Recap: Shane Beamer previews Tennessee

It’s another tough road test for South Carolina, and Shane Beamer previewed the Gamecocks’ game at Tennessee.

Here’s what he had to say about that in his weekly press conference.

–Appreciates the fans again and talks about Mississippi State fans being blown away by the environment. Said Peter Burns was saying it’s one of the best home field advantages in the sports.

Injuries: Ni Mansell is out for the year. He’s a PWO. Mentions there are seven offensive linemen not practicing right now. Said Jakai Moore has a banged-up shoulder but will be ready to go for Saturday. Juice Wells is out this week. Ahmarean Brown is back.

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–Big challenge in Knoxville but excited to go back. Graduated from Tennessee, and was a GA there working for Phil Fulmer. Big challenge because it’s a hostile crowd. That’s an environment you want to play and coach in. Huepel has done a great job with this year’s team too. Had one bad half of football against Florida but operated at a high level. Quarterback Joe Milton can “make every throw” and is a dangerous run threat too. Has a good offensive line. Added to the TE corps as well. Running backs are deep and can all go with speed, burst and quickness.

–This is a great rush offense and that’s a “big challenge.” Defensive line and linebackers are disruptive and it’s a big challenge offensively because they lead the SEC in sacks. It’s a veteran group of DBs. Then “really, really good” on special teams. Their punt returner can make people look “silly.”

–Talking a little more about injuries, said OD Fortune practiced today. Bradley Dunn–a special teamer and running back–is out this week. David Spaulding is fine.

–Jokes he wouldn’t expect Legette to be setting records for South Carolina like that but he works hard and is just getting started.

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–Talking more about the Tennessee game last year, said there are signs of growth. They were confident before but the confidence you can take from that game led right into Clemson. Helped elevate expectations. Played well that night and everyone got to see the Spencer Rattler he’d shown in practice. He’s been great since as well.

–Very pleased with the job Dowell Loggains has done to date. Said it starts with his relationship with Spencer Rattler. Loggains understands every position offensively from his time in the NFL and understands what he wants as a receiver, running back, line, etc. Done a great job of putting guys in good spots. Has a good amount of carry over but tweaking game plans for each opponent.

–Talking about last season’s Tennessee, that was the game where they really started to streamline things and put guys in one-on-one spots to make plays. They were running the same plays they called earlier in the season but guys were making plays. They played man pretty much the entire night and guys continued to just make plays. Not always about scheme. Sometimes it’s just players playing well.

–Mario Anderson and DK Joyner did a really good job in pass pro Saturday night. The blitz pickup isn’t as simple as just hitting a blitzer. Have to have good eyes, etc. Mentions there are a couple of plays where a RB might be responsible for four guys. Said let’s not forget about how good Joyner’s been at times too. Said on that TD run Joyner had, he leveled a frontside linebacker and took a broken play into a touchdown. He’ll continue to do good things as he continues to get more comfortable as well.

–Last year they were successful against Tennessee last year because of the week of practice they had and have to do that again. Last year is behind them. The year before last year South Carolina got smoked in the first half. All they’re worried about is preparing the right way and performing well in a “rocking environment.”

–Credits Will Muschamp for signing Xavier Legette. His first impressions of XL when he got here was the body and Legette being rugged and able to do a lot on offense and special teams. Last year he did good things at receiver and on special teams and continues to work and get better. It’s come all together this year in “a lot of ways.”

–Talking about starting fast, jokes if he knew the answer they wouldn’t have fallen behind so early against Tennessee, Florida and A&M at times. Said they do a good job right now of preparing guys and getting them ready to go out there and execute. They rep it a ton in practice and again (depending on the game time) rep it again in the walk-through Saturday morning. Said they have to be a lot better in the third quarter, especially defensively.

–Asked about if it’s time to give the South Carolina offensive line it’s flowers, said they’ve played one good game. Not time to start handing out awards. Said they’ve played well and made progress but still plenty of things to clean up. Haven’t come close to scratching the surface of what they can be.

–Really complimentary of the receivers and their body types. It’s length, quickness, size, physicality. Doing that in space is tough to handle. Add on the spacing and tempo it’s really hard to limit. Tennessee is going to get their completions but it’s about getting them on the group. They like their defensive back group. They didn’t have the game they wanted against Mississippi State but were eager to get back out there.

–Rattler’s got enough “wiggle” to make guys miss. They’re not going to call a ton of designed runs and need him to be smart when he is running so he’s not taking a ton of hits that he doesn’t need to.

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–Said this is a “regular week” for South Carolina. The only thing they’re talking about differently is the schedule next week because next week is the bye. Not want to talk about the schedule or anything like that. This is the toughest league in the conference and there are “no breathers.”

–This might be one of the more comfortable and confident Rattler’s been since the two have known each other. Saw Rattler bounce back from adversity. He’s having a ton of fun right now. Credits that to the relationship with Loggains, understanding of the system, and enjoying the people in the program. He’s matured, he’s grown up and he’s older. He’s playing great. Wouldn’t trade him for any other quarterback.

–This team is “battle tested” because of the teams and atmospheres. Played some really good teams and played in Charlotte and then in Athens. They’ll finish this team with three ranked teams at the FBS level and one ranked FCS team. This is still a young team but there’s a calming factor because those young guys have played in hostile environments. Certainly, it’s going to be really loud in Knoxville but guys have seen that before.

–Talking about Xavier Legette hit 21 miles per hour twice on Saturday. Was “smoking” at a few times covering punts too.

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