Spencer Rattler is back for South Carolina — and Dowell Loggains is a big reason why
Dowell Loggains dipped his way through the crowd along the baseline at Colonial Life Arena, stepping out onto the hardwood at his boss’ request.
Reaching the top of the 3-point line, Loggains smiled and waved his right hand toward the jam-packed student section along the sideline as football coach Shane Beamer sang his praises. Those undergrads packing the lower levels of the arena for Saturday’s men’s basketball game loss to No. 16 Auburn roared.
“Dowell has been amazing,” Beamer told local reporters later. “I know we haven’t played a game yet, but he’s been even better than I thought he would be. I’m not just saying that. He’s a great relationship person. You guys will continue to get to know him, but he does a great job of building relationships with people. He spent a lot of time talking to Spencer (Rattler) and (Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr.) and all of our players and I would say that he was key in those guys coming back.”
Loggains has only been on the job since Dec. 13, a move that was met with ample eye rolls and even more questions. The time since? The former NFL offensive coordinator and, most recently, Arkansas tight ends coach — according to Beamer — helped bring Rattler back for one more year in Columbia.
That deserves plenty of applause.
Rattler, for all intents and purposes, wasn’t supposed to be among those Gamecocks donning gray, team-issued sweatsuits as they were honored on the floor Saturday at halftime. Most prognosticators anticipated the former five-star signal-caller would spend one season in Columbia and be off to the NFL.
That end result felt increasingly likely after Rattler turned in all-world performances against No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson, upset wins that will last long after he inevitably leaves the Palmetto State. But as the regular season grew distant and the loss to then-No. 21 Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl came and went, there was a sentiment Rattler could opt to come back.
“I think it definitely does,” Rattler said when asked if his efforts in the Clemson win affected his future plans. “It’s a big, big thing, but I’m gonna talk to my family and just just pray on it. We’ll see. We’ll see here soon.”
Loggains joked during his introductory press conference Rattler would be “the biggest recruit since my wife.” He noted Rattler looked more “free” during the wins over Tennessee and Clemson in regard to what Rattler brought to the field. The confidence he’d had in spells in 2022 and during a dynamic first year as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback in 2020 shone brightly.
Beamer deferred to his new offensive coordinator and Rattler on what their more recent conversations actually entailed when asked about it on Saturday. Still, helping nab what should be one of the Southeastern Conference’s most talented signal-callers in 2023 given the departures of Bryce Young, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson to the NFL, is a big first step toward improving a unit that ought to be better than ninth in the league in total offense as it was in 2022.
“They spent a lot of time talking, and I think it was Spencer doing his research on Dowell and Dowell talking to Spencer and getting to know each other and talking about the offense,” Beamer said. “But really just getting to know each other on a personal level, because they’re gonna spend, obviously, a ton of time together.”
What the Loggains-Rattler marriage actually looks like remains to be seen. In the interim, Rattler’s return is a public relations win for a program that drew plenty of ire when it hired a man who’d taken his lumps as an NFL offensive coordinator.
Beamer joked, tongue-in-cheek, during his address to the 13,048 fans gathered at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday they better be in Charlotte, “when THE Carolina takes on those guys from Chapel Hill.”
The aforementioned season opener against North Carolina is 223 days away. Loggains, at least in part, helped bring together what should be one of college football’s most intriguing quarterback matchups between Rattler and Tar Heels gunslinger Drake Maye in that one.
If Loggains can coach as well as he’s recruited when the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl opponents meet, he’s going to earn — and deserve — plenty more applause than he received on Saturday.
This story was originally published January 22, 2023 at 6:15 AM.
