Justin Stepp describes Dowell Loggains’ new-look offense
Personnel-wise, South Carolina is going to look a lot different in the pass-catching department this fall.
Six of the Gamecocks’ top-10 leaders in receiving yards, including four of the top five, left during the offseason. All seven of the team’s tight ends are brand new to the program.
Spots on the roster previously filled by Josh Vann, Jalen Brooks, Jaheim Bell, and Austin Stogner are now held by players like Nyckoles Harbor, Eddie Lewis, Elijah Caldwell, and Trey Knox.
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South Carolina’s offense as a whole has also undergone some changes with a new offensive coordinator at the helm. Dowell Loggains, who has experience calling plays for NFL offenses, joined the Gamecocks from Arkansas last December.
Since his hire, Gamecock players have been working to learn Loggains’ playbook and integrate themselves into his offensive system. As far as pass-catchers go, wide receivers coach Justin Stepp said there will not be many changes in the way his players line up compared to previous seasons.
“A lot of the formations are the same as far as how we call them. It just flows a little better,” Stepp said. “I don’t know if that makes sense, but it just makes sense.”
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What could change, though, is where individual players line up within that setup. Stepp mentioned freshman receiver Elijah Caldwell as someone who could line up in the slot and outside next season. The same could be said for other receivers on the roster as the season progresses.
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“In our offense, man, I’m telling you with coach Loggains we’ll put guys everywhere,” Stepp said. “You have to know concepts.”
Stepp said the hardest adjustment players will have to make is learning dozens of new plays, along with completing class work and other off-field activities. Because of this, the South Carolina coaching staff has been working to accommodate the players as much as possible.
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“You start to get into this playbook, we have so much stuff. We have a lot of stuff in. It’s a lot,” Stepp said. “But with these guys, they have classes to worry about. They have all this other stuff now pulling at them now with NIL and other stuff. We have to make it where these guys don’t have a ton to learn.”
Some strategies, including using familiar terms when describing plays, have been beneficial to the players, according to Stepp.
“The best thing about him is he thinks about our players. What would hit their brains? It doesn’t matter to me,” Stepp said. “Him keeping a lot of the pass game terminology the same has really helped my guys.”
