Mendenhall wary of Gamecocks' up-tempo offense

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

In Thursday’s Belk Bowl press conference, Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall said he loved the challenge of going up against another defensive minded coach in Will Muschamp.

But, when the two teams take the field Dec. 29, it’ll be the Gamecocks’ offense weighing the most on Mendenhall’s mind.

“What I look to, and I’m more big-picture, I look at scheme and strategy more than I look at personnel. The scheme and strategy brings the personnel to life,” he said. “I’d rather talk about what they do. I love the tempo, I love the stress the offense puts on a defense and I love the schematic design defensively.”

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The Cavaliers (7-5) have already started their bowl practices and preparing for South Carolina’s up-tempo offense in its first season under Bryan McClendon.

Despite not having Deebo Samuel, who will sit out the bowl game to focus on starting his professional career, the Gamecocks still have plenty of weapons they can use in the bowl game.

Muschamp said they plan on using Shi Smith more in Samuel’s role along with incorporating Josh Vann into the receiver rotation more.

Running backs Ty’Son Williams and Rico Dowdle should also be fully recovered from injuries that limited them at the end of the season and be healthy for the bowl game as well.

After starting preparations for the Belk Bowl, Mendenhall was nothing but complimentary or what Muschamp’s been able to do on the offensive side of the ball this year.

“I’ve been really impressed. It takes every second of every day to prepare for an opponent on both sides like this,” Mendenhall said. “I think the coaches do a really nice job.”

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The Gamecocks (7-5) have seen the offense surge under McClendon, who’s finishing up his first season as full-time coordinator.

They’re averaging 32.6 points per game and have scored at least 30 points seven times this season compared to just five times last year and four times the year before that and are sixth in the SEC in total offense, averaging just over 440 yards per game.

Jake Bentley is also second in the SEC in passing yards per game and fourth in pass efficiency as the Gamecocks have developed into an aggressive, downfield passing team, something that wasn’t really seen in Muschamp’s first two years on campus.

Because of that, Muschamp said the Gamecocks have seen the new offense have a positive impact on the recruiting trail with players wanting to hear about or come play in McClendon’s scheme.

“They see the style we play offensively this year which is exciting and that’s helped us on the offensive side of the ball. and our track record defensively speaks for itself. We didn’t have the year we wanted defensively but we’re looking forward to what we have coming back.”

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Since the regular season ended on Dec. 1 the Gamecocks have been out recruiting in preparation for the early signing day Dec. 19.

They’ll reconvene in Columbia Dec. 17 to officially start bowl practice.