South Carolina is emptying the playbook, writing a story with creativity and adjustments
South Carolina is opening up the playbook.
Armed with a roster of players recruited by another staff, plucked for a different system and developed by other coaches, the Gamecocks haven’t been afraid to mix things up through six games this fall.
Trai Jones and Jaheim Bell ran at fullback in Saturday’s loss to Tennessee. M.J. Webb and Devontae Davis got a handful more reps on the defensive line. Offensive linemen Vincent Murphy, Hank Manos and Tyshawn Wannamaker have also shown out in practice of late.
It hasn’t all been pretty, but for a team that’s been marred by inconsistency, South Carolina isn’t going down without trying it all.
“If guys practice well,” head coach Shane Beamer said during his weekly Sunday teleconference, “we want to reward them and give them opportunities to play.
For better or worse, South Carolina — and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield, in particular — haven’t been afraid to throw conventional football wisdom out the door.
The Gamecocks employed a trick pass pitch to Jordan Burch that resulted in an interception in the end zone — that has been heavily maligned over the past 24 hours.
One play before that, receiver Dakereon Joyner lined up at quarterback on a run-pass option. Staring down a slew of Tennessee defenders, he didn’t have enough space to pass to a wide-open Bell and/or Nick Muse in the end zone on a play that would have pulled the Gamecocks within a score of the Volunteers.
South Carolina even ran what looked like a variation of the Statue of Liberty play that won Boise State the 2007 Fiesta Bowl while trailing in the second quarter.
That’s not to mention the 44-yard touchdown pass punter Kai Kroeger threw to receiver Payton Mangrum that kept the Gamecocks just within striking distance before Tennessee slammed the door shut in the fourth quarter.
“I‘m thinking...’Just get him the ball like. Don’t don’t overthrow him. Don’t underthrow him too bad,’ “ Kroeger said postgame. “So luckily I got a good throw off, we protected well, Payton caught it and made a heck of a play out there breaking the tackle and getting into the end zone.”
Beyond the trick plays, South Carolina has made a more conscious effort to adjust to the personnel at hand. Satterfield has moved freshman lightning rod Juju McDowell all over the formation in an effort to get the ball in his hands out in space.
When the run game was held to fewer than 100 yards for three consecutive weeks, the Gamecocks included a pair of reverses to dynamic receiver Josh Vann against Troy in an effort to spark things on the ground.
Not all of it has worked. Some of the decisions have been head scratching, too (the Burch pass comes to mind). But for a roster that has few, if any advantages over the teams its facing in SEC play, why not open things up and rotate in new pieces?
“I‘m usually really hard on myself,” Satterfield said after the Kentucky game. “This last game, which was our worst game ironically enough, I walked out of the thing feeling like I was good with all the decisions I made and the plays that were called. We just have to get everybody on the same page and get the execution level where it needs to be.”
South Carolina has given itself an opportunity to be inventive. It hasn’t been perfect. Far from it, really. That’s why the Gamecocks sit at 3-3 and 0-3 in SEC play a month and a half into the season.
Speaking with reporters Sunday, Beamer alluded to the perception surrounding South Carolina’s 2021 season to date. With six games remaining, he explained, there’s still an opportunity to change the narrative or steal momentum to close out strong.
Coach speak aside, Beamer is right. There is a chance to rewrite the 2021 season. Playing games against No. 20 Florida, No. 21 Texas A&M, Auburn and Clemson means possible upsets are feasible. Handle business against Vanderbilt and Missouri, and South Carolina could even backdoor its way into a bowl game with one other win.
Maybe it happens. Maybe it doesn’t. At least South Carolina seems like it will turn over every playbook page and combination available to it to try and do so.
