What Shane Beamer said in his Tuesday press conference previewing Missouri

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer spoke to the media on Tuesday to preview the Gamecocks’ upcoming matchup at home against Missouri on Saturday. Here’s what he had to say.

— Excited to be back home for a top 25 matchup between two SEC teams this weekend. Knows Gamecock nation will be excited about being back at Williams-Brice Stadium. Need it to be electric.

— Missouri has had some injuries but at the end of the day, they are 7-2 and nationally ranked. They find ways to win. Brady Cook is a fantastic quarterback. Has a lot of respect for their other quarterback Drew Pine. He can play. He’s tough, competitive, athletic and can make throws.

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— Missouri has arguably the best receiver core in this conference with Luther Burden and Theo Wease. It’s a really dangerous and explosive offense.

— Big challenge this week. Need to coach and play a lot better than they have against Missouri in the past. Need to have a great week of practice to play well against this team.

— Preparation won’t really change with who’s at quarterback for Missouri. Both QBs can run. It’s going to be how to slow down the outside zone scheme they run and how to keep Burden and Wease in check.

— Missouri has kicked South Carolina’s butts physically. South Carolina been nowhere near good enough on both sides of the ball to do the things they need to do to win the football games against them. Just have to perform better. Missouri has been better in these games. A lot of it has been the inability to run the football effectively.

— Don’t listen to the outside noise. Let’s be real, last time they got ranked, they didn’t play worth a crap last time (Florida 2022). Need to focus on what’s important, which is to play a physical game on Saturday. It’s good to see them accomplish a lot of things already but there’s more to do.

— You have to tackle in this game. Would be shocked if Burden and Wease didn’t have any catches after the game on Saturday. They’re going to get their reps and plays. Burden is involved in the offense in a lot of different ways to get the ball in his hands. Have to limit what those guys do when they get the ball in their hands.

— Perimeter blocking was okay against Vanderbilt. Needs to be better.

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— It’s all the above when it comes to the run game being better this season. Feels like the offensive line has done a lot of good things to help with that. It’s a good group. Able to stay healthy and have continuity. But the schematics from the offensive staff have been good, too.

— Josh Simon is playing at a really high level right now. Should’ve gotten the ball to him more last year. He was working alongside Trey Knox last year whereas Simon has taken over the top spot in that room. He’s doing a lot of good things in the run game as well. He’s a weapon in space. Need him to continue to be better and everyone around him as well.

— They’ll see where Josiah Thompson is for this week. Optimistc they’ll get DeAndre Jules back this week. If Thompson plays, he probably won’t be 100 percent. But they have full confidence in Tree Babalade. Proud of the way he played when he came in last game.

— You look at the bye week and figure out where you’re struggling and why. You look at what’s next and see if there’s anything different in schematics they could to help themselves. But it’s also Rocket Sanders getting healthier and more in the flow. It’s a lot of young faces on offense improving as the season goes on. People had the pitchforks out after the ODU game but they had a lot of newcomers starting. It doesn’t always work that way where everything is great out of the gate. Lately, they’ve done a lot of good things.

— Sanders has worked really hard to get his body in a position to be successful. He looks a lot like the guy from his 2022 season at Arkansas. Kudos to him for the way he’s worked. It’s good to see him having the success he is right now because he’s worked so hard for it.

— Probably speaks for a lot of coaches when he says the month of December stinks. It’s a lot. You’ve got portal, high school recruiting, getting ready for postseason play. There’s a lot that happens. But loves the early signing period. The whole point was so high school kids don’t get messed over or lost in the shuffle. Thinks it’s great. It’ll be different for them this year where the coaches aren’t allowed on the road to recruit in December. It’ll be a little bit odd. But does like the fact he can get his high school class signed. Then the portal opens and he has a chance to see what the roster will actually look like.

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— Knew Kyle Kennard was good but he didn’t know he was going to be this good. Had some really good plays at Georgia Tech but it wasn’t 20 straight minutes of him sacking quarterbacks. Saw a lot of stuff on tape that made him think he could be great at South Carolina. It’s not a flash, it’s dominant every single Saturday. He’s been on a mission since he got here in January. His best football is still in front of him.

— Torricelli Simpkins has a great energy and competitive spirit. His mentality on the field is different. You could see that in the weight room right from the jump. To see him have the success he’s having, it’s really cool. He appreciates every day he’s a part of this program.

— Sellers is who he is. He’s very confident and poised. He’s a competitor. Hasn’t seen a change in him. Thinks he’s more willing to speak up in some ways. As far as what he sees, he’s the same guy. He’s never comfortable but more at ease being here. It’s a big responsibility to be the starting quarterback for his home state team. But he feels he has a better handle on it now.

— When it comes to recruiting and bringing in players from the portal, he prioritizes good people that love football, that want to buy into what they’re about and trust their evaluations. Didn’t have a lot of competition for Carlins Patel, Simpkins, Demetrius Knight. But all three of those guys will have or will be playing in the NFL. They’ve been successful with the portal because of the type of people they’ve brought in and the trust in their own evaluations.

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