True freshmen will play ‘at every single position,’ South Carolina’s Shane Beamer says
What does Shane Beamer know about this year’s South Carolina football squad?
That it’s a “hard working group,” eager to show him and the rest of college football last year’s exciting regular-season end wasn’t a fluke, Beamer told the “SEC This Morning” crew Thursday in Nashville. That eight wins is nowhere near the ceiling.
What’s the biggest question mark?
“We’re gonna have to play true freshmen at every single position on our football team. And they’re probably going to be – the majority of them or a lot of them are going to be in the two-deep. And it’s, ‘How quickly can these freshmen come along and develop and mature?’”
Among the players on offense who could see time include Djay Braswell at running back, a position that’s experienced a lot of turnover and in need of depth.
Five-star signee Nyck Harbor almost certainly will play immediately at wide receiver, with LaNorris Sellers an intriguing option at quarterback. Sellers has been lauded for his athletic ability he showed off during the spring game.
On defense, Desmond Umeolzulu (edge) and Grayson Howard (linebacker) enrolled midyear and are in line to begin their college careers in the rotation at their respective positions.
Beamer identified the offensive and defensive lines as pressure points. The talent is there, he said, but the experience is not.
“They’re great players, they’ll be fine,” he said. “The depth isn’t where it needs to be, but that’s been a point of emphasis in recruiting.”
When asked if the transfer portal has instilled a bit of urgency in coaches to get recruits immediate playing time for fear of them leaving, Beamer offered two perspectives. One being, yes, there is somewhat of an urgency — but “you never want to put a guy out before he’s ready.” The other being that athletes come in now more ready than they used to.
“So many of them are graduating high school early, so they’re able to go through spring practice as well,” Beamer said. “It’s not like when I was in college, the freshmen — you didn’t show up till a lot of times in July. ... So those times are different, but it’s definitely a lot of balls in the air that you got to consider about whether or not to play early nowadays.”
South Carolina begins preseason practice Aug. 4.
South Carolina’s scholarship freshmen
- Quarterback: LaNorris Sellers
- Running Back: Djay Braswell
- Wide Receiver: CJ Adams, Elijah Caldwell, Nyck Harbor, Kelton Henderson, Tyshawn Russell
- Tight End: Connor Cox, Reid Mikeska, Kamron Sandlin
- Offensive Line: Markee Anderson, Tree Babalade, Trovon Baugh, Jatavius Shivers
- Defensive Line: Xzavier McLeod
- Edge: Desmond Umeolzulu
- Linebacker: Grayson Howard
- Defensive Back: Judge Collier, Jalon Kilgore, Zahbari Sandy, Vicari Swain
This story was originally published July 20, 2023 at 9:38 AM.
