Shane Beamer held his first game-week press conference of the season, Tuesday, as the Gamecocks continue preparations for their season-opener against Old Dominion.
Beamer is excited to see his team perform after what he says has been an outstanding fall camp. But the fourth-year USC coach has also cautioned his team against taking the Monarchs lightly. Two seasons ago, Sun Belt teams wreaked havoc against the establishment as Appalachian State knocked off sixth-ranked Texas A&M, Marshall defeated eighth-ranked Notre Dame and Georgia Southern bested Nebraska. Texas Tech, Purdue, Baylor, Boston College, Arizona State, Oklahoma State and Iowa State were victims of the Group of Five’s pillory last season.
Sinclair Lewis’ early 20-century dystopian novel “It Can’t Happen Here,” served as a cautionary tale to Americans about the rise of fascism abroad. Beamer raised a red flag of warning to his team by having all of the players that had played at a Group of Five school stand during a team meeting. USC’s depth chart is peppered with players that started their careers in the Sun Belt, C-USA and MAC. The message was clear: They’ve got players, too, so “don’t let it happen here.” Beamer said that the COVID season affected recruiting and some quality players weren’t seen and offered by more prominent schools. The result is that the Group of Five landed some diamonds in the rough.
What Old Dominion doesn’t have, however, is a proven game-changer like running back Rocket Sanders, an electrifying top-tier athlete like LaNorris Sellers at quarterback or a proven defensive line that runs six players deep. Sanders averaged 5.6 yards/carry in three seasons at Arkansas and the Gamecocks hope he can breathe life into a running game that has been inconsistent against SEC defenses in recent seasons. Sellers’ mere presence should help open lanes for Sanders as defenses will be forced to respect the quarterback as a big-play rushing threat. The combo will be all the more dangerous if Sellers (South Florence) meshes quickly with receivers Nyck Harbor, Jared Brown, Gage Lavardain, Mazeo Bennett and Dalevon Campbell.
USC fans will get their first look at Sellers, Sanders and Harbor playing together when the Gamecocks and Monarchs kick off from Wiliams-Brice Stadium at 4:15 p.m., Saturday.
Notes from Beamer:
- If RB Rocket Sanders is limited: He’s not on any kind of “pitch count.” He can play as many plays as we need him to play. But, it’s a long season, so we’ll rotate in several backs
- Offensively, ODU will have a lot of Tennessee flavor. They hired two Tennessee assistants in the off-season and they want to utilize tempo. Two years ago, they beat VT and they’re a quality opponent with great personnel
- On OL Vershon Lee: Been the glue on offensive line since last season. Me. Steady, Mr. Consistency. Practices with passion every day. Been a real leader since January
- On QB LaNorris Sellers: Even-keeled, which is a great quality, not just for a QB, but for a leader …. Preparing him for all the situations that will come up. We communicate with him all the time about decision-making
- On new rules: We work on 2-minute drills a lot in practice. One major change is the time on clock you need to kneel and when to use timeouts. The charts changed but we think and talk through it often as a staff
- On what he likes about this #Gamecocks team: Maturity, hunger to work, consistency in effort to improve. Handle their business on and off the field. They don’t waste days
- Anticipates playing a lot of players Saturday, especially along defensive line. It will be hot and they’ll need that depth.
- Alex Herrera is kicker this week. He’s got experience and we’re comfortable with what he brings based on that experience and talent. Our guys know we’ll evaluate every week, but it’s his job this week
- Jakai Moore is out this week. We’ll update as time goes on, but he’s out this week