Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer held his weekly press conference, Tuesday, as USC prepares to travel to Missouri and play in an SEC road environment for the first time this season. Beamer declined to share an update on the status of LaNorris Sellers, saying only that he will reveal the availability of his starting quarterback in the SEC-mandated injury report later in the week.
Beamer also fielded a number of questions on the lack of offensive production, “We’re doing a lot of good stuff offensively,” Beamer said, “just need to do it more consistently.” The Gamecocks have posted just five touchdowns through three games and were unable to score in the second half against Vanderbilt after Sellers was sidelined. Beamer was surprised the team performed poorly after what he called a “great week of practice,” and the players and coaches “have to execute better, that’s what i comes down to.”
If South Carolina is to avoid an 0-2 start in conference play, they’ll need to slow down Missouri’s rushing attack. Beamer said the Tigers specialize in the outside zone/stretch concepts and “if you get out of your gap, it’s a 70-yard touchdown. They have their scheme and they do it really, really, really well.”
The Gamecocks will travel to Missouri for a 7 p.m. kickoff, Saturday. The Tigers’ Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium can be a difficult place for visiting teams and USC has lost three straight at “The Zou,” last winning in 2017.
Key comments from Shane Beamer
- When asked for an update on QB LaNorris Sellers, Beamer said, “We have an injury report for SEC games that we release on Wednesday nights.”
- If a QB can’t practice Tuesday and Wednesday, he won’t play Saturday.
- Beamer said he’s not sure where the “conspiracy” is coming from that South Carolina isn’t running LaNorris Sellers. “I hear all this crap about they’re not running the quarterback enough or something. We’re calling the same gosh dang plays as we called last year, guys.” Beamer said Sellers has done well in the pocket, stepping up to make throws, and protection has been better. He added that if they feel the need to run him, he will run, and that goes for any quarterback, not just Sellers.
- DL coach Travian Robertson is making progress. He wasn’t in the building last Thursday but was driven there so he could sit in the parking lot and see his players.
- Got a response from the SEC on the roughing penalties. He said the league viewed each call as legitimate, but noted there’s still an area to improve operationally.