As Mario Anderson gains ground at running back, Shane Beamer defends Dakereon Joyner
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer applauded Mario Anderson’s performance and physical running style in the 37-30 win over Mississippi State Saturday night.
Twenty-six carries for 88 yards and a touchdown is his best performance and largest workload of the season.
But Beamer was quick to pivot and acknowledge Dakereon Joyner, a sixth-year senior in his first season at running back, as well. USC named him as the undisputed RB1 during the preseason. Despite a some tough performances (12 carries for 23 yards against North Carolina, five carries for 10 yards against Georgia), the Gamecocks haven’t outright wavered from that stance.
Except for a minor change in this week’s depth chart: Mario Anderson is now listed as the potential starting running back, listed as an or with Joyner for the first time this season.
“Dakereon Joyner has done some really good things as well,” Beamer said. “Dakereon Joyner had a touchdown run the other night where we completely whiffed and didn’t even block the linebacker on the goal line. And he had to lower his shoulder and run though arguably one of, if not the, best linebacker in the SEC.
“... Dakereon has done some really good things as well and will continue to the rest of the year as he gets more and more comfortable at running back.”
On the offensive line’s growth
After an embarrassing (as Nick Gargiulo called it) Week 1 debut but a good game against Mississippi State on Saturday, one reporter asked Beamer Tuesday: Is it time to give the offensive line its flowers?
“They’ve had one good game,” Beamer said. “We’re not ready to hand them the Joe Moore award for the greatest offensive line in college football.
“Have they made some strides, and have they improved? Absolutely. And is there a lot more that they can do better? Absolutely. They’ll be the first to tell you that as well. Whether it be technique things that weren’t clean the other night — I just talked about a goal-line play where we didn’t even block the linebacker. There’s a lot that we need to get better at. We gave up a sack the other night because we didn’t pick up a blitz the right way.
“But have they made progress? Yes. Am I proud of them? Heck yeah. Do I think we’ve even come close to scratching the surface of how efficient they can be up there? No. And they’ve got a big challenge this week as well, like I talked about with Tennessee and how disruptive they are along the defensive line.”
USC injury updates
Wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells will be out this weekend against Tennessee, still dealing with a left foot injury, Beamer said Tuesday. He has yet to play a game at full health this year.
In South Carolina’s 63-38 upset of Tennessee last season, Wells had 177 receiving yards.
Offensive lineman Ni Mansell suffered a season-ending injury in practice Sunday, Beamer said, and had surgery Monday. He joins Markee Anderson (knee) and Ryan Brubaker (knee) as offensive linemen out for the season. In that same position group, Cason Henry has been out since sustaining a lower-body injury Week 1. Freshman walk-on Chase Sweigart is also not practicing, Beamer said.
Receiver Ahmarean Brown (hamstring) was back at practice Tuesday. Offensive lineman Jakai Moore has a “banged up shoulder,” but will be fine for Saturday. Also “fine:” defensive backs David Spaulding and O’Donnell Fortune (knee). Walk-on running back Bradley Dunn will be out this weekend with a sprained ankle.
This story was originally published September 26, 2023 at 3:57 PM.
