In his penultimate meeting with the media before the regular season opener against Georgia State on Sept. 3, Shane Beamer discussed the latest progress for his team and fall camp on Tuesday afternoon.
The big news was that sixth-year tight end Chad Terrell tore his ACL in the team’s second scrimmage last Saturday, the third time he has suffered this injury in his collegiate career. Beamer said the program is looking into options on if he can take a medical year and still have one more year of eligibility for 2023, but did confirm he would be out for the entirety of the 2022 season.
“I really, really hate it for that young man,” Beamer said. “We told the team he’ll still continue to have a role on this team. I have so much respect for him, a guy that is in his sixth season in his program I believe, has come back from two ACLs, accepted a position change during spring practice, really excelled in that role for us, and had a good preseason.”
Elsewhere Beamer confirmed the team is good on the injury front everywhere with the exception of two names: starting punter and holder Kai Kroeger, and transfer running back Christian Beal-Smith. The head coach described the duo as “the only two guys who are question marks at this point” but did say he expects to have both of them back in time for Georgia State.
In the event either player is unable to go, it opens up position battles for the Gamecocks. The running back room is still crowded even without Beal-Smith, and a host of players are vying for carries.
“It’s really good,” beamer said about the depth of the running back room. “MarShawn [Lloyd]’s had a great pre-season, JuJu [McDowell] ’s had an unbelievable preseason, Rashad Amos has had a good pre-season, Lovasea [Carroll] has, all those guys have. We love Christian’s maturity and leadership that he brings being an older guy, and he’s done a great job since he’s been out of still being involved. We’d love to have him next Saturday night, but we feel great about that room even if he’s not going.”
In terms of the punter battle, Kroeger’s injury has lingered for nearly a month now dating back to a week before camp opened. While progress is unclear on his recovery, it has given the coaching staff ample opportunities to work out other options at punter.
“[Alex] Herrera, William Joyce and [Mitch] Jeter, they’ve all stepped in and gotten some great work at punter and shown that they can punt at this level,” Beamer said. “They’ve done a great job, they really have. Placekicker-wise, it’s Herrera and Jeter back-and-forth. We try to put those guys in as many pressure situations as we can.”
In terms of the program, Beamer also mentioned that one of the heroes of last season is back in the fold. All-American safety Jaylan Foster is still in the football building, although his exact title is not officially as a coach.
“He’s not necessarily coaching, but he’s involved with us and around the program,” Beamer said. “He is an asset for sure for all the obvious reasons; he’s great with those young defensive backs and all the guys.”
The secondary Foster anchored last season is starting to become a clearer puzzle. Pre-season All-American Cam Smith will almost surely be the starter at nickel, and Beamer clarified Devonni Reed and RJ Roderick as the two players who have been on top of the depth chart at safety.
Depth positions at wide receiver and defensive line are still up for grabs, with South Carolina’s transfer portal additions on both fronts challenging the returning players for targets and snaps respectively.
“That wide receiver group and how that kind of shakes out for sure,” Beamer said is one of the biggest questions still facing the coaching staff. “All those guys are going to play in regards to the guys that we’re talking about consistently at wide receiver, but how exactly does it shake out going into next week? We have depth on the defensive line; how does that top six end up shaking out?”
And although it is further down the depth chart and would require a serious reversal of fortunes for South Carolina at the position, there is one more important battle for the staff to figure out heading into Georgia State away from the starting lineup.
“Between Luke [Doty] and Spencer [Rattler] those guys are our clear-cut top two,” Beamer said about the quarterback room. “ DK [Joyner], he can play quarterback. But is it Colton [Gauthier], is it Tanney Bailey, is it Braden Davis, is it Jalen Daniels? We’re trying to figure out who is going to be that third guy going into the season.”
