Shane Beamer News Conference News & Notes With Video- 8/13/22
The Gamecocks went through their first full scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium. Coach Shane Beamer said afterward he was generally pleased with what he saw. Both sides had their moments, but he pointed out there’s still plenty of work to do and plenty of competition for starting jobs across the board.Beamer said quarterback Spencer Rattler flashed at times and took the team down the field against the number one defense on the opening possession, only to have things stall out in the red zone. Beamer said the offense needed to play better when down in scoring position. He also had praise for quarterback Luke Doty who he said had come a long way from where he was last season.
QBs: Quarterback Spencer Rattler, as expected, worked with the first-team offense during Saturday’s scrimmage. Beamer said he largely liked what he saw from the former Oklahoma quarterback as he worked the first-team unit down the field in short order on his first drive. “Spencer, I thought, was good,” Beamer said. “He made some really good throws. I think sometimes he’s got to get rid of the ball quicker. He knew he wasn’t gonna get hit, but I told him out there (that) there were some times that he would have gotten hit pretty good out there today. So, he’s got to continue to get rid of the ball better.”
Beamer was impressed with the play of last year’s projected starter Luke Doty. The Myrtle Beach High product has spent the bulk of this year behind Rattler, though his head coach noted the improvement in his game from last season to now. Doty was injured during fall camp last year, leading to a lingering foot injury that eventually ended his year. “That kid has really, really taken another step as a quarterback,” Beamer said. “He’s made some big-time throws. He’s been accurate in all of our practices. He made some big-time throws today.”
Running Backs: Juju McDowell who spent Friday’s practice running with the first-team offense during the portion open to reporters and the combination of Lovasea Carroll, Rashad Amos, D.J. Twitty, and Dante Miller split time on Saturday.
Beamer on WR: Beamer continued to sing the praises of the returners in the Gamecocks receiver room. He mentioned both Xavier Legette and Ahmarean Brown among Saturday’s standouts, along with praising the work of Dakereon Joyner. Legette and Brown figure to play bigger roles should injuries to Corey Rucker or Josh Vann linger into the season. Beamer didn’t give specifics on any injuries beyond that they were expected to be short-term issues.
“There’s a lot of talk about some of these new guys that we brought in and rightfully so,” Beamer said. “But I’m excited about the returning guys and the way that they’ve worked and elevated their game this year.”
Beamer on DB: Defensively, South Carolina’s freshman defensive backs earned some attention from their head coach. Beamer mentioned Nick Emmanwori (Irmo) and DQ Smith (Spring Valley), among others, as guys who’ve quickly taken to their roles in the secondary. “I’m excited about those freshman defensive backs,” Beamer said. “We have got some football players in that group.
Punters: Specialists Alex Herrera and William Joyce split punting duties during Saturday’s scrimmage. They’re working in place of incumbent starter Kai Kroeger, who suffered an injury shortly before the first week of camp. Herrera is also battling Mitch Jeter for the starting kicking job.
Injury Report: Several South Carolina players were held out of the Gamecocks’ first scrimmage of the fall on Saturday due to injury. The group included linebacker Sherrod Greene, defensive end Jordan Burch, running backs MarShawn Lloyd and Christian Beal-Smith, and receivers Josh Vann, Corey Rucker and Landon Samson. Beamer said none of the injuries are serious or expected to be long term. Beal-Smith and Lloyd were both absent from practice on Friday during the portion open to reporters. Beamer said they both dealing with “foot/ankle” tweaks. The nature of the other injuries was not revealed.
The Gamecocks will take Sunday off and practice every day next week culminating in another scrimmage next Saturday.
VIDEO FROM USC MEDIA
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