What South Carolina's coordinators said previewing Old Dominion
On Wednesday, South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, defensive coordinator Clayton White and special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis met with the media to preview Old Dominion. Here’s what they had to say.
Dowell Loggains
— Timeouts still have a lot of value in CFB, despite there being a two-minute warning now. Most of the time, the team with more timeouts has the advantage. There are strategies that come into play.
— Rocket Sanders is extremely excited to play again. It’s going to be a little bit of remembering how to do this in games again. Loggains said Sanders sees this year as going out there and proving himself. He’s been fired up to see him in action.
— Helmet communication changes the whole strategy of game planning. It can be beneficial if you have a young quarterback that can take a lot of signals in.
— There’s similarities in the way Debo Williams and ODU linebacker Jason Henderson play. He’s not just making tackles, he’s going after the ball. He’s trying to rip the ball out. He’s a heck of a player. This three-safety set creates issues for the run game. ODU plays really hard.
— Have to keep Juju McDowell healthy. It’s evidence based decisions when it comes to how impactful he can be. What you see on tape is normally the truth. He’s done the good work before.
— They have good tight ends on this team. Brady Hunt is smart and dependable. Josh Simon has a different play style while Michael Smith has a chance to be a really good player. He has a lot of belief in these players. They’re all going to play. That’s a group he trusts.
— References he was on the Jets’ staff when Mehki Becton started at LT as a rookie. Remembers it didn’t go too well. With Josiah Thompson, if he starts at LT, they have high expectations for him whenever he plays. It’s the same deal with Tree Babalade. You’ve got to throw them in the fire sometimes.
— If you’re getting calls in slow, you’re not helping your quarterback be successful. You need to get the plays in fast and start thinking about the next one. There will be times when the helmet communication goes out. But there will be backup plans like wrist bands or have some default calls in mind ready to go.
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Clayton White
— Whenever you have a strong family dynamic, there should be no surprises. The coaches have done a good job of informing the players where they stand. It’s going to take all of them to be successful. Interested to see which players are going to finish the football game. Not worried about who starts.
— ODU’s quarterback is an intangible quarterback. He brings energy to that offense. Their offensive line is hungry after giving up so many sacks. It’s not all on the OL, though. They might not have all the power four players but they have talent based on their location.
— ODU is a replica of Tennessee’s offense. Sure they’ve done their homework and they’ll be ready to go.
— Not going to share who wears the green dot yet for the defense. But it should be someone in the middle of the field. It’ll go to the guys in the best locations to relay information to the defense.
— JT Geer has been impressive in the preseason. His availably, attention to detail and taking the meeting room to the field have been his best attributes.
— Helmet communication is a nice advantage to have. When they first did it in the spring, he could tell it was a lot for the players. He talks a ton when he’s out on the field. But he has some type of empathy and lets the players do their thing.
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Joe DeCamillis
— Alex Herrera really had to focus on the clutch part of things. It was a struggle for all the kickers at the start but he eventually came on and earned the spot.
— Juju has done a good job at returning. He’s done a nice job catching punts. He really excelled during that time. He’s got talent with the ball in his hands. Hopes to get some holes for him.
— Nyck Harbor has had to really work to catch the ball well. You don’t just come out there and catch well. He’s had a good camp and hopes to get him going in the next phase.
— With Mason Love, they’ve tried to spoon feed him as a punter and place kicker. He’s been everything they thought he would be. Love is right where needs to be.
— Kai Kroeger has had a great fall camp. He had a good year last year but wants him to be great this year. Kai did everything he could to try and improve. Loves his work ethic and how much of a leader he is.
— ODU plays extremely hard, very aggressive, very smart football. It’s going to be a challenge. For SC, they just want to play really smart and tough football. They’ll be in good shape if they can do that.
