Coach Beamer breaks down new-look running backroom
Feb. 18, 2022
The running back position was a revolving door for Shane Beamer and the South Carolina football team last season, with Kevin Harris, ZaQuandre White, Juju McDowell, and MarShawn Lloyd each earning carries at various points of the season. Expect a similar approach in Year 2 under Beamer.
Even with Harris and White declaring for the NFL Draft, the Gamecocks backfield is restocked and flush with options. And that’s exactly how Beamer wants it to be. “Running back wise, you can never have enough of them,” Beamer said during Wednesday’s National Signing Day. “Because that is a physical position, especially in this league. ... Playing running back, you need different skill sets. Some guys maybe a little bit better that you trust more in pass protection, some guys a little bit better in the passing game.”
The Gamecocks will lose 1,243 rushing yards between White and Harris, but they’ll return both McDowell and Lloyd as well as redshirt freshman Rashad Amos, who didn’t record a carry last year. Joining them will be Wake Forest transfer Christian Beal-Smith, who led the Demon Deacons in rushing each of the past two seasons, and Georgia transfer Lovasea Carroll, who is converting from defensive back to tailback. In addition to those five scholarship backs, the Gamecocks added Columbia transfer Dante Miller, who led the Ivy League in rushing last season.
McDowell, a rising sophomore, is the team’s top returning rusher with 248 rushing yards on 52 attempts, and he was used in a variety of ways his freshman season, from lining up at slot receiver and in the Wildcat to running jet sweeps. Lloyd lined up primarily in the backfield, rushing for 228 yards on 64 attempts.
While both backs flashed in their first collegiate seasons, Beal-Smith adds a layer of experience that the room is missing. “Obviously, the success that Wake Forest had last season speaks for itself and the fact that he was a regular contributor and a key contributor at running back for them,” Beamer said. “I know they’re really gonna miss him because of the impact he made on special teams.
So I think Christian’s a mature older guy that wanted to give himself an opportunity to play somewhere else this upcoming season that’s got a lot of experience and brings experience to that room.” The Georgia transfer, Carroll, is more of an unknown commodity after playing at defensive back for Georgia last season. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, he has the right frame for a running back, and he starred at the position at IMG Academy in Florida prior to college.
The previous coaching staff recruited Carroll out of high school, and Beamer said those connections were important while recruiting him. “I know he loved this place and still has a lot of ties here in Columbia,” Beamer said. ”... He’s got great speed, and you watch his high school tape and it’s impressive, just the speed and explosion that he puts on tape.”
Feb. 18, 2022
The running back position was a revolving door for Shane Beamer and the South Carolina football team last season, with Kevin Harris, ZaQuandre White, Juju McDowell, and MarShawn Lloyd each earning carries at various points of the season. Expect a similar approach in Year 2 under Beamer.
Even with Harris and White declaring for the NFL Draft, the Gamecocks backfield is restocked and flush with options. And that’s exactly how Beamer wants it to be. “Running back wise, you can never have enough of them,” Beamer said during Wednesday’s National Signing Day. “Because that is a physical position, especially in this league. ... Playing running back, you need different skill sets. Some guys maybe a little bit better that you trust more in pass protection, some guys a little bit better in the passing game.”
The Gamecocks will lose 1,243 rushing yards between White and Harris, but they’ll return both McDowell and Lloyd as well as redshirt freshman Rashad Amos, who didn’t record a carry last year. Joining them will be Wake Forest transfer Christian Beal-Smith, who led the Demon Deacons in rushing each of the past two seasons, and Georgia transfer Lovasea Carroll, who is converting from defensive back to tailback. In addition to those five scholarship backs, the Gamecocks added Columbia transfer Dante Miller, who led the Ivy League in rushing last season.
While both backs flashed in their first collegiate seasons, Beal-Smith adds a layer of experience that the room is missing. “Obviously, the success that Wake Forest had last season speaks for itself and the fact that he was a regular contributor and a key contributor at running back for them,” Beamer said. “I know they’re really gonna miss him because of the impact he made on special teams.
So I think Christian’s a mature older guy that wanted to give himself an opportunity to play somewhere else this upcoming season that’s got a lot of experience and brings experience to that room.” The Georgia transfer, Carroll, is more of an unknown commodity after playing at defensive back for Georgia last season. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, he has the right frame for a running back, and he starred at the position at IMG Academy in Florida prior to college.
The previous coaching staff recruited Carroll out of high school, and Beamer said those connections were important while recruiting him. “I know he loved this place and still has a lot of ties here in Columbia,” Beamer said. ”... He’s got great speed, and you watch his high school tape and it’s impressive, just the speed and explosion that he puts on tape.”
