South Carolina freshman trio impress Dowell Loggains in debut
Dowell Loggains has some things to mull over this week as South Carolina prepares to go play at Georgia.
The Gamecocks did what they were supposed to and blew Furman out. That meant coaches could play a slew of young players in the game.
A trio stood out over most–Tree Babalade, Trovon Baugh and LaNorris Sellers–looking the part of SEC players in limited action.
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“I think Bear Bryant said it, but if they’re going to bite they’re going to bite when they’re puppies,” Loggains said. “When you throw them out there as freshmen and they bite, you should be excited about that. Those three guys played well in the game and impacted the game last week. But they do it in practice every day.”
The question now becomes, after quality debuts, the roles for each moving forward.
Shane Beamer mentioned on his Carolina Calls show both Babalade and Baugh will play against the Bulldogs, and there’s always the chance of a Sellers package.
Babalade played 47 snaps at left tackle, finishing with a 61.4 overall grade with a team-best 86.5 pass block grade and a 52.9 run block grade.
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Baugh led the team with 47 snaps at right guard. PFF had him at a 58.3 overall grade with an 84.4 pass block and 52.9 run block grade.
It seems like Loggains, too, is toying with the idea of playing them more during their freshmen seasons.
“There will be ups and downs when they play. There will be. Especially when you’re young. But they get it. They understand there will be some down moments, some hard moments. But they know the process of growth is getting thrown in the fire and going and doing it,” Loggains said.
“I don’t worry about their confidence. You can’t put a value on experience. As a coach, you really don’t know what you have until he gets out there and plays.”
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Sellers had the more talked-about debut, going 4-for-4 for over 80 yards and two touchdowns, one of those a 50-yard strike to Tyshawn Russell for his first career touchdown pass.
It might’ve been a little off-script than what the play called for, but Loggains said Sellers made the right choice.
“There was a buzz about him in camp. He works the right way. When he got out there, we expected him to play well and expected him to do what he did. I know he clarified that he did a little too much on that touchdown pass. But the throw was amazing,” Loggains said.
“It was an unbelievable throw and he had time in the pocket to do that cause the offensive line protected well for you to do that. And Tyshawn is streaking down the sideline. You have to know when you can and can’t do that stuff. And you chose correctly.”
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All three guys–and Russell–are part of a 2023 freshman class South Carolina expects to be highly impactful.
And all three present a ton of upside for Loggains as he tries to build up this South Carolina offense.
“You also don’t want players who can only do what the paper says. Those guys are just good enough to get you beat in this conference. You need guys who can take that playbook and make it come to life,” he said.
“You need guys who can do more than what they’re coached to do. A coach can’t get these guys ready for every eventuality that will happen in a game. Those guys have to go out there, play football and see things. Like with Spencer (Rattler), the more you see, the more we give you. Those three guys played well as young guys.”
