Recap: Shane Beamer press conference (Florida)

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer and a pair of players met with the media Tuesday afternoon. Here’s a recap of what was said.

Shane Beamer

–Off to a good start this week and have a big challenge against Florida. Had a great half in the second half against Georgia and that’s carried over. Called UF’s win over A&M the best performance of the year. Good in all three phases. Anthonhy Richardson is an “elite” player. Weapon in the pass game as well as run game. Best team in the league in turnover margin. Doing a lot of things right. Said it’ll be a great atmosphere. Looking forward to getting out there and playing.

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–BJ Gibson is “day to day” with a hamstring. Didn’t do much in practice. Spaudling is done for the year. Lloyd is limited in practice but said he felt better than he expected. Said there are a handful of guys questionable.

–Asked about switching a few receivers to DB and jokes if the facility has been bugged. Said they’re thin and banged up but not to that point yet, though, switching guys over. They’re thin there but thankfully the starters are healthy for the most part.

–It’s nice to be going to a bowl but never satisfied. Being in a spot where they know they’re going to the postseason isn’t taken for granted. It’s a “hell of an accomplishment” but no one better be satisfied. There’s “a lot left to accomplish.” For the guys who came back, they didn’t come back just to go to a bowl. Expectations were higher and let’s go be better. Was pleased with practiced.

–Biggest issue last week in the run game was missed tackles. Missed some run fits and incorrect leverage but missed tackles led to some explosive run games. They weren’t good enough last week tackling and mis-fitting runs. Doesn’t think they’re in “panic mode” because they’ve been pretty good for the most part. Haven’t been good enough the last couple weeks nad Florida is a “really big challenge” with those backs and a really physical offensive line. If Richardson gets rolling you’re “not going to catch him.”

–Richardson’s size and speed stands out and he has the ability to make a ton of big plays. He’s so hard to bring down but can also make “every throw on the field.” Said there’s a reason Richardson is pretty high up on draft boards. He’s really talented and has really good players around him.

–Said there are a lot of mobile quarterbacks they’ve faced that they’ve handled. Mentions stopping the run isn’t just on the seven in the box but the defensive backs have to fit the run correctly as well and play with effort. Always need to be better and they weren’t good enough against Arkansas or against Vanderbilt. That’s going to happen and Florida will make some plays. Have to limit explosives and get some stops.

–Running the ball and playing defense is still “critical” to win in the SEC. When they reach their goal in terms of yards per carry they’re undefeated. When you’re running the ball, the other things open up because of that with explosive plays and staying on the field and out of third downs. There are some high-octane offenses, but the two teams who played for a title were top-ranked run defenses last year. Have to stop the run first before worrying about anything else. There’s different styles of offenses out there but still have to run the ball and stop the run.

–Jokes he’s not a fan of orange this month. Jokes his alma mater is maroon and orange and has some orange Virginia Tech stuff.

–That orange crush term is “right on” and it’s a big chance to create momentum. The old cliche is “they remember November” and guys realize that folks are going to remember how South Carolina finishes the season. Florida is really improving and have two top-25 teams to finish. Called this an “unbelievable opportunity” and team has to focus on Florida.

–Said all of what they did against Vanderbilt is replicable. Said they were explosive, ran the ball and spread the ball around. Mentions nothing really jumps out offensively as something they just installed this week. They’ve run the same stuff and same concepts all year that maybe looked better against Vanderbilt.

–Been really impressed with the job Napier’s done during his coaching tenure at ULL and now at Florida. Napier was an assistant at Clemson during Beamer’s first stint in Columbia.

–Said the 2010 Florida game was a validation of what can ultimately be done at South Carolina and being able to compete for SEC East and SEC titles. Jokes what he remembers was being the ST coordinator and Florida taking the opening kick back.

–Asked about what it takes for a player to pick up a position during one week of prep, and it starts with the players. Guys have to want to do it and have the mental capacity to do it.

–It would be a “travesty” if Kai Kroeger isn’t on the Ray Guy list. Said he’s a great player as a punter but also in the pass game on those fakes. Any accolades he does get are “well deserved.”

–Anthony Rose has been “really, really, really good.” He’s done well in the classroom and getting better on the field. Landon Samson has done well trying to get his body built up and is on track there. Braden Davis has had a nice fall. Tanner Bailey has continued to get better and works to learn the position. Daniels has good tools and tries to get better. Those Sunday practices, they were out there longer than normal because it’s a young guy scrimmage and it’s intense. Those guys (Rose, the QBs) have made some good plays in that. Excited about this freshmen class as well top to bottom.

–No freshman in particular right now who would see more time heading forward. Biggest position who will likely play is DB with injuries and how many guys they rotate in the game. AS they go through the regular season and bowl games, they’ll try and bring some of those young DBs along who haven’t played much. Hope you don’t need them at times but they need to be ready to be called on.

–Don’t talk a lot about heading on the road. It’s about them in the end. Said it’ll be a great environment and a cool place to play. But beyond that it’s about South Carolina and preparing the right way to go play well. They don’t make a big deal about going on the road and playing. They have started going into the stadium on Friday night to look around (something they didn’t last year). They have to stick to a schedule whether they’re at home or on the road.

–Cam Smith is a little sick and dealing with bang-ups but is on track. Devonni Reed practiced today.

–It’s a huge challenge to keep guys off social media and paying attention to what’s being said. There are a ton of voices out there and avenues to hear it. He has to stay consistent as the head coach emotionally to not be a rollercoaster. He’d be naive to say you block out everything because he has to be aware of what players are hearing out there out of the building. He’s honest and real about his team about what the outside may think but here’s what’s real.

–They started going to stadiums this year. Other places he’s coached (South Carolina before, Oklahoma, etc.) Said they did that some, especially if it’s a night game to get guys out of the hotel. They do that for home games. Fridays they’ll meet and walk-through at the stadium. Trying to keep that routine on the road. Then going out there might alleviate some of the “newness” to the transfers or freshmen who haven’t seen the stadium before and get a lay of the land. Said it’s typically a short, 15-minute trip. Said they’ve been better on the road. Might not have totally been that reasons but getting out there might get some of those nerves out of the system.

–Monitoring the hurricane but mentions all that looks like it’ll be out by Thursday.

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Kai Kroeger

–Jokes that he would love to have some quarterback snaps, if the opportunities present themselves. Said he could start a Heisman campaign but needs help from the public.

–Loves the ability to make game-changing plays on special teams, whether a big punt or that fake. Practiced that fake a ton with Hemingway and it worked each time.

–Said he practices throws pretty frequently in practice.

–Team “happy to be where we are” but the job isn’t done. They reached last year’s regular season win total and hoping to win out and make a “great bowl game.”

–Knows it will be loud, especially on field goals. Has a routine when he’s going out there to hold where he focuses in on the snap. Gotten used to it playing at places like Georgia, Texas A&M, etc.

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–Feels good about where he’s at individually. After the bye week he kind of “mentally reset” and been really pleased with his progression after the bye. Biggest goal is to eliminate some of his touchbacks on punt. Mentally, he’s imagining how punts will go, etc. and taking mental reps so he can put himself in different situations.

–They have to play three “great teams back to back to back.” Said it’s a great chance to go out there and show what they can do. They know they can do it, now just about going out and executing.

–He has some really good gunners helping him out and knows those guys will get down there to cover punts. Even on the two that rolled into the end zone, those gunners were right there and had chances to make plays.

–Jokes he added a few pounds “if you couldn’t tell” and that added weight’s helped him with punts and given him some confidence out there. That’s helped him a lot. Sometimes he could have gotten in his own head and that confidence has helped him mentally.

–Safest play on punts is trying to hit out of bounds instead of having them bounce and roll. tries to aim as close as he puts some backspin on them.

Darius Rush

–Mentality-wise, coach Beamer emphasizes turnovers frequently. Vandy didn’t turn the ball over a lot and they were able to get the ball off them a lot. Said they want to be momentum-changers.

–Said it’s been week to week in South Carolina’s secondary and guys are going to be banged up and it’s just that typical next-man-up. With a banged up secondary, they’re not worried about anything. They know those guys out there will do what they can to help this team.

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–Guys just have to step up. Mentions OD Fortune came in and got a strip fumble then the game-sealing pick. All about preparation and doing what you’re coached to do.

–Said last year’s game against Vanderbilt was one of his worst so happy to have a game like he did Saturday.

–Florida is a good team and the Gators are one win from bowl eligibility. They know Florida will be hungry to get that win. That’s something to worry about. They have good receivers that can beat them deep. This week, they have to go out there and compete.

–Richardson’s feet make him a weapon. You have to worry about his arm but when things break down he can run the ball. Eliminating that run game and containing him is going to help him. They have to stop the run too to win this one on the road.

–It’s nice to be bowl eligibility but they can’t be satisfied with six wins. Take it week by week.

–Jokes they’re playing a lot of orange to end the season and “we don’t like orange.”

–Beamer has talked about people remembering November. Said folks remember how teams end. Excited to play really good teams down the stretch in two hostile environments.

–Kai Kroeger has an “elite foot” with the ability to flip the field. Rush has a part in that too. Kroeger can put that ball inside the 10 and he gets down there to down it.

–Said things got chippy too against A&M and there’s a lot of emotion. Said the situation against Vandy Cam Smith thought he got hit in a disrespectful way and he handled it like he did. Just emotion coming through in a game. Just guys out there competing. All comes down to South Carolina being disciplined. Some of those penalties they had they could have eliminated. They pride themselves on playing smart football and can clean up penalties.

–Missed tackles are easy ways to give up a ton of rushing yards. Emphasizing getting their chests on guys in practice. Tackling is one thing they’ve emphasized about wrapping up and fitting guys up.

–Never really thought about moving to DB. When he found out, he called his brother and his brother joked that it was about time. His brother was all for it. It’s working out and he did it just to help the team there and to contribute on special teams.

–Said communication has improved week to week. Said there’s going to be some miscommunication at times. Just about knowing assignments at times. From a communication standpoint amongst DQ Smith and Nick Emmanwori, he understands that and has to take on a bigger role from that standpoint. It’s a team defense and everyone has to communicate and talk.

–Did say O’Mega Blake has taken some QB reps this week along with Tanner Bailey. Said that’s more of a developmental thing for those guys

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