, some guys have and some guys don’t — his did. And then he’s just a competitor. He’s in baseball right now. I think he’s batting around .500. So he’s obviously doing some good things there.

“But he is a really, really good athlete. He’s a guy that we think will be able to compete as a punter down the road right now. We’re going to make him a placekicker and kickoff guy and see how that goes. But we’re just hopeful that we can get him up to speed. Not being here for this time is definitely a, you know, it’s an increment to those guys, for sure. So hopefully we can get him going in the right direction real quick.”

Stay on top of all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer today!

At the halfway point of spring, so far, after a few practices, is there anything you want to see more from your guys as the spring game is closing in?

“Yeah, I would say just some of the young guys, I’d like them to get better with some of the pace and some of the tempo things. And then, obviously, you know, when you’re a freshman, it’s new for you, that pace and that tempo and the assignments that you’re asked to do are different. So we want the freshmen to take a real big jump in these last few weeks, or in these last two weeks.”

From a longsnapping standpoint, what’s stood out about how those guys are looking to replace Hunter Rogers this year?

“Yeah, again, the same thing. Luckily, we have a veteran in Cole (Rasmussen) that’s been behind Hunter the whole time, which he’s done a good job. So far, Kyler (Farrow) came in, and he’s competing very well. And then the other two are doing a good job too. So I think both those guys are competing, and all four of them really have a chance. So we just got to keep them going throughout spring and see where it lands when we go play Virginia Tech.”

From a punt returning, kickoff return standpoint, who are you guys that stood out so far, and how would you evaluate the progress there?

“Yeah, I think the biggest standout probably is (Jalon) Kilgore as a punt returner. He was there last year. He actually was there as a safe guy for us. When we were in punt safe, he was our returner most of the time. And he had the longest return for us last year. So he came back in great shape. Looks good catching it. So we’ll see where that goes.

“But all those young receivers that we brought in, I think, all have a chance. You’ve seen flashes by all of them. The biggest key is they need to be good at what we call returner mechanics, right? I mean, it’s one thing to catch it, but it’s also another thing to make sure you make the correct call. When the ball is on the ground, it’s making sure that I make a fair catch that keeps us from losing 20 yards. It’s making the fair catch when it’s an inside to 10 situation, I don’t catch it on the three, all those types of things.

“So that’s what we’ve got to really try to amp up as much as we can through this time of summer and then fall camp to get them going. Because the thing you don’t have, you don’t have preseason games to get that stuff squared away. So every practice is important for those guys.”

With Kelley not getting here until summer, do you expect the field goal kicking battle to go right up to the opening game? Or would you like to have someone named a starter before that?

“Yeah, I think with Coach Beamer, I think other than probably LaNorris (Sellers) right now, I would say that he wants the battles going all the way up until Virginia Tech. I think that’s what our place is built on, is competition, and that’s what he’s going to do.

“And then there’s also the transfer portal. You don’t know what’s going to happen in the next week or so, but what happens with the specialist, too. So there are a lot of ways to build your roster, and I’m sure that all those will be looked at by all of us.”

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!