South Carolina always knew it was going to have to have a feeling out period once the regular season started of finding out exactly what the Gamecocks’ offensive identity would be.
The season is four games old, a third of the way through, and South Carolina is still trying to figure out exactly what this collection of players can run and run well.
Shane Beamer on his Sunday night teleconference said the Gamecocks have a good idea of where they are on that side of the ball but are still a “work in progress.”
“We have a better idea of where we are but we’re still a work in progress. Luke Doty started his first game of the season last night, his third game ever in his career. Kevin Harris is coming off summer surgery. MarShawn Lloyd is coming off an ACL. I’m not making excuses, but we’re still a work in progress in a lot of ways,” Beamer said.
“Yes we did have a lot of returning pieces and I expected us to be performing better than we are right now. We just have to continue to work.”
The Gamecock offense has scored 18 points against FBS competition this season and currently rank 103 nationally averaging 4.5 yards per play, 59th in yards per pass attempt (7.5) and 116th out of 130 schools averaging 2.6 yards per carry.
It’s been tough sledding since starting SEC play with the Gamecocks averaging just 4.6 yards per play, 6.9 yards per pass attempt and 3.2 yards per carry (adjusted for sack yardage) the last two weeks.
Things came to a head Saturday against Kentucky with the Gamecocks posting season lows in plays, yards per play, yards per pass attempt and yards per carry.
“We have good coaches and we have good players. We just have to execute better. We only ran 51 plays last night. This may not be what people want to hear, but of the 51 plays we called, a lot of them were some really, really, really good calls,” Beamer said.
“We certainly have to put our guys in better situations and be good and smart about what we’re calling and execute. That’s not all on the players at times. It’s on us as coaches: how we’re teaching, what we’re running. You look at what you’re doing each and every week and how to be better.”
Despite the struggles, Beamer is remaining optimistic about what this offense can be, acknowledging there are still guys who can be X-factors in the SEC on the roster.
I see playmakers on offense. I look around the offense last night and we have a lot of guys on offense who are talented football players. Josh Vann, Jalen Brooks and DK have stepped up as receivers. It was good to see EJ catch a ball last night. It was good to see Nick Muse catch the ball over the middle and have an explosive pass. We tried to target Jaheim on what we’re doing with him,” Beamer said.
“Luke’s an athletic quarterback who continues to get better. Our offensive line are veteran guys who I know will continue to lead us as the season goes on. That’s the biggest thing. I see weapons, and now we have to figure out how to get the ball to those guys.”
It starts next week with Troy coming to town for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
"There are a lot of teams a third of the way through the season at 2-2 and these next eight weeks, starting this week against Troy, is going to be very, very critical with how we play the rest of the season,” Beamer said. “I really believe we have a chance to be a good football team if we continue to get better.”
----
• Not a subscriber? Learn more about Gamecock Central here!
• Watch our live show and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Gamecock Central's FREE news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on whatever podcast platform you prefer!
• Follow us on Twitter: @GamecockCentral, @GCChrisClark, @WesMitchellGC, @CollynTaylor.
• Follow Gamecock Central on Instagram @GamecockCentral.
