What Dowell Loggains and Clayton White said previewing Oklahoma

On Wednesday, South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and defensive coordinator Clayton White met with the media to preview this weekend’s matchup with Oklahoma. Here’s what they had to say.

Dowell Loggains

— When you watch the tape on OU, they have a great volume of defense. They still play hard with a strong volume of defense. Team speed always dictates how many takeaways you get. They’re building a defensive culture that’s very impressive. Their communication system is very good. You have to figure out what the offense can handle. From a protection standpoint, this defense is a nightmare to prepare for. Been a fun but stressful week of preparation.

— What’s hard about playing quarterback is you get defined by turnovers. References how many turnovers Peyton Manning had his rookie year and how many years it took for him to get to a playoff game. LaNorris Sellers took another step in the passing game on Saturday. There are plenty of mistakes for a redshirt freshman quarterback to make. But he was really pleased with his play. There’s no way they have a chance to win that game without him.

— You see how bright Sellers’ future is going to be. Blames himself for Sellers on the sacks. He teaches him to not take sacks. But this is another opportunity for Sellers to learn. He’ll get better with that stuff.

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— Jatavius Shivers came in and played well at tackle. He’s got really good talent and great feet. He’s starting to learn how to become a good practice player. He lost a couple battles but what he loved was how he responded in the Alabama game. He did a really good job playing in that environment.

— On the touchdown pass to Mazeo Bennett on 4th and 9: The players nailed it. Bennett and Dalevon Campbell were great. The pass protection was great. They got the coverage they thought they were going to get. Bennett is slippery and savvy enough to make that play.

— You start talking about the technique of things with Sellers’ fumbles. Sellers had the fumble in the fourth quarter on a fake handoff. The week before Rocket Sanders and Robby Ashford had a fumble on a fake handoff. So it’s emphasizing that more. Sellers is trying to do what his coach asks him. The biggest fear Loggains had was exchange issues with zone reads and triple options. So the ball is more in jeopardy. You just keep working on it. You attack it with everything you have to fix it. Making sure they’re putting Sellers in the best situations to avoid these mistakes.

— Sellers and Bennett have jelled because it’s work form. They’ve put in the time throwing in practice. They’re both intelligent kids. They get it. Bennett is extremely competitive and has an intense personality. He wants to be good. He attacks. It goes back to his mom and dad. This is a kid with real conviction and confidence. Bennett is wide receiver confident and Sellers is humble confident. Knowledge builds confidence, confidence allows you to play fast.

— Nyck Harbor has had two great weeks of practice. Loggains tells him the ball will find him, which it has as of late.

— Right now, they’re in such a week to week race. They’ll worry about keeping the momentum going during the bye week next week. Right now, the focus is all on Oklahoma.

Clayton White

— It was a heartbreaking loss against Alabama. Defense needs to learn from the good, bad and ugly and learn how to finish ballgames. The guys have come in with a good mindset this week. Oklahoma is going to be a big SEC game.

— The message has been one play at a time. But he understands the type of football they’re facing. It’s definitely one play at a time every single week.

— Their job is to critique themselves and analyze things they need to get better at. The opening and finish weren’t great. Those are things you won’t be able to win with in that type of game.

— Gives a lot of credit to Torrian Gray for the DB play. One of the most prepared coaches he’s ever been around. The defensive backs have went in there and played the best they could possibly play. They have room to grow. Judge Collier has been great. Vicari Swain has come in and played well. Proud of how they’re playing.

— The DBs are humble dudes. They understand life in this conference is up and down. It’s the coaches job to keep them level-headed and grounded. They understand this is a league where every team has a playmaker or two or three. They’re doing a great job. Gray isn’t letting anything slide. They are locked in. They aren’t letting up on those guys.

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— Dylan Stewart and Kyle Kennard help each other. Thinks the guys on the interior also help a lot as well. It all goes hand in hand. Having Stewart receiving as much attention as he did early helped Kennard. But people can’t forget about how good the guys on the inside are.

— As a coach, they look at things so different from anyone. As a defense, they feel like they haven’t played their best yet. They’ve had a couple games with good football. But they want to have a complete game one day. They’re still waiting for that.

— They look at the personnel when it comes to prepping for Oklahoma. He knows those coaches are going to get things going. They have to stay ahead. Need to execute the plan and understand the patterns. They don’t dive too much into this being a struggling offense.

— Kennard was a guy that found ways to get to the quarterback at Georgia Tech. They weren’t good at sacks and TFLs last year, so that was a focus to get a guy who could come help in the offseason. The more, the better. Bringing Kennard in was a big deal.

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