What Shane Beamer said on his Sunday teleconference

Before South Carolina got underway with its typical Sunday practice, Shane Beamer got a chance to update his team and put a bow on the Furman game.

Beamer spoke about the Gamecocks’ freshmen, updated injuries and much more over his 15-minute call. Here’s a recap of what he had to say.

–It was a good night last night and Beamer is proud of how guys responded Saturday. The Gamecocks got Furman’s best shot and the team did a good job handling it. Proud of the way the offense answered and scoring every time Furman got into the end zone.

[Win a Spencer Rattler-autographed football]

–South Carolina was able to get the young guys a ton of snaps but was disappointed with the penalties on the offensive line. He said you can’t beat yourself and that was a way to do it. Beamer also mentions it was a “disappointing night” on special teams. The Gamecocks missed opportunity in the return game because of penalties and they felt good about the ability to block a punt but didn’t get it done.

Offensive players of the game: Spencer Rattler, Xavier Legette
Defensive player of the game: TJ Sanders
Special teams players of the game (three awards): Tonka Hemingway, Xavier Legette (twice)
Scout team players of the week: Jace Blackshear, Elijah Davis, Ben Rollins, LaNorris Sellers

Injuries: Markee Anderson and JT Geer are probable. Anyone else on the injury report going into the game or coming out of it is questionable. Hopes to get Anderson and Geer back this week.

–Beamer continues to point out how hard Xavier Legette is working in practice. Said he’s reaching top speed in practice at about 22 miles per hour and doing that on special teams. Just working his tail off and it’s showing. Legette is a mature guy.

–Legette made good choices in the return game on kickoff then he’s a gunner and those are two critical positions for them. He’s done an “awesome job” offensively but hasn’t cheated his special teams responsibilities.

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–Beamer, talking about the run game, mentioned the yards per carry wasn’t what they wanted. South Carolina’s reocrd is “pretty dang good” when they rush over 100 yards so they’re proud of that. But Beamer knows the Gamecocks need to be better from a yards-per-carry perspective. Djay Braswell and Mario Anderson did a nice job and Dakereon Joyner continues to get more comfortable. Braswell has some “juice” to him but he’s learning he can’t outrun everyone to the edge like he did in college. They have to continue getter better but Beamer likes what that room can be.

–Asked about finding a role for Sellers, said he earns every opportunity he gets. Have to balance that with bringing him in and taking Rattler out because Rattler’s playing really well. Every game plan week to week is different, and Sellers has an element to him that can be a challenge for teams.

–Jalon Kilgore has proven “he’s a stud.” He’s made a ton of plays at the point of attack through those two games. Judge Collier is their third corner right now behind Dial and Fortune. He’s raw but continues to get better. Vicari Swain got in against Furman, and Zahbari Sandy’s repping more at nickel the last few weeks. Emory Floyd isn’t a true freshman but didn’t play a ton last year. He’s doing well.

–Trovon Baugh and Tree Babalade were really good as true freshmen on the offensive line. Both played with a ton of edge and physicality against older guys. Beamer thought the line was “solid” and protection was good “for the most part.” The Gamecocks have to be better at things that need to be corrected but last night was a “step forward.” Now they need to get guys in place and stay healthy moving forward to solidify the best five.

–For South Carolina starting SEC play, it’s always about them. They know what kind of challenge UGA presents but everyone needs to do everything they can to be at their best and play well and coach well. Let’s focus on those things. Guys will be excited to get down there and go play.

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–Kajuan Banks is the nickel right now if Keenan Nelson and Spaulding can’t go. Banks has some “pop” plays and is a football player. Smaller guy but throws his body around with an edge. Jokes Banks almost knocked himself out in the spring game trying to hit. He knows he’s undersized but makes up for that with the edge he plays with.

–Talking about playing in division, said he loves divisions and part of him wishes it wasn’t going away.

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