Recap: South Carolina players preview Vanderbilt

A slew of South Carolina players met with the media Tuesday afternoon to preview Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt.

Here are some highlights from it:

Jaheim Bell

–Said he tries to prepare like a pro every week.

–Said after the bowl game he felt like he was going to “take off this year.”

–Asked about his nine snaps, wasn’t expecting that nd expected to have a big game. That didn’t happen and it’s on to the next week.

Subscribe until the 2023 season for only $10!

–Said it’s frustrating thinking throughout the week he would get the ball and not happen. It can be frustrating but has to be positive in the building, shake off that frustration and prep like a pro.

–Some of that is a personnel package issue but he feels like he can be a dynamic person in any package. Mostly it’s a personnel package.

–Asked what he remembers about that Vandy game last year, remembers that big touchdown. Going into the second half it was rough but they battled back and won the game.

–He feels like he’s gotten a lot better in the blocking game and put people on their back folks didn’t think he would.

–Team can’t look too far ahead, have to lock in on Vanderbilt and go execute.

–Have to stay together and avoid getting in cliques and move on from a poor showing Saturday.

Xavier Legette

–Starts talking about the game last year, Noland came in and played well.

–Gamecocks take ownership of the game and just have to go out there and make plays when they’re out there.

–Coaches are emphasizing staying together but players can sense that too. They know if things fracture the next four games can go poorly.

–Thinks he’s a really explosive, physical receiver. Feels like he can do a lot of different things.

–Feels like the Vandy secondary is good but they feel like they can “take advantage of that.”

–What can the offense do to get on track? “Just put the ball in the playmakers hands and go to work.”

–Asked how South Carolina, puts the ball in the playmakers hands, said it goes to the offensive coordinator and how he feels they can best do that.

Devonni Reed

–Knee is feeling much better than it did Saturday night. Still a little tender and sore but better. How it happened: his leg got caught up under Jordan Burch trying to make a tackle and it happens.

–Those 17 points were all on the defense and South Carolina messing up and not doing their jobs. Said it’s frustrating when an offense is stitching together drives.

–Called things a lack of effort and they did a terrible job setting the edge. That caused a lot of issues.

–Have to focus on the details and setting the edge and practicing hard to get better before Vanderbilt.

–Vanderbilt is a pretty good offense. Every game in the SEC is tough and they can’t overlook them. Vandy has good players and can easily make this a four-quarter game.

–Mentions as an older guy he sets the tone. If he isn’t on point, it’s hard for other guys to be.

Eric Douglas

–Asked about last year’s game, just keep doing your job no matter who’s at QB. That was the main thing for him. They got down a little bit and rallied well. Have to execute.

–In terms of not allowing cracks, said he has to bring more energy. There were times against Missouri where he didn’t bring it the way he needed to. Has to motivate himself to be better and know the team goes as the offensive line goes.

–South Carolina talked a ton about how Missouri knew what was coming at times. Said they go out and execute what was called but still trying to figure out how Missouri knew when it was a run or pass.

–It’s still football at the end of the day and they’re 5-3 and not 2-6 or 1-7. Have to go out there and keep building. Beamer said they’re not looking in the rear view and looking ahead.

–Asked how his energy dips, just have to keep telling himself to keep going and give that extra effort. Mentions he could have run and pushed the pile. If the other guys know the offensive line is there to help, that helps their performance.

WIN! MarShawn Lloyd autographed football

–Missouri had a really good defensive line but they had to be better. This weekend they just have to go be better.

–Has to approach this game like he does every other with a nameless, faceless opponent.

–Can’t really take much from last year’s results. This is this year. They’re still writing the story of this team and have to keep things moving forward.

–Said Missouri was throwing their hand up when it was pass. Didn’t happen early but after the first couple drives.

–Have to continue to execute. They have a really good bond and have to show that over the last four games.

MarShawn Lloyd

–On the bruise, said it was just a great tackle and hit right on the thigh. Said the game would have been a lot different if he finished. Said it feels better now and the goal is to play Saturday.

–Asked about getting the ball to the playmakers more, said they have a ton of playmakers and it comes down to execution. No matter how many guys you have, if you don’t execute it doesn’t matter. Execution is the problem they’ve had.

–Asked about Missouri knowing plays, mentions they were running the ball well when he was in. Missouri was going to try its best to stop the run given how well the run game has been. They executed better than South Carolina.

–Have to continue to get the ball to the playmakers. Have to execute every play at every position and work as team will help.

–Asked about improving in execution is to believe in one another. There’s so much outside noise but have to block that out and trust each other. It’s getting late in the year and what’s over is over. THey start from here and go on out.

–Said sometimes with bruises it can get bad to where a guy can’t walk. With his, he’s able to walk and move it and its’ getting better.

–Like every team in the league, if South Carolina can’t run the ball it’s going to hamper the offense. During the four-game win streak they ran the ball better and that opened up things in the pass game.

–Players can’t be focused on getting to bowl eligibility. Have to put their head down, focus on today and this week and in the end they’ll look up and figure everything out.

Zacch Pickens

–Watching the drive last year was “amazing.” Jokes he hopes it doesn’t come down to that again.

–Vanderbilt is really good. Have to do their job and they’re in the process of figuring out what fronts, etc. are going to work best.

–Asked what his role is in helping contain and not let a team get the edge, said he’s got to be better running out of the stack and chasing the ball. Hopes to get a nice forced fumble or big hit if a ball carrier cuts the ball back inside.

–Said South Carolina players felt like they arrived and got “embarrassed.” Mentions that performance wasn’t them. Said they need to just keep going and not feel like they’ve done enough. That’s one thing they have to be better at and keep the pedal down.

–Goal is to get to a bowl game and send the seniors off in a good way. Want to have a good season for the seniors.

–All of South Carolina’s interns are tasked with trying to figure out tendencies and what a team might be doing based on what signals are coming offensively.

–Asked about pressuring the quarterback, they just have to get home. They don’t want to DBs to cover for a long time. Vanderbilt tries to get the ball out quickly and they’re not trying to hold the ball so they have to do a good job getting out and help the defensive backs.

–Have to take things one game at a time and worry about one team at a time.

Juice Wells

–Mentions early in the year he tried to let the vets handle a lot of the leadership roles but he was really vocal today in practice.

–Mentions Missouri knew when they were going to throw because they were in a lot of passing downs and both teams probably knew they would have to throw.

–As a receiver, everyone wants to be that go-to guy, but they have to go with what they have right now. Have to continue to work it, will guys on and continue executing.

–Starts at practice to be more consistent. Hopefully things start to click. Really have to avoid the outside noise and can’t get overwhelmed when things go off script. Said when teams go up on them they started to think, ‘What’s going on?’

–Siad he didn’t feel overwhelmed but the team did. Said his role now has to be to correct that on the sideline when that happens.

–Talked to Corey Rucker last night and told him to keep his head up. Said they could come back next year and do big things.

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!