South Carolina Football 2023 Season Preview and Expectations

Intro the South Carolina Gamecocks took a step forward as a football program last year going eight and five improving upon six and six can they keep it going in 2023 Southeastern 14 is here to talk about 2023 expectations for the South Carolina Gamecocks hello everyone I'm Blaine Gilmer welcome to Southeastern 14 here at Southeastern 14 we cover all things SEC whether it's SEC basketball SEC baseball Chris Lee Blake love will do a great job with that and I am here even during the off season covering SEC football we've done Alabama quarterback battle videos just a little while ago we're doing best case worst case scenario for teams but specifically for the South Carolina Gamecocks I just wanted to talk about the expectations of that program and what should be expected there in Colombia in 2023 because now in the Shane Beamer area you were entering into year three and that is the year where it is expected to to see the most movement they go from seven and six year one winning the Duke's Mayo Bowl uh there with you know really no real quarterback all that kind of stuff it was a great story then in comes Spencer Rattler for year two and they they have some ups and downs things like that a great end to the season in terms of the the regular season with what they did with Tennessee and what they did against Clemson then uh then a you know tough bowl game like I said listen bowl games nowadays with opt-outs and things like that there's there's always you know built-in excuses and things to go go by there but we have to talk about Shane Beamer himself as as a football coach okay I Shane Beamer think Shane Beamer and I want to preface this by saying has brought a lot of energy uh a lot of excitement to the South Carolina program I think he brings a lot of Pride with him to that program in terms of you know he was there during the the Heyday of the the Spurrier era and and and you know when when Connor Shaw was there you know doing things for that program and it was kind of at its high water mark so to speak Jadeveon Clowney all that kind of stuff okay but now what you have is Shane Beamer having to put his own stamp on this thing and I think he's done that with the energy that he's brought he's done that with how he's been creative on social media all this kind of stuff all that is great it's it's resulted in some some really big pickups and recruiting you know cam Pringle number one offensive tackle Nichols Harbor number one athlete in the country in this past class so there are so there's some Talent influx coming in there's also some Talent being shipped out of there uh with jaheem bell uh Marshawn Lloyd having transferred out and that's just the nature of the the transfer portal and then the nil and all the stuff that goes on now so I'm not I'm not casting aspersions or making blame one way or another there you know Jordan Burch is out a bunch of guys that they have to have to replace even Austin stogner headed back to Oklahoma after coming for one year but in terms of roster management everything seems to be pretty good on that front in terms of being able to to bring in things and and bring in replacements but what I need to see out of Shane Boomer is he's first of all by all accounts a great husband and father he's a great guy when it comes to interactions with his players showing his players that he cares all the stuff that is you know in talk in terms of being a good man and a a good players coach Shane Beamer's got it I think what Shane Beamer and South Carolina have to decide is what are our expectations what are we trying to say the standard is because if if the standard is being the best in the SEC if the standard is being a year in year out gotta go compete for a college football playoff well that means you have to get on Georgia's level that means you have to get on Alabama and LSU's level and at times I think Shane Beamer's roller coaster of emotions does not lend itself to that because Nick Saban Kirby Smart Brian Kelly they're not worried about every single little media report that conflicts something that's going on in their program or that calling out people on Twitter that they say you know I normally don't respond to JV second rate radio programs well then don't respond to it Shane okay because all that does is show that you are caught up giving your attention elsewhere instead of your attention being either on your family or on that college football program because those are the two things that that matter the most when you're the head coach you got to take care of things at home you got to take things of things in that building and the opinions of anybody outside of that building my opinion anybody else in the media's opinion of you and what you're doing should not matter enough to you for you to take the time to respond to it on Twitter I could not even imagine Kirby Smart or Nick Saban doing that now will they respond to stuff in roundabout ways you know in their kind of Jedi mind trick type ways that they do stuff in in press conferences and things absolutely absolutely but also the demeanor at times okay the demeanor at times in press conferences after if if they lose a game or something like that just acting like a petulant child at times in your demeanor your team sees that okay and chain Beamer is too good of a guy and too good of a high energy guy man look at the smile okay you don't have to be happy when you lose absolutely not your competitor okay but I think that South Carolina and it starts at the top needs to start carrying itself like hey the expectation is being the best if they want to be the best and I think Shane Beamer has that in him because he's seen his dad uh do it for you know decades at Virginia Tech just a just a true you know staple of okay one foot in front of the other Blue Collar work hard and I think uh the South Carolina's program certainly has that in him and I hope Shane will uh you know in year three continue to mature as a head coach for South Carolina and not worry as much about the outside noise Dell Loggins Dell Loggins comes in as offensive coordinator this is a lot largely in part one one thing that Shane has been upset about with the media okay don't feel like you have to defend out logins okay because if download logins is the guy then that's the guy and you don't have to worry about it who cares if people are reporting that you know you missed out on Garrett Riley or something like that even if it's not true okay logins the facts are the facts he's been a NFL offensive coordinator he's been in the NFL for 13 years at different points different stops okay from 2017 to 2020 dial Logans was a NFL offensive coordinator and every team every offense that he coordinated in those years finished 30th or Worse out of 32 teams in total yardage it is what it is people are going to point that out okay does not mean he's not going to be a good offensive coordinator at South Carolina in fact you could argue that he's going to take those experiences from the NFL how hard it is to win on Sundays how hard it is to scheme up uh you know winning Concepts on Sundays and bring things and adapt to the college game listen he's been around Sam Pittman uh at Arkansas he was the tight end Coach at Arkansas and being around a guy like a Sam Pittman who is going to not necessarily be and X's and O's Guru but a guy that is going to be be loose and give guys freedom to be able to go out there and kind of have fun with offense be imagine if look what Kendall bryles did before heading out to TCU okay so Dow Loggins was exposed to that to the Kindle browse offense things of that nature so I'm sure that there's going to be things different and it's never a bad thing to have that NFL experience in my my opinion but I don't think we have to act like okay everybody at South Carolina or fans or whatever have to be excited about the dialogue entire doesn't mean that he's going to be good or bad coming in based off fan expectations or excitement no but I think that Shane Beamer and Company in South Carolina need to understand that's what that's a good thing if the fans are are wanting to you know see a certain level of hire and things like that and I think that Shane Beamer truly does believe that now Loggins is going to have success there and he's going to be able to to help Spencer Rattler this year and try to take things to the next level so we'll see how now logins and Company do in year one under his reign as offensive coordinator of course Clayton white returns as the defensive coordinator listen they're they're only returning for starters they've got a lot of pieces to fix um it was kind of up and down for South Carolina defensively as well as times they kind of put it together there late um get enough to to stifle that Tennessee offense and that blowout win they had there of course they frustrated Clemson as well uh didn't play quite as well in the bowl game against Notre Dame even though they they ended up having two uh two scores uh defensively there so you can ever complain about that when the defense is punching the ball in the end zone there so I think uh that that you know things are going to be fine on the defensive side of the ball we're going to talk about some of those some Spencer Rattler of those Replacements here in a minute Spencer Rattler largely is going to be how this season is dictated how it how the success of this season goes he has to be more consistent and well consistency is the key word for South Carolina in 2023 we we've seen Spencer rather play out of his mind at times we know he's he's one of the most talented guys in the country in terms of when he's on and when he's when he gets hot he's able to string together some some accurate throws be able to push the ball down the field navigate the pocket in both inside and outside of it I think that Spencer Rattler has all the tools to move forward and just be a tremendous uh tremendous leader for South Carolina he's got to do it on a consistent basis because listen Marshawn Lloyd gone like I said this this running running back room is largely unproven uh but you know it so it's going to be incumbent upon Spencer Rattler to kind of get things going him and dialogue into work closely uh to make sure that they are efficient and avoid turnovers things of the nature like that I think him coming back was huge for South Carolina gives some continuity there uh even though they're they're changing coordinators you know I'm sure I'm sure not all the terminals and Shane Beamer has said not all the terminology is going to change there's going to be some things new there's going to be a lot of stuff kept in from the previous year that they had success with so uh look for Spencer Rattler in year two at South Carolina to to show even more growth and this is this is a big year for him this is the year where he's gonna put it all out there and show that he can you know play efficient take care of the football and be productive uh as well so that he can raise his stock going to the NFL after this season if your Spencer Rattler look Juice Wells no further then juice Wells right here juice Wells is the leading receiver he's the leading playmaker for South Carolina returning he's a guy who listen he should be one of the top receivers in the SEC this year he's electrifying and a guy that South Carolina is really going to have to find ways to creatively get the football all right I think that uh he can be that guy that you know flips a game on his head on its head totally because he's got that that big playability uh and I think when you're talking about the continuity there you've got you know Spencer Rattler with his most explosive guy coming back in Juice Wells so I think that's something to be excited about for that offense it's going to be incumbent upon now Logan's Hey listen you wanna you wanna make people think you're you're good at your job that it was a you know proved Shane Beamer ride on the higher get juice Wells the ball he'll make you he'll make you look right for sure Juju McDowell hey running back I mentioned Marshawn Lloyd is gone listen Gigi McDowell is the best option that South Carolina has right now they have a transfer coming in from D2 yes division two Newberry College Mario Anderson uh put up all kinds of numbers down there at the the D2 level but it's a it's a step up going from D2 to SEC so we'll see how fast he picks up he picks up the pace is able to adjust two things there Mario Anderson they have dontavious Braswell who was recruited by a ton of other SEC schools you know Alabama Auburn Georgia so I think that Braswell coming in will end up being honestly a Marshawn Lloyd type-back I think he's going to be really really explosive a guy that can run in between the tackles and out on the perimeter but I think using Juju McDowell in creative ways if you are now logins like I said get the ball to to juice Wells also get the ball to GG McDowell often and hopefully that young man's able to uh you know stay healthy and and just be the explosive player electrifying player that he is for South Carolina and if so that that could be a big big deal for the Gamecocks is I think McDowell brings a lot to the table and McDowell will be running behind the offensive line that is going to be returning three starters from last year Jalen Nichols jakai Moore and Vashawn Lee all coming back they have transfers coming in in Sydney fugar from Western Illinois Nick Gargiulo from Yale uh that could end up being started so listen I'm not saying that you're you're overly excited about guys coming in from you know the smaller ranks that they've they've they've got a lot of guys trying to level up right I said Mario Anderson coming from Newberry division two up to South Carolina they got guys coming in uh from Western Illinois and Yale here on the offensive line you know gargiulo's looking to replace Eric Douglas at Center who knows how that is all going to pan out but they they've got some new blood some new pieces coming in they have to protect better they give up 20 sacks in SEC play last year and they also need to you know be able to uh to to wash some people up front give Juju McDowell some time uh and some some space to operate in because it doesn't take much you can just get get a good double team and you know get a seal here a seal there as Vince Lombardi used to say just a little crack just a little crack for Juju McDowell and I think South Carolina could be very productive listen they they they showed explosivity last year with under Matt Satterfield in the latter part of that season of course she's headed on to Nebraska but if this offensive line with another year under their belt out with three starters returning you know if they can if they can be more cohesive more productive then I think Juju McDowell and Company will have a lot of success in Spencer Rattler will have success because he'll feel comfortable back there in the pocket so Pastor Texas you gotta pick up and uh I think they'll be fine running the Defense football and those terms defensive line okay up front the defensive tackles are where they have most of the experience coming back you see big Tonka Hemingway here um they also have Alex Huntley coming back on the defensive front but they lost a lot out on the edges okay whether it was Jordan Birch who transferred away to Oregon whether it's Gilbert Edmond who transferred to Florida State Zach Pickens goes to the NFL all of these guys are gone okay so when it comes down to it can Jordan strong come back healthy enough uh right now probably not you know doing as much in in Spring practice things of that nature but having him back for his leadership would be huge they've got some some guys who are some some freshman contributors that could be there right off the bat heck there's even talks about taking Nichols Harbor who's going to be a receiver tied in and on third Downs being able to flip him over and let him be in an edge rusher defensively because the guy is a freak athlete so they only got 20 sacks last year they gave up 26 offense so I only got 20 uh defensively they would want to get more as a as a team I mean heck look you know the most explosive defensive players in the SEC you know guys like uh you know a couple years ago for Georgia Robert Bill had 10 and a half sacks alone when uh Alabama's Will Anderson had 17 and half sacks a season ago before before this past season so that Sac number of 20 is not high and they need to make sure that they're generating a pass rush but you got a big guy like Tonka Hemingway and like I said Alex Huntley in there stopping the Run should be should be pretty good for South John they should be able to to hold up there can South Carolina get more pass rush for the defensive front that's a question there Jeron Willis comes in at inside linebacker you know bringing a lot of depth there with guys like Debo Williams Stone Blanton um you know pup Howard is a freshman coming in so I think they'll be okay at linebacker even though they're replacing Brad Johnson and Sherrod green so Secondary defensive back wise they lose cam Smith and Darius rush out on the edges who becomes the this starting Corners over there guys like O'Donnell Fortune Marcellus dial are all in line trying to compete for their jobs but the leader of that secondary coming back uh Nick game and worry at safety he really really was impressive um kind of bursting onto the scene last year and I think he's going to be a guy that South Carolina looks to kind of rally that defense okay in terms of expectations and the the season here Expectations these are games right here that if you are what you think you are to quote Dennis Green they are who we thought they were okay if South Carolina is that team and if they are going to take this next step these are games that you must win no if engine buts South Carolina must go 4-0 to take that next step okay to be able to look to get double digit wins to be able to look to be that team that that tries to push Georgia in the SEC East okay you have to win all of these games one North Carolina game just because hey that's a that's a you know cross state rivalry it's the battle of the Carolinas there got to take care of that they did so in the Duke's Mayo Bowl you know a couple a couple seasons ago was Shane Beamer listen that's partly what I blame some of the emotional stuff on with Shane Bieber they gave that man CTE trying to hit him in the head with that Duke's Mayo uh you know that that cooler full of Deuce Mayo just absolutely domed him on the back there so uh that that was I was interested in there with a couple years ago but they got beat North Carolina Florida is down Vanderbilt is Vanderbilt and Mississippi state is going through a time of transition if South Carolina is that program that's going to look to the next step they have to go 4-0 in those games Away Games here are the games that are away games that are going to be very tough at Georgia at Tennessee at Missouri at a m it is never easy to win on the road in the SEC period I don't care where you're going I don't care who you're playing winning on the road in the SEC is what separates the good teams or the mid-tier teams from the great teams and can South Carolina find a way to win at worst two of these games can they find a way to win three I doubt they're going to win all four of them especially that Georgia game Georgia is absolutely loaded once again but it's always listen South Carolina always seems to come into Athens and play play Georgia tough so you got to give them credit for that but going to Knoxville is a crazy atmosphere that game the battle of the Columbia is over there Missouri it's a weird atmosphere every time that you go to Columbia Missouri it's a tough deal okay when you're when you're going over there sometimes you get the the 11 A.M kickoff this would be October 21st game uh and it could be like I said early kick could affect things there the the kind of juice just your routine on the road but I think that these games are going to make or break these Road games right here a m is looking to bounce back big as well and this is kind of the last year of that that crossover rivalry if you will between a M and South Carolina so last trip to College Station I think that South Carolina's got to really take Full Schedule advantage of that if they want to take the next step so kind of looking at the full schedule here listen they've got Jacksonville State there late in the year they have a home game with Kentucky that's going to be tough and they have a home game with Clemson can they finish strong in those two games like I said those four games that I showed you early with uh North Carolina uh and then of course they got home games later on against Mississippi State against Florida and against Vanderbilt those are the games I think I think they will go 4-0 in those games the road games that I showed you of Georgia Tennessee Missouri Texas A M I think they split those probably go two and two okay so that gives you two two losses on the year and then you've got a Furman game that's going to be a win so that would that would give you five wins Jacksonville State six wins and then you're talking about Kentucky and Clemson if you could win those games so I'm think I'm thinking you're looking expectation wise if you can win nine games make that jump okay make that jump from eight and five to nine and three regular season have a chance to get a 10 win year in a in the year three for Shane Beamer I think the expectations have to be we're going to compete with Georgia okay we are going to win some of these Road games that we should win no no taking a dip no taking a step back win the games against the teams that you are better than in terms of I think South Carolina is better than Florida I think South Carolina is better than Vanderbilt I mean South Carolina of course is better than then North Carolina and Mississippi State if they are in fact do that then I think Shane Beamer and Company can take that next step it's just all about consistency now and it's about managing the the emotions and keeping the main thing the main thing focusing in on how everything is supposed to go so I believe that South Carolina can take a step forward this year but the expectation should be you know get to that 910 win mark and then with the recruiting class that Shane Beamer has come brought in here lately then you go to try to compete with with Georgia and Company in 2024 but that should be the standard that should be the standard trying to compete in the SEC East every year so those are expectations that I think should be set for South Carolina in 2023 for Southeastern 14. I am Blaine Gilmer hope you will like subscribe turn on notifications and catch all of our SEC content here as we are talking SEC football basketball baseball all the time here on southeastern 14. thank you so much for tuning in we'll catch you next time foreign [Music]