South Carolina’s good-vibes offseason is over. What’s next under Shane Beamer?
Shane Beamer slipped into a chair on the elevated stage at Backstreets Grill on Thursday night as a raucous applause littered the room.
Beer was flowing. Food was flying from the kitchen. Garnet and black were part of just about everyone in this room’s wardrobe.
“Let’s go, coach!” a patron perched at the bar yelled.
That the house was packed for the first of Beamer’s weekly radio shows was an almost poetic visual for the vibes surrounding South Carolina’s program of late.
It’s not so far gone that you could count radio show patrons by hand in the final days of the Will Muschamp era. Now? Backstreets was packed Thursday well over an hour before Beamer even slipped in the side door minutes before his 6 p.m. air time.
These are the scenes that come with an upstart 7-6 debut season, capped off by trouncing North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
But as the season opener against a tricky Georgia State team nears, Beamer and his staff are adjusting to an attention — and expectation — that hasn’t exactly centered on Columbia in recent years.
“There’s so much local but also national attention about our program right now, which I’m excited for our players to be able to experience that,” Beamer said at Southeastern Conference Media Days in July. “People want to be a part of what we’re doing.”
Why South Carolina can take a step forward
Quarterback Spencer Rattler set the college football world ablaze with a simple tweet and an affixed graphic.
“Excited for the next chapter! #SpursUp,” he wrote at 9:06 p.m. Dec. 13, announcing his transfer to South Carolina.
Landing a commitment from Rattler was a coup on multiple levels. For one, it offered a prime piece of evidence in Beamer and his staff’s ability to reach into the transfer portal for difference-makers. It also put the Gamecocks squarely in the middle of the national conversation overnight.
More pressing, though, Rattler’s pledge — along with the imports of tight end Austin Stogner (Oklahoma) and receivers Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. (James Madison) and Corey Rucker (Arkansas State) — is a chance to elevate an offense that somehow, someway pieced together seven wins with four different quarterbacks at the helm last fall.
Rattler, for better or worse, will be under the microscope every week. That’s what happens when you’re a former Heisman Trophy candidate and a player once discussed as a possible No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick.
The reality, though, is Rattler doesn’t need to be the Heisman-esque version of himself. Even a variation of somewhere between average and great will go miles in steadying an offense that ranked 13th in scoring, passing and total offense in the SEC last year.
The Gamecocks’ perceived plethora of passing game weapons should help that cause. Last year’s leading receiver Josh Vann is back. Do-it-all tight end Jaheim Bell is as big a breakout candidate as there is in Columbia.
That’s not to mention returning receivers Ahmarean Brown, Xavier Legette and Dakereon Joyner — who all received rave reviews this offseason — on top of adding Stogner, Wells and Rucker.
“These kids have not had the same offensive coaches in consecutive years for like four years,” offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said. “They have the same coaches for two consecutive years. I think it’s only going to help them feel more in balance with what we’re doing on offense.”
Defensive coordinator Clayton White also inherits a loaded unit in his second year calling the shots.
The secondary is mature. Cornerback/nickel Cam Smith projects as a potential first-round pick. Defensive backs Darius Rush, Marcellas Dial Jr., David Spaulding and R.J Roderick each has ample experience.
South Carolina’s defensive line — anchored likely by Alex “Boogie” Huntley and Zacch Pickens — and a pair of seniors at linebacker in Sherrod Greene and Brad Johnson give the Gamecocks the makings of unit that can keep them in ball games.
Combine that with an offense that feels poised for a jump, and it’s not hard to see why the good feelings have flowed in Columbia this offseason.
Why Gamecocks fans should proceed with caution
Right or wrong, Rattler was supplanted at Oklahoma for a reason. His numbers suggest he was better than outside doubters might insist — 140 of 187 for 1,483 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions — but he needs to face SEC defenses in a new system before being anointed the second coming of Steve Taneyhill or Connor Shaw.
South Carolina also brings back its entire offensive line. In theory, returning five starters and keeping continuity up front is a good thing. But USC is trotting out a group that had just one player in 2021 among the top 40 graded linemen in the SEC, per Pro Football Focus.
Satterfield insists that group is hungry to prove doubters wrong. The offense has pieces to leap forward, but it has to be better up front for those skill position additions to matter.
“We’ve got offensive linemen that are willing and ready to work,” center Eric Douglas said. “Doesn’t matter what the play call is. Get it done.”
Defensively, the Gamecocks overachieved last fall. White deserves a ton of credit on that front. But this year, South Carolina has to find an answer against the run more consistently.
USC surrendered more than 180 yards in seven of its 12 games against FBS opponents last fall. That included five games in which it surrendered 230 yards or more.
The Gamecocks have options at defensive tackle, but defensive end remains a bit of a mystery. Jordan Strachan and Jordan Burch should take on featured roles at the end spots, in place of the since-departed Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare and Aaron Sterling. How effective they are with heavier snap counts remains to be seen.
“It’s all about team defense and, obviously, how the game is flowing,” White said of how South Carolina can improve against the run. “But right now we’re working on it every single day and trying to improve. I think the most important thing is we have to understand that it takes all the levels to do those kinds of things.”
Final thoughts: Shane Beamer and USC in Year 2
I suppose I owe the 2021 Gamecocks a mea culpa.
I pegged South Carolina to finish somewhere around 3-9 or 4-8. In my mind, as long as Beamer didn’t go 1-11, he had a shot of still pitching a vision.
I was wrong by about a mile, as Beamer jokingly chided following the win over UNC. But make no mistake, South Carolina caught some breaks.
It took last-second heroics to beat East Carolina and Vanderbilt. A few late defensive stands against a reeling Auburn team helped USC to that victory. Catching Florida just before it fired Dan Mullen didn’t hurt, either.
“I know everybody expects us to just beat the teams that you’re supposed to be beat by certain margin and all,” Beamer said following the Florida win. “Well, they’ve got good players, too. And winning is hard. So I think tonight was a great testament for our kids and how much they love each other how much they love playing for each other and the staff.”
Beamer is right, the better team doesn’t always win. That’s why, to me, South Carolina feels like one of the hardest teams in the country to predict. (For what it’s worth, national betting experts set the over-under for USC in 2022 near six wins.)
If Rattler and the offense click, though, Backstreets might just need to add overflow seating by season’s end.
