There typically are not a ton of crucial takeaways that jump out right away on the first watch of a spring game. The deeper dive comes after giving the game film a closer look.

But there were still a handful of noteworthy items that we saw from Saturday night’s action as South Carolina put a cap on its 2022 spring football season with the Black & Garnet Spring Game that the Garnet team won, 20-13, over the Black team.

There wasn’t any more appropriate place to start when previewing the spring game than anticipating the debut of Spencer Rattler, and it’s the same way coming out of the game.

Rattler predictably didn’t do anything phenomenal or flashy during the exhibition, but he looked impressive nonetheless. He finished 8 of 10 for 79 yards with the two incompletions being a throwaway and a flip on a swing route to a running back – a pass that was a tad out in front of the back but still should have been caught.

The Gamecocks’ unofficial starting quarterback showcased his quick-flip release and pop on a few of his throws. His best came on the second series. Following a three-and-out, Rattler came back to drive a 29-yard strike to Xavier Legette. That came off a play action in which Rattler went under center, took his drop steps, stood firm and calm in the pocket and drove the ball over Legette’s defender and giving him room to operate on the sideline for a catch and run.

Rattler finished his three-year career at Oklahoma with a remarkable 70.1 percent completion percentage. He only played three series on Saturday night, but the accuracy that the former five-star displayed at the high school level and with the Sooners is clearly still there.

On the other side of the quarterback coin, Luke Doty was looking good health-wise from what I saw in his first-half action. He had been slowly working his way back from his foot injury, and he appears to be at or near full health.

It’s clear that he still needs to get his feet under him and his breath back. He looked solid, but he had a couple inaccurate throws, including an overthrow on a deep ball in which there was plenty of room downfield to place an accurate pass.

Rattler holds the keys to the car, but ensuring Doty is a game-ready backup is crucial heading into the fall. The reps he got Saturday night were incredibly valuable. Those reps were highlighted by a touchdown pass on a short throw to receiver/tight end Chad Terrell, who caught the ball in the backfield near the line of scrimmage and sprinted his way through the defense and up the sideline for a 31-yard score.

Throughout the spring the coaching staff has been referencing the versatility among its running back crew with each one bringing a little something different to the table.

That was on display at Williams-Brice Stadium as the top-three backs – Marshawn Lloyd, Juju McDowell and Christian Beal-Smith – looked really sharp.

Lloyd was the best of the bunch. And if there was one star during a mostly tame game, it was Lloyd. He flashed his physicality by lowering his shoulder, and he also showcased some elusiveness in the open field. It's impressive for a 5-9, 212-pound back to have that combination.

Lloyd is entering his third season at South Carolina. After an ACL injury knocked out his first season, he got back some of his juice last season, and the time is now for the former five-star. He is the player who emerged from this game that I’m predicting will have a breakout season.

Beal-Smith is right there alongside Lloyd as a Gamecocks breakout candidate. The Wake Forest transfer scored a touchdown on a short-yardage carry near the goal line, using his strength at 5-10, 205 pounds to power into the end zone.

McDowell, meanwhile, looked liked a shifty home-run threat with the potential to be used often in the short passing game at 5-9, 178 pounds. Get him in space on the perimeter against a linebacker, and there are some explosive plays in his future.

Ideally, every college program wants to use a committee of at least two backs, if not three. And South Carolina has three formidable ones to use.

There were only two penalties – a holding call and a pass interference in the end zone – that I tracked throughout the first half of action when the "one's and two's" were on the field. (It wasn't a true one's vs. one's and two's vs. two's scenario with the two teams splitting players up.)

If you don't remember when we spoke with South Carolina Class of 2024 target Zavier Hamilton last week, here's a refresher:

"“One takeaway was that South Carolina does not tolerate laziness,” Hamilton told us of what stood out the most about his trip. “Any time a single player stepped on the field and wasn’t running, everyone was on them. Another takeaway was that they are big in the little things, which is a huge part in winning.

“The little things like picking up after yourself, knowing where you’re supposed to be and being there on time – as well as being behind the line during warmups, running through drills, finishing plays. It is unbelievably important. Little things are normally what make or break games. If you don’t do the little things right, how are you supposed to do the big things right?”

That was fantastic insight at the time from a recruit who is seeing the ins and outs of a program he's heavily considering to be his college team.

On Saturday night, we saw for ourselves in live team action the exact type of thing Hamilton was alluding to. There didn't seem to be much confusion or undisciplined play when the one's and two's were on the field – a notable item for a program trying to build.

Frank Beamer made his mark and his money via special teams. His Beamer Ball philosophy led to his most successful Virginia Tech teams.

Maybe we're seeing a version of that in Columbia.

Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer is clearly putting an emphasis on special teams at South Carolina. At separate times in the first half, the Gamecocks executed special teams drills. One was a regular semi-live punt drill. Everything was set to be live until the returner caught the punt and the play was going to be called dead, but the punt was blocked. The other was a drill that Beamer says they run in practice every day to focus on competition, toughness and working on swiveling hips to quickly turn around and set blocks on punts.

On top of that, Beamer was enthusiastically hoping his squad would be able to work on field-goal attempts. He said during the broadcast that the kicking competition is "neck and neck" between Michael Jeter and Alex Herrera. Jeter converted his lone extra point attempt and went 2-for-2 on field goals, including a 47-yarder, and Herrera made both of his kicks: an extra point and a 40-yard field goal.

You're not going to find many Power 5 college football coaches – especially in the SEC – who are as accessible as Shane Beamer.

Beamer was active on Twitter all day leading up to the game, including tweeting about an hour before kickoff. Almost the entire night, he was giving interviews and updates on the field to the SEC Network crew pre- and post-snap and often during live action.

It's no small thing. As we said above, the little things matter for this program, and putting a spotlight on it any way he can to attract a bigger spotlight for recruits, fans and even potential transfers is another avenue to putting the rebuild on a faster track.