Note: South Carolina Athletics is no longer allowing the media to post the audio from Shane Beamer’s Sunday teleconferences, but his key comments and the full transcript of the conference call are below:
Key comments from Shane Beamer teleconference
- Disappointing night. Great start; offense did its job early. An atrocious third quarter in all three phases, however. Turnovers, critical penalties, field position, coaching. Had a chance to win but didn’t perform consistently enough
- Dylan Stewart and Jacarrius Peak both came through the game great, and we’ll be able to ramp them up this week.
- Gabe Brownlow-Dindy, Jabree Coleman, Gerald Kilgore, and Shawn Murphy didn’t finish the game, but we don’t think any of those guys are “long-term.” We’re getting some more testing on all of them today, and hopefully, we’ll get good reports back. Vicari Swain got banged up on the sideline. He’ll be fine. Maurice Brown got banged up a little bit. He’ll be fine. Carter Miller, I think, will be back
- On DE Dylan Stewart not finishing the game: We went into the game thinking 15-20 plays from a conditioning and health standpoint. He played right around that number. He threw his body around, but his back wasn’t feeling great in the 4th quarter
- On the Gamecocks’ inability to punch it in near the goal line early: Have to perform better. The field shrinks, and we’ve got to be able to make competitive catches and run the ball. I looked at the Alabama game from last year, and we got bogged down there early and had to kick a FG. Have to get sevens and not threes
- On Nitro Tuggle missed handoff near goal line: Bad execution. That’s a play we’ve been running since Spring practice. That’s a staple of our goal-line offense. Timing was off, and that’s disappointing
- On kicker Malik Orsan: He was awesome. He’s steady, consistent. Came in for some pressure situations, knocking down a 50-yarder early in the game and another to extend the game late (51, 52).
- On Gamecocks OL: They did a great job. Darius Gray continues to prove what a special person he is. Started at LT in the first game and has now played on both ends of the line. Inside guys did a nice job. Proud that Jacarrius Peak got 37 snaps out there coming off injury
- Thought LaNorris Sellers did a good job of checking down against the soft coverage but missed out on some shots downfield when they switched up coverages. Have to coach him up to find those opportunities
- One of the early Gamecocks timeouts was due to issues with helmet comm between Sellers and OC Kendal Briles
Full Transcript
Beamer:
Like I said last night, disappointing night. I thought our guys handled the delay really well. Proud of the way we started the game. We had told the players the night before if we won the toss, we were going to take the ball, and we needed to execute and go down the field offensively. And that’s exactly what we did, offensively or defensively, to get a turnover on the first play. Then I think we only played five plays on defense in the entire first quarter. Offense was moving the ball. So it was a great start. I thought we played really, really physical throughout the night. That was a physical football game, and our guys were getting after it physically, which I was really excited to see. I thought the pass protection overall was really good against a good defense. So plenty of positives to find from last night, but just looking at it, just an atrocious third quarter in all three phases: kicking off, punting the football, playing offense, playing defense. Just really disappointing with the third quarter to play like we did, play and coach. The turnovers, the critical penalties last night, the field position that they started drives with, particularly in the third quarter, was, as you know, an uphill climb. But regardless, defensively, they got put in some tough situations in the third quarter, but we got to put the ball down and go, you know, get a stop and put the fire out, if you will, after a set-and-change situation. But we lost to a really good team last night that is going to win a bunch of football games this season with that quarterback they have and the speed they have at receiver and the way they’re able to junk it up and play really, really good defense. They’re going to be a hard team to beat throughout the season. We had an opportunity last night to win the football game and we didn’t perform well consistently enough. And that’s going to be the key for us to get better this week: be more consistent and respond. And we’re well on our way to doing that right now. Had a good team meeting this afternoon, special teams meetings. We’re finishing up lifting and offense and defense meetings, and then we’ll get on the field for practice tonight. And I know our guys are hurt and are disappointed, but I know they’ll respond the right way.
Question:
Hey, Shane, it’s Dave. Last night Lenoris lost his helmet a couple of times in that first quarter. You guys called the timeout to get him back on the field. Was there ever any thinking to just let Cutter take the snap?
Beamer:
Yeah, I’ve got no problem with Cutter out there. The first one was the first third down of the game. And I just felt like first drive, with what we were going to call on 3rd down, didn’t want to go three-and-out. Got total confidence, and I told Cutter that on the sideline that look, I got no issue having you in the game. It was just the first third down of the game. I thought that was worth using a timeout, and that’s what I did. And then a couple of those other timeouts, David, it was more helmet communication. We were having some issues with Kendall being able to communicate with Lenorris in his helmet. And we had some issues with that in the first quarter that we were trying to work out. And that was one of the other timeouts, but certainly got no problem with Cutter coming in there at any time.
Question:
Jack. Shane, you mentioned Lenorris. had a pretty clean pocket most of the night, besides a sack or two here and there. But at least from my vantage point, he just did not look like he seemed comfortable throwing the ball downfield. A lot of check-down passes, it looked like. What is your sense of what you watched on film from the way he performed?
Beamer:
Yeah, I’m guessing from your vantage point too, you saw the coverage they were playing, Jack, and there was some drop 8, and they were playing some soft coverage, and they were going to force us to check it down some. I thought he made good decisions for the most part on where to go with the ball and not forcing things into coverage. Having said that, though, there’s certainly some throws down the field that we liked our matchup on that I’m sure it’s easy to sit here today, and me and you and anybody pick apart: he should have thrown here, he should have thrown there when you’re out there playing quarterback. But the pocket was clean. I don’t think he was uncomfortable. I just think there were some throws for whatever reason that, you know, we had some guys downfield and we got to be able to hit those shots, but give Mississippi State some credit too for mixing up coverages. And that’s what they do a really good job of. They got a ton of defense, and you don’t know what they’re going to be in from one play to the next. And it’s a lot to prepare for. But we’ve certainly got to have him coached up to be decisive on where to go with the ball. And we can’t just let teams play soft coverage and let’s check it down all night either. We’ll take what the defense gives us, but we also got to be able to throw the ball downfield and go make plays. And when we do throw the ball downfield, like we did some last night, we need our receivers to go make plays too.
Question: .
Seemed like you guys did a lot of mixing and matching and working different combinations along the offensive line. How do you feel like that went with a handful of guys working in and out, and specifically with Peak and how he did after looking at the tape?
Beamer:
Yeah, I thought they did a great job, Hale. You know, I’ve talked about it. Coach Clem, he likes to rotate linemen in and out and keep them fresh. And we played a bunch of guys last night. I mean, Darius Gray continues to prove what a special person he is to be able to not only play in his first SEC game, but start at left tackle and then be able to go over to the right side and play right tackle too in the same game was pretty awesome to see. We didn’t have Carter Miller last night, so that hurt. But Nolan and Hank and Kojo on the inside did a nice job. Boo came in and did some good things at the guard position. So I thought all those guys did some really good things. And then, proud of Peak,37 plays, I think, was his rep count last night. And to be able to come in after not even going through spring practice and not playing football since last December, it was pretty awesome to see him come in and do what he did. And our offense in general, certainly there’s a lot of plays that we left out there last night and need to be better, but it was game three in this new system with Coach Briles and what he brought. And when you play a really good opponent, you learn some things about your team in all three phases. And we certainly did last night, and I know we’ll be better going forward.
Question:
I want to ask about the young guy and the kicker, Malik, just from his performance, being able to kick those 50-yard field goals, just what you liked from him and what you saw, and just how he carries himself as a younger guy.
Beamer:
Yeah, that’s he was awesome. That’s one thing I just really like about him is he’s just steady and consistent; there’s not a lot of emotion. I mean, he was excited, obviously, to make those kicks that he made last night, especially the two 50-plus-yarders, but he really didn’t show a whole lot of emotion. He’s the same guy, whether you pass him in the hallway or you see him on the practice field or he’s hitting 50-yarders in an SEC football game. And I think that’s a great quality to have in a kicker. And he did a great job, coming in last night in some pressure situations of a 50-yard field goal early in the game and then a 50-plus-yard field goal to extend the game there in the fourth quarter when we were trying to make a comeback.
Question:
Couple of things for you on that first series. What did you see in that push play, and how often does that work for you guys in practice? Also, did you think that when Lenoris recovered the fumble, he may have gotten in, and then what happened on the next play as well?
Beamer:
That’s a lot. The tush-push play, yeah, I mean, if it hadn’t been successful in practice, we wouldn’t call it in a game. But having said that, it’s hard to really execute that in practice. And that’s whether you’re the South Carolina Gamecocks or the Philadelphia Eagles with Jalen Hurts. I mean, the quarterback isn’t getting tackled in most college football or pro football practices. But what do we like about it? We needed, I think, if I remember correctly, John, it was like 6 inches maybe or a foot that we needed to get, and we thought if we executed it we’d be able to get it in. I thought he did. And you got to help me. I’ve been watching Alabama for the last three hours. What was the next play after that?
Question:
I think it was Nitro and Matt kind of ran into each other.
Beamer:
Bad execution. That’s a play that we’ve been running since spring practice. So it’s not like something new that we’ve put in. That’s a play that we’ve been running since the spring; that is a staple of our goal line offense. And for whatever reason, the timing was off on that play with the motion and the snap and what was supposed to be happening in the backfield, which was disappointing. Practice execution becomes game day reality is a saying in coaching, and we’ve executed that play flawlessly in practice for a while now. And to have that mishap down there on the goal line last night certainly was really disappointing.
Question:
You mentioned the third quarter being atrocious and offensively just got into a lot of third-and-longs. Just what changed late in the second quarter into that third quarter in those third-and-longs where you weren’t able to stay ahead of those chains?
Beamer:
Yeah, you know, penalties hurt us. I mean, you think about that first drive, Alex, we had a poor kickoff return. So then I think we’re on like the 17-yard line maybe. And then we have a perimeter play, and we get a holding penalty called on us out there on the perimeter. So then we get backed up, and the field position part of it was tough. And then we just didn’t execute like we needed to. We turned the ball over and made it harder on ourselves with some of the self-inflicted stuff, whether it be penalties after the play or penalties during the play or a pre-snap penalty, whatever, just not winning football during that time.
Question:
Two quick things for you. First, it’s really hard to see on the TV copy. Was that first interception Lenore threw, was that ball tipped at the line?
Beamer:
Yes.
Question:
Okay, thank you. And second, you mentioned a little bit last night at the presser, but do you have any updates on some of the guys who left last night and their possible availability this week?
Beamer:
Yeah. Dylan and Peak both came through the game great, and we’ll be able to ramp them up more this week. So, like that. And then the guys that didn’t finish the game were Gabe Dendy, Jabree Coleman, Gerald Kilgore, Sean Murphy. Those guys did not finish the game. Vacari (Swain) got banged up on the sideline. He’ll be fine. Mo Brown got banged up a little bit. He’ll be fine. Carter Miller, we think, will be back. And then those guys that I named, Jordan, that didn’t finish the game, we don’t think anybody is long-term. Obviously, if we played today, it would be a challenge for all those guys to go. But we’re getting some more testing done on all of them today. And hopefully we’ll get good reports back after all the testing this week. Or after the testing today, I’m sorry.
Question:
Hey Shane, wanted to ask, after you got a chance to look at the film, what did you see going wrong with that coverage on, I think it was the first touchdown of the third quarter where their guy came across in motion, and it seemed like the corner sort of peeled away, and he got open behind everyone.
Beamer:
Yeah, good job by them, and it was not any kind of elaborate concept. I mean, it’s something that we see a lot, something that we do on offense ourselves, where just the number one, #2, #3 receivers. We ID it. It changed on the snap, and we didn’t play the coverage the right way based on who became #1 and who became #2.
Question:
Shane, Donovan Murph had that big play in the first quarter, hooking up with Lenorris, but that was his only target of the night. Was there any reason for that? I mean, I know you guys have a lot of receivers in this offense and whatnot, but he’s a guy that, when he gets the ball in his hands, obviously has done a lot of good things for you all this season.
Beamer:
I wish we could just drop back Jack and say throw it to Donovan or throw it to Nick. I wish it was that simple. It’s not. It’s based on what the defense does. And would we have liked to have thrown the ball downfield to Donovan more? Yes. Would we have liked to have gotten the ball downfield to DJ Black more? Yes. Would we have liked to have gotten the ball downfield to Nyck Harbor more? Yes. Brady Hunt, Mo Brown, you name it. But a lot of times the defense dictates that. And as I was just saying earlier, a lot of their coverage things last night were soft coverage and forced us to check it down. But certainly we want to be able to get our wide receivers and best players on offense touches, and Donovan is certainly one of them.
Question:
Shane, I know it’s only been a day, but seeing LaNorris oday, if you have, has he said anything, has he looked different to you, said anything different, after last night?
Beamer:
What do you mean, look and say?
Question:
Like after a normal game that you’ve had him for three years, has he had any kind of change in emotion or change in any of his activities today?
Beamer:
No, he’s the same guy, day in, day out. And it’s a great quality. He’s steady and consistent, and he’s also a competitor. And we lost a tough football game last night to a good football team that we had an opportunity to win and needed to play and coach better than what we did. So, you know, the head coach gets the blame when things don’t go well, and rightfully so, the offensive coordinator usually, but especially the quarterback. And that’s just what we sign up for. So, he’s as disappointed as anybody, but I know he’ll go right back to work to be better on Saturday night, and as we all will.
Question:
After looking at the tape, was there a theme in the first-quarter struggles in the red zone last night? You know, even the touchdown needed a fourth-down penalty to get the opportunity to get that touchdown there.
Beamer:
I don’t know if there’s a theme; I mean, we’ve got to perform better. The touchdown was, excuse me, the penalty on the 4th down play was a, should have been an easy throwing catch; it was a little bit of an option route, and quarterback and receiver weren’t necessarily on the same page with how they saw the coverage. So we got to be better in that situation for sure. But when you get down there, it’s tough, John. The field shrinks, and you can’t throw vertical as much. So you’ve got to be able to make competitive catches. You’ve got to be able to run the football, you know, and give their defense some credit. They’re good down there, but you know, we’ve got to be able to do that. I mean, looking at the Alabama game from last year, in the first drive, we get down there and get the 10-yard line, and we get bogged down, and we kick the field goal in the first drive. When you’re playing really good offenses like Mississippi State is and like Alabama is, you’ve got to be able to finish and be better in the red zone. It’s a tough field position, but no excuse. We need to get touchdowns when we’re down there.
Question:
Can you take us through the thought of going for the 4th and 9 there in the first quarter?
Beamer:
Kind of what I just said, Jordan, that we needed touchdowns, and certainly you like to get points and you want to get points, but I just felt like we’ve got some momentum. Let’s see if we can get 7 points out of this. And, you know, if we don’t, then they’ve got to go 90 yards or whatever it is if we don’t get them and we got them backed up, and the crowd will be loud and whatnot. So confidence in the defense, confidence in us being able to score, and then knowing that you’re not going to kick a bunch of field goals against Mississippi State and win the game. I just felt like we needed to, you know, really make a statement and come away with seven.
Question:
With the kick return production last night, it was going to Jaquel; just trying to get somebody else in there to see if they could have a little more production, or were there some missed blocks or missed assignments or anything that led to maybe some of the latter?
Beamer:
There were, I wouldn’t say, missed assignments. There were some missed blocks. That’s a tough play for anybody, but for kickoff returns, tough. It’s a timing, bang, bang play. So there were certainly some things. The first kickoff return, we didn’t block the right side quite like we wanted to. The couple of the other returns, we didn’t play with the right technique that we wanted Hale, but the decision to go with Quel was just to try and get a spark right there. We had talked about it before the game. It wasn’t like some rash decision. Matthew Smiley and I talked about it on Thursday that we’ll give Nick the first couple, but we like the way that Quel has been doing things in practice, and he did it last year for us some. And one thing about him, man, he is downhill full speed and hits it. And I like the spark that he brought, and disappointing because on that, I think the second-to-last one over there on our sideline, we’re probably a block on the backside away from that one probably scoring.
Question:
You guys went into the half leading, and then that locker room conversation. I just want to ask, what was that like to motivate them to get to finish that second half and go into the second half with a little bit more power?
Beamer:
I thought the locker room was great at halftime, and that’s what’s so disappointing about the way we played in the third quarter because the locker room was so good. Nobody was sitting in there high-fiving, thinking it was that we had arrived. We knew we had 30 more minutes. We knew we had to go play really, really well. But I liked the position that we were in because they had played a lot of plays on defense. We hadn’t played a lot of plays on defense. And we felt like we had a depth advantage going into this game and that our depth would take over in the fourth quarter. And then to come out there and play like we did, it’s just really frustrating.
Question:
With Dylan, you mentioned last night that he wasn’t able to finish it, but it wasn’t injury-related. I don’t know what you can share, but some may surmise that if you’re not hurt but you can’t finish the game, that you don’t want to finish the game.
Beamer:
That’s not the case. We went into the game, John, thinking that we would love to get him 15 to 20 plays. That was kind of the number that we had determined going into the game, just from a conditioning standpoint, from a health standpoint; that was really where we were. And if we got out there and felt like he could do a little bit more, he would; we would. He played whatever it was, right around that number and close to between 15 and 20. And so that was the kind of the number that we had going into it. And then certainly, when you’re coming off an injury like he had, that’s wear and tear. He threw his body around. Nobody can question his want to last night because he was throwing his body around. That back wasn’t feeling great in the fourth quarter. And we’ve got a lot of football left, and we had gotten out of him what we wanted to get out of him, particularly early in the game.
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