Dowell Loggains shares what he evaluates when choosing Gamecocks’ first play
The Gamecocks still have a lot to iron out over the course of the next week before the season starts over, but Dowell Loggains has one big decision to make sooner rather than later.
That would be South Carolina’s first play of the 2023 season, something he weighed in on this week.
“Who says we haven’t picked it?” Loggains said, smiling.
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While Loggains likely hasn’t picked what South Carolina truly will run or the script for the first few drives of the game, he has to decide quickly.
The Gamecocks reconvene and start full-fledged preparations for North Carolina Sunday night and have four practices and a walk-through before things begin in earnest.
And there’s a lot of input Loggains will have from Shane Beamer, Spencer Rattler and the South Carolina offensive staff.
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“We’ll get to that. It happens in a lot of different ways. Spencer, the staff, coach Beamer and everyone will be involved in the first one. The good news is it won’t be the first time I’ve ever done it,” Loggains said. “It won’t be the first time Spencer’s ever run a first play. We have plenty of time. The process is you go through the week and say, ‘Hey, what looks good? What do we feel comfortable with?’”
Loggains has been an offensive coordinator before–albeit at the NFL level–and never called plays for a college program.
So when the Gamecocks go out there Sept. 2 at Bank of America, he’ll be calling a college play for the first time in his career.
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And there will be a lot of things that go into what he might be thinking and why he might call a certain play.
“Do you run the ball to let the offensive line just tee off and get all the nerves out of you? Do you let Spencer get an easy completion? Just so he settles down and gets that completion,” Loggains said.
“It’s going to be a huge crowd and they’re going to be amped up. Do you throw a screen? There are so many different things that go into the discussion of the first play.”
The last two plays–under previous offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield–varied.
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In 2021, Beamer’s first game at South Carolina, ZaQuandre White started the game with a one-yard rush. The Gamecocks went three-and-out to start.
In 2022, Rattler connected with MarShawn Lloyd for a 15-yard gain for a first down on a drive that ultimately that stalled out and ended with a punt.
South Carolina returns from an off day Saturday with a Sunday night practice followed by another off day Monday. The Gamecocks practice Tuesday through Thursday while walking through Friday.
Kickoff will be in a week against North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
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