What Shane Beamer said previewing South Carolina's season opener
On Tuesday, head coach Shane Beamer spoke to the local media to preview South Carolina’s season opener. Here’s what he had to say.
— Excited for game week. Ready to get out and play on Saturday. The guys have been nothing but fantastic since January. Going to need the crowd this weekend to show up. Knows they will.
— Great respect for ODU and their program. Familiar with their program growing up in Virginia. They’re in a hot bed for recruiting in that state. They play a unique style on defense that will present challenges in the run game. Offensively, they run a lot like how Tennessee operates. Anticipates some Tennessee flavor to what they do.
— Jakai Moore will be out for a little bit, same with Aaryn Parks. Won’t be a week to week thing.
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— As they got into scrimmage situations, Alex Herrera took a step and separated himself from the rest of the kickers.
— You could realistically see six defensive tackles play on Saturday. Certainly will see a deeper rotation. They want to play their players. They have more depth and want to get those guys in.
— Juju McDowell is a guy they have confidence in. It’s all personnel driven with the RB room and getting guys in. Just because someone isn’t listed on the depth chart, it doesn’t mean they won’t get in. But with Juju, they can do a lot with him. He knows the offense. He brings energy. Hates he got hurt late in the year last season. He’s just a really good football player.
— Torricelli Simpkins III and Kamaar Bell have both brought a toughness and competitive spirit to the offensive line that they want to play with. He like Markee Anderson and Trovon Baugh as well and says they will play a bit.
— Josiah Thompson is really athletic. Being able to go through spring practice was huge. He’s kind of Sellers where he doesn’t say a lot. He’s got great tools, extremely athletic and is a gifted player. Excited for his future here at Carolina. Can’t remember starting a true freshman at tackle right out of the gate.
— Doesn’t ever remember walking off the field this month feeling the team didn’t practice the way they needed to. They’re a really fun group to coach. They don’t waste days.
— It’s hard until you do it with the two-minute warning. Took time over the summer to look back at previous games where the two-minute warning would’ve happened. He thinks about it as a head coach with what he would’ve done if that rule was in place in previous years. They work on it quite a bit in practice. It’ll certainly be different and a great change.
— You always worry about the pressure that comes with starting for the first time in college. This will be the biggest crowd LaNorris Sellers has started in front of. But once the game begins, things will settle in for him.
— Not asking LaNorris to go out there and win the game by himself. Just operate the offense efficiently and don’t turn the ball over. He’s played a lot of football.
— When it came to naming Vershon Lee his top performer of the fall, it came down to consistency. He’s been the glue for the offensive line. He’s been steady and consistent. Lee is a guy that appreciates every day that he gets to be a part of the program. He’s a heck of the player but is also a great leader of the team.
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— Rocket Sanders is not on any kind of pitch count. He’s not limited in any way. He’ll play as many plays as they need him to play.
— There’s more parody than ever in college football. You’ve got a lot of teams in bigger conferences that have lost to teams in the Sun Belt. References South Alabama beating Oklahoma State convincingly last year. The Sun Belt has shown you better be ready to play. ODU has great players. They’ve got an athletic quarterback. They have a defense that can make plays, along with a good special teams unit. It’s a good program.
— College football is a production business. If a player isn’t making plays, they need to get someone else in there. They’re going to anticipate all nine WRs listed on the depth chart playing this weekend.
