It’s only four practices into spring ball thus far, but the returns on investment have been as profitable as they could have been so far for South Carolina.

That’s been the prevailing feeling from Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer throughout the last two weeks, and he felt Tuesday’s latest session was no different.

Beamer used the word “intense” several times to describe his team’s second padded practice of the spring following the first practice session in pads on Saturday.

“It was even more intense today than Saturday,” Beamer said. “There’s intensity, physicality, our guys have been practicing with great energy all four days.”

Let’s take a look at a few things that we learned following Tuesday’s practice:

Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Marcus Satterfield said last week that he would like to have the starting quarterback spot locked down sooner rather than later. Beamer and Satterfield plan to have QB1 named during the spring heading into the summer.

As of now, it’s pretty clear who the starter is going to be. And even though they have not officially named him as the starting quarterback, it’s Spencer Rattler who has been the clear-cut leader for the Gamecocks. Beamer said Rattler has been “taking all the reps with the 1s” throughout the first four practices.

Luke Doty is still working his way back following surgery to repair a foot fracture and ligament damage. Doty is getting closer to being fully cleared but is not yet at 100 percent.

South Carolina’s seven-man transfer haul this offseason is one of the best transfer groups in college football.

Beamer says that the group has been coming along nicely as they’re starting to get more comfortable and more acquainted with Satterfield’s offensive system and defensive coordinator Clayton White’s schemes.

On offense, Lovasea Carroll was one of the nation’s most highly touted running back recruits in the 2021 class. After spending his freshman season at Georgia as a defensive back, however, Carroll is getting back to his roots in the offensive backfield. He is getting back into a groove at running back and Beamer says “you certainly see the natural talent” out of the former four-star prospect.

Christian Beal-Smith is making a run at earning big snaps at running back, too, and Beamer said that he has brought with him from Wake Forest a “business-like” approach as a “hard, tough, physical runner” and has stood out on special teams with his kick coverage ability.

Antwane “Juice” Wells is bringing a hard hat and lunch pail mentality to practice as well. The James Madison transfer finished his career with the third-most touchdowns and ninth-most career receptions and receiving yards (116 receptions for 1,853 yards) in program history. Teammates have been referring to him as a “dog” for his hard-working persona in practice, which is “very accurate. He loves to play football, loves to compete. He’s made a lot of good plays.”

On defense, Terrell Dawkins came to Columbia out of NC State, where he shined in his freshman season but couldn’t take the next step in his game in his second year following injuries. Dawkins has been gaining comfort in White’s system.

Beamer’s best anecdote of the day came when discussing Central Michigan transfer safety Devonni Reed.

During one play, running back Marshawn Lloyd found a big hole at the line of scrimmage and looked like he was about to haul it all the way to the end zone for a long touchdown. But Reed exploded into the gap and made what would have been a hard-hitting, physical tackle but the Gamecocks are instituting “thud” tackling. But that play was exemplary of the physicality Reed has been showing in defending the run.

Beamer came to Columbia for his first head coaching job and exceeded expectations with a 7-6 record and a bowl game win over North Carolina.

In the same vein as the transfers getting used to the lay of the land and players who are in their second year playing for Beamer, the head coach is also getting more comfortable and is learning from his past successes and failures.

A self-described “meticulous note taker,” Beamer says he was constantly writing things down as he gained firsthand experiences, and he has been able to take a look back at those notes to get a better handle on how to go about his business. That’s been a big boon for Beamer to continue getting his program headed in the right direction.

“Every day something’s gonna happen that you don’t prepare for,” Beamer said. “Coach Spurrier always used to tell me, ‘be flexible.’ Things happen, and you’ve gotta be able to adjust. And I get it. That’s probably the biggest thing is knowing the players in this program better in year two: what makes them tick, their backgrounds, stories, challenges and goals. That helps me be a better coach because I know these guys better from last year. So I know how to connect and reach guys better. They know me better as well.”

– Beamer says that the team has stayed healthy overall thus far. There have been a few “nagging” injuries like some minor hamstring issues, but there have been no long-term injuries sustained.

– Marshawn Lloyd is coming off a torn ACL, and Beamer says he’s gotten into a better flow. The running back “isn’t think about the injury as much” and “seems like he’s on a mission.” Beamer says that Lloyd looks faster and more explosive than he did prior to the injury in addition to flashing improvement in route running and pass catching.

– South Carolina will not be having its first scrimmage of the spring this coming Saturday. The Gamecocks are holding a high school coaches clinic. They want the clinic to be more valuable for those coaches by showing them drills and how they conduct a regular practice rather than a scrimmage. The Gamecocks will hold their first scrimmage Saturday, April 2.

– Brett Favre will headline the group of speakers South Carolina will have at the clinic.