COLUMBIA – South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer will enter his third SEC Press Days with a lot of excitement around the program potential in 2023.
In 2022, Beamer led the Gamecocks to their winningest season since 2017, the first win over Texas A&M in program history and brought the top ranked recruiting class at No. 16 since 2012. They finished the season with back-to-back losses to No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson, effectively dashing both teams’ hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff.
South Carolina also returns former No. 1 quarterback prospect Spencer Rattler and star wide receiver Antwane Wells, who both opted to forgo the NFL Draft for another season at Columbia. rattlesnake will represent the Gamecocks at SEC Media Days for the first time alongside punter Kai Kroeger and defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway.
Here are three questions Beamer is sure to get in Nashville on Thursday, and why his answers matter:
Are the big wins from last season replicable?
The Gamecocks’ upset of Tennessee last season could have been called a fluke if they hadn’t doubled down with another top-10 upset from Clemson the following week. Something clicked for South Carolina late in the regular season, but the question is whether they can get to that point again, ideally early in the year to avoid losses like Missouri and Florida.
Entering 2023, the Gamecocks have a new offensive coordinator, an inexperienced defense and no clear improvement to last year’s problems with the running game and pass rush. Beamer will have to explain how the Gamecocks plan to build on their success and capitalize on another season with Rattler.
What should we expect from Dowell Loggains’ offense?
Loggains, who had no college play-calling experience, was a controversial offensive coordinator brought in to replace Marcus Satterfield. He spent the past two seasons coaching tight ends in Arkansas after playing various roles in the NFL from 2008-2020. He spent time as offensive coordinator for the 2012-13 Tennessee Titans, 2016-17 Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins in 2018 and the New York Jets from 2019-20.
The Gamecocks were in the early stages of building a new offense during spring practice, but they should now have a better idea of the changes Loggains offers. None of Loggains’ NFL offenses were particularly successful, so it would instill some confidence to hear Beamer’s details about transitioning his new coordinator on the field to the college level.
How will the Gamecocks top ‘Turn My Swag On’?
The South Carolina creative team became the stars of last year’s SEC Media Days after a video of Beamer wearing Pit Viper sunglasses dancing to Soulja Boy’s “Turn My Swag On” went viral. viral. The clip, which surpassed 955,000 views and 149,000 likes on TikTok, raised questions about the Gamecocks’ “youthful” energy and their use of social media as a recruiting and culture-building tool. It also sparked some minor drama with Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, who made a comment about “(dancing) around… (in) stupid sunglasses” which appeared addressed to Beamer.
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The Gamecocks’ efforts to create viral social content haven’t slowed down: A TikTok parody of The Office during spring practice drew nearly 640,000 views, and the video of the team announcing their 2024 SEC Opponents earned more than 331,000.
