The problems were there through the first two games but with superior talent those cracks didn’t show, especially up front, but things changed on the road in Georgia.
The issues on the offensive line came to a head against the Bulldogs in a 40-13 loss leaving the Gamecocks trying to correct what the coaching staff described as communication issues leading up to the Kentucky game this weekend.
“We have to be better. It starts with us as coaches. We have to coach better. Saturday night was not good in a lot of ways, us included as coaches,” Shane Beamer said. “You saw the video; we had two guys blocking a run and three guys blocking a pass. That can’t happen. That’s not good football, and it starts with us as coaches.”
Also see: An in-depth breakdown of Kentucky offensively
The Gamecocks were bad up front—averaging 2.8 yards per carry and allowing three sacks—against arguably the best defense in the country, but the issues have been around the first two weeks, both wins.
The run game struggled to get going early in games against Eastern Illinois and East Carolina and through three games the Gamecocks are fourth worst in the league in pressure rate (24.7 percent) with a rushing success rate at 36.8 percent with a quarter of their runs getting stuffed.
They’ve also struggled with some false start and holding calls as well, again coming to a head against Georgia.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said some of those communication issues were masked over in the early weeks but the focus now heading into Kentucky is to clean up some of the issues plaguing the offensive line.
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“We’re never going to be reactionary. That’s one of our pet peeves, when coaches lose a game and then they come back and say, ‘We’re starting today doing this and do this different.’ We’re not doing anything really different,” he said.
“We’re cleaning up some stuff but still have our system we believe in and know it’s a great system. We’re holding people accountable in practice. We’re really, really, really making sure the communication is clear and everyone’s on the same page. Through the first two days of practice you can really see a difference.”
South Carolina’s kept the majority of the starters the same the first three weeks with the only change coming last week rotating Jazston Turnetine and Jakai Moore at left tackle.
The rotation at left tackle is still to be made public, and might not be until kickoff Saturday, but Moore is excited about the potential moving forward.
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“Shoot, we’re learning how to adjust with each other and play together,” he said. “I think we have a great combination right now and it’s going to be successful. You’re going to see Saturday.”
The good news for South Carolina is, while Kentucky front four is good, it won’t have to face a defense like Georgia’s again and Saturday’s game is at home and the noise issue won’t be as prominent at home as opposed to on the road in Athens.
But, as the Gamecocks continue to try and inch toward maximizing this team’s success, it starts up front with the offensive line improvement.
“It takes a while to gain the confidence and have the experience to execute what you’re supposed to do,” Satterfield said. “In time, if we do what we’re supposed to do as coaches and continue to develop these guys we’ll be fine.”
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