Shane Beamer breaks down spring game planning, format for annual USC scrimmage
South Carolina’s spring game should take a familiar shape Saturday night.
Head coach Shane Beamer told reporters on Tuesday that he expects the annual Garnet & Black Spring Game to have a live-game feel, if possible, when fans head to Williams-Brice Stadium for the annual scrimmage this weekend.
“Format will be just like it was last year,” Beamer said. “We want to try and make it as much like a game as we can.”
South Carolina’s 2022 spring game largely matched up units of similar abilities rather than a true split between two teams, in part, because of a litany of injuries leading up to the game. The first-team offense squared off against the first-team defense and worked on just one half of the field.
Beamer said he’s still debating how to go about dividing teams this year, though it likely won’t be a straight split in which linemen are divided among two teams. Quarterback Spencer Rattler, too, figures to run with a unit that is largely comprised of the first-team offense.
“It’s a science putting together the rosters for the Garnet and Black game,” Beamer joked. “It’s not as simple as it looks.”
This year marks the second consecutive season in which South Carolina will hold its spring game at night. The impetus for that decision, though, wasn’t as complex as folks on the outside might imagine.
Beamer joked that he received text messages from athletic director Ray Tanner and senior deputy athletic director Chance Miller asking if he’d be OK holding the game at night again. He agreed.
“I’m all for it,” Beamer said. “I thought it was great last year. I like it from a recruiting standpoint because you get all day to visit with recruits and things like that. I know our players like being under the lights. Having the fireworks this year will be exciting. Also just kind of making it different.”
The 2022 edition of the annual scrimmage was littered with storylines, including the first time fans got a live look at Rattler. The shift to a later time also brought an announced attendance of 20,671 fans, though Beamer noted after the game that he thought it might’ve been a bit more than that figure indicated.
South Carolina’s attempt to play a full scrimmage — though the exact format is still a bit TBD — is a different a shift from recent years. The 2021 spring game was largely a situational practice given limited roster numbers, while the 2022 edition included special teams drills in between quarters, and no kickoffs.
There have been increased discussions in recent months about creating a more competitive setup for spring games. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze floated the idea Power Five schools could play Group of Five or FCS competition as a way to add intrigue to scrimmages that have become stale.
“The solution is: Allow us to scrimmage somebody on A-Day. Another team,” Freeze said last week. “I think everybody would get out of it exactly what they want. And let’s adopt a charity to give all the proceeds to. ... Let Alabama play Troy and we play UAB or vice versa, I don’t care. People will come see that.”
South Carolina hasn’t played an official contest at Williams-Brice Stadium since upsetting then-No. 5 Tennessee on Nov. 21 in the Gamecocks’ 2022 home finale.
USC is 10-4 at home in Beamer’s two seasons in Columbia, including wins over Florida, Auburn and Tennessee in that span.
How to watch South Carolina spring game
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium — Columbia, SC
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
TV/Streaming: The game is expected to be broadcast on ESPN+ or SEC Network+
This story was originally published April 12, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
