What Dowell Loggains said about his potential scheme at South Carolina

Before being introduced as South Carolina’s offensive coordinator, Dowell Loggains made a point to avoid cliches and coach speak. 

So, when asked about what his offense might truly look like, he stopped short and didn’t delve too deep. He said whatever he said would just be “propaganda.” 

Loggains said there are things he wants his offense to look like in 2023 at South Carolina. 

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“We’re really going to try and find out what our players can do. There’s a priority in that. It starts with the quarterback then goes to the offensive line. Then you find out what your skill guys can do. But you have to build it that way, through the quarterback’s eyes then the offensive line. Then what can our skill guys do?” Loggains said.

“I hope to be successful we create balance. That means multiple touches for our playmakers. We don’t want to come in after a game and have a conversation about why so and so only have two catches or why so and so only have nine carries.”

Loggians spent over a decade and a half in the NFL as a coordinator or quarterbacks coach. None of those offenses, though, were statistically impressive. 

The college game, Loggains said, really helped him adjust his thought process and change some of what he values. A lot is adjusting what he’s doing to fit the talent on the roster. 

So, like he said, there might not be a clear idea schematically of what the Gamecocks are doing until after spring ball and the roster is set. 

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“We’re not going to have one system and say, ‘This is our system. You have to fit it.’ We have to find out what each of our guys does best and put him in that situation. That’s how you create success, that’s the way to maximize the person,” Loggains said.

“That’s what you do in spring ball. You don’t play. There’s no scoreboard. You’re creating competition on the roster and creating depth on your team and building fundamentals. We’re going to find out what each guy’s skill set is.”

While he doesn’t know yet the exact playbook he’ll install eight months from now as preseason camp starts, he knows what it at the bare minimum wants it to look like. 

“Number one, the most important thing about offense is you create pressure on the defense. You can do that in a lot of ways. You have to create conflict, whether that be RPOs or tempo or play action passes. There’s a bunch of different ways to do it,” he said. “The way to do that is you find who your playmakers are and put them in spots to create conflict on the defense.” 

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Loggains sold South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer on the ability to blend some of his NFL concepts and what the Gamecocks were doing from a pro-style standpoint with more college elements. 

Loggains spent the last few seasons under Kendall Briles at Arkansas in a majority Baylor system which ran the veer and shoot. The goal, though, for Loggains is to streamline what was a complicated system in 2022. 

“I love the idea of being able to take what he’s done in the NFL as an assistant coach and coordinator for multiple teams and marry that with what he’s learned at Arkansas the last couple of years being part of their offense,” Beamer said.

“(You) realize you can have a quote-unquote pro-style offense but also doesn’t have to be as wordy or complicated of voluminous. You can really narrow things down. I think you can take what he did at Arkansas and what he’s done over his career and marry it to best fit us. That’s pretty cutting-edge if you ask me.”

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