OC Marcus Satterfield and DC Clayton White give the latest
Sept. 13, 2022/ VIDEOS COURTESY OF USC SPORTS MEDIA OUTLETTwo weeks into the football season and Gamecock offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and defensive coordinator Clayton White have plenty on their plates. Satterfield knows a robust running game is essential to the complete offense he wants to run, but that has not developed. And White lost two starters for the season in last week’s loss to Arkansas in which his defense suffered 21 broken tackles and allowed over 150 rushing yards after contact.
Where the defense stands after an injury plaque Game Saturday vs. Arkansas
On Saturday, Greene will return to the starting lineup for the Gamecocks matchup against No. 1 Georgia. He replaces Mo Kaba, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury last week against Arkansas. Freshman Stone Blanton will back up Greene at linebacker and has gotten strong reviews from the Gamecock coaches and players over the summer.
“It’s the motivation for me, especially the fact that I got hurt a year ago against Georgia,” Greene said Tuesday. “It’s kind of a bit of revenge for me. I definitely have a bit of a chip on my shoulder this week.”
The injuries to Kaba and Strachan are just two that the Gamecocks are dealing with as they host the defending national champions. Coach Shane Beamer said Tuesday that defensive backs Cam Smith, R.J. Roderick, and David Spaulding as well defensive lineman Alex Huntley and receiver Corey Rucker are all questionable. Smith and Spaulding both play the nickel back position in the secondary. If neither of those players can go, White said Wednesday that Marcellas Dial will start in that position.
Dial had three tackles against the Razorbacks. Beamer has preached during the offseason that the Gamecocks are a deeper team than in his first season, and it will be put to the test early on the defensive side of the ball. “We definitely developed depth. We know we are in a league that we could be on your third or fourth guy playing at any time,” White said. “So we are always trying to develop our young guys in our program through our strength program and through practice. Now, those guys are getting more reps at practice, and we are excited to see the depth we have.”
Gamecocks on offense Beamer said the gamecocks won’t shy away from throwing with QB Spencer Rattler
Gamecock fans are clamoring for the Gamecocks to run the ball more. Head coach Shane Beamer, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and the Gamecock running backs themselves have all said the team needs to improve in the ground game. But much like Denver Broncos fans expressed after coach Nathaniel Hackett opted to kick a 64-yard field goal instead of trusting Russell Wilson on Monday night the Gamecocks didn’t acquire a quarterback of Spencer Rattler’s stature to have him sit on the sidelines in big moments.
In Beamer's words: “I’d be an idiot to sit up here and tell you we’re going to run the ball 60 times a game,” Beamer said this week after the Gamecocks lost its SEC opener at No. 16 Arkansas 44-30 on Saturday. “We’ve got an NFL quarterback, NFL receivers and NFL tight ends. Every week we’re trying to do what gives us the best opportunity to be successful.”
As the Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1 SEC) head into their toughest matchup of the young season this Saturday against No. 1 Georgia in Columbia, “balance” is the key word on the offensive side of the ball. Through two games, Gamecocks rushed for just 119 yards on 61 attempts an average of 1.95 yards per carry. That kind of running isn’t going to cut it in the SEC, and even Satterfield said the lack of the ground game was “weighing on his subconscious” during his media availability this week.
But improving the team’s rushing attack doesn’t mean taking the ball out of Rattler’s hands. The third-year quarterback is still going to get his opportunities to sling it. Rattler is the most decorated, high-profile quarterbacks to ever don the garnet and black.
Thus far this season, Rattler has flashed some of the playmaking ability and raw arm talent that made him a freshman star with the Sooners but he’s also made his share of mistakes as he’s adjusted to a new offense. Finishing drives in the end zone and converting on third downs are two areas where the offense as a whole can continue to improve.
Rattler has completed 47 of 76 (61.8%) pass attempts this season for 604 yards. But he’s thrown just two passing touchdowns one in each game to go along with three interceptions. Though Rattler is coming off a 371-yard effort in his Gamecock SEC debut at Arkansas, much of the aerial damage came in the fourth quarter with the Razorbacks still in the lead.
From Satterfield Eyes: “He was captain the last game, he’s got a lot of family ties to Arkansas, and I think he handled it really, really well, It was never too big for him, never too fast for him, never too loud for him. He communicated at an elite level. He delivered the ball on time. “I think he improved from Week 1 to Week 2, and I think based on the practice I just watched that he’s improving from Week 2 to Week 3. So I’m very pleased with where he is and his progress. And he’s continued to just grind away to be the best him.”
Compared to last year’s makeshift quarterback room of Zeb Noland, Jason Brown and Luke Doty, Rattler gives the Gamecocks a quarterback with pedigree and NFL-caliber talent. They’re going to give him every chance to put his skills on display. “I mean, I’m not gonna lie, going into every game, we’re gonna spin that thing and throw down the field,” Satterfield said. “And that’s what we said going into the season. So that’s not going to change. “If it’s there, and you’re gonna give us a certain coverage, we’re not just going to run the ball just to be hard-headed. We’re going to take advantage of it.”
Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said the team averaged five yards per carry on first and second down runs. “We have to do that more, and we have to do it more consistently,” Satterfield said. “I’ve got to give our guys more runs to start a game so they can get going and get a feel for it.”
MarShawn Lloyd on running: Running back MarShawn Lloyd the team’s leading rusher so far made it clear that improvement is necessary on the ground. “We’ve just got to be able to run the ball,” Lloyd said. “This is the SEC. We’ve gotta get more carries. So I just feel like we have to be able to get out there and run the ball more. We can’t be one-dimensional.” Lloyd has totaled 53 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s first two games. He leads the team with 18 carries, as well.
South Carolina has amassed just two yards per carry in 2022, though Beamer attributes that average to some of the short-yardage situations such as third downs or goal-line runs that the team designs plays for.