What South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said during Carolina Calls on Nov. 14

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer and play-by-play announcer Todd Ellis hosted Carolina Calls Thursday night at Backstreets Grill in Columbia. During the show, which aired on 107.5 The Game, Beamer and Ellis previewed South Carolina’s upcoming game the Missouri game and talked about all things Gamecock football.

Here are some notes from the show.

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Segment One

— The team always talks a little bit about the opponent on Tuesday, but at the end of the day, it’s about South Carolina. There are some Gamecock players who have not faced Missouri yet, but there are others who have yet to beat them in recent meetings.

— Missouri is still a really good team. Winning 18 of their last 22 games is tough to do. Defensively, they were really good last year. And even though they’ve had a lot of players get drafted, they’ve brought in good players from the transfer portal. Their offense is also really good, regardless of whoever is at quarterback. The Tigers have the best receiving corps in the SEC in Luther Burden (who could be a top-10 NFL Draft pick) and Theo Wease.

— Injury report: The overall health to the team is good. DeAndre Jules will be available Saturday. Gilber Edmond will still be doubtful. Matthew Fuller is out. Josiah Thompson and DQ Smith were at practice today, so signs of them being available on Saturday are looking good.

— The younger players on the team are doing well, but the SEC season is a grind. They need to take care of their bodies, eat nutritiously, and get plenty of sleep.

— Missouri has a lot of good players around Brady Cook, even though he’s doubtful heading into Saturday’s game.

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Segment Two

— Missouri’s record in one-score games is really good. They’ve been in some games – whether it be Oklahoma last week, Auburn a few weeks ago, or Vanderbilt earlier in the season – that are close in the fourth quarter. And there’s something to be said for that.

— Credit to South Carolina for putting themselves in a position to play meaningful games in November. Saturday is going to be a top-25 matchup between two teams with postseason aspirations. Certainly, Missouri has the team’s attention and respect. The Tigers certainly won’t be lacking in motivation, being double-digit underdogs.

Segment Three

— South Carolina’s wide receiver group has been very good this year. Credit to Mike Furrey for the way he’s been coaching the Gamecocks’ receivers. The whole group has gotten better, which is exactly why he wanted to bring Furrey on staff. Nyck Harbor has definitely got better. Both Vandrevius Jacobs and Gage Larvadain have gotten better, too. Even Tyshawn Russell and other receivers who haven’t gotten much playing time have been working hard. South Carolina hasn’t gotten the chance to have the full group together because of injuries, though. And there’s a lot of excitement about the wide receivers who will soon join the program.

— Furrey has told receivers he’s recruiting that there’s no reason why the best receivers in the nation shouldn’t come to South Carolina. There’s no doubt that the team is attractive to recruits or potential transfers. If you’re a wide receiver or tight end and see what we’re doing with LaNorris Sellers, we’re very intriguing. Great players want to play with great players, and the Gamecocks have a lot of them.

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Segment Four

— It’s a challenge, but the team focuses on this week, and this week only. Players hear the outside talk, and they can’t help it. The media and other fanbases are talking about South Carolina, but they need to handle their business. The Gamecocks only have 12 Saturday games each season, and they need to do what they can to win. All they’re focused on is going 1-0 each season.

— Pass rush schemes change week to week. If you watch South Carolina, there are lots of things they do to pose problems to offensive linemen. Clayton White and the defensive staff do a good job each week of putting together pressure plans. Defensive backs are doing a good job of having the quarterback hold onto the ball long enough for pass rushers to get to them.

Segment Five

— Every player gets a 90-minute lift in each Sunday, which is more of a recovery from the game before. Then, the team does it again on Wednesday evenings. If you’re a younger guy on the team who’s not playing on Saturdays, they lift an additional day each week. Luke Day and his staff do a phenomenal job of making sure players are fit.

— The team finishes practices every day around noon every day, and by 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Luke Day gives the staff a detailed report on how practice went.

— The players around Rocket Sanders are getting better as the season is going along. Sanders is breaking tackles, running hard, and doing well in the passing game. He’s also been doing well in pass protection.

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— The way Torricelli Simpkins plays the game, his temperament, is awesome. He’s got a great spirit about him. The team keeps track of knockdowns, and Simpkins set the single-game team record last weekend against Vanderbilt.

Segment Six

— South Carolina had a play where both Sellers and Robby Ashford were on the field at the same time when they played against LSU. Ashford is a talented player when the ball in his hands, and he makes the team better.

— Regardless of whoever is in at quarterback, Missouri is going to try their best to get the ball to their best receivers. They do more designed quarterback runs with Cook, but this isn’t Drew Pyne‘s first rodeo should be be thrust into a starting role again.

Segment Seven

— Keys to the game: Physicality will be important. If you go back and watch the past three games against Missouri, South Carolina’s been out-rushed and has had a dominant defensive line. Hopefully, with that physicality, the Gamecocks able to limit their run game, which will lead to them leaning more on their pass game. If that’s the case, South Carolina needs to be strong with their tackling.

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