More news, notes from Birdies with Beamer
Birdies with Beamer is slowly becoming the unofficial start to South Carolina football, and Wednesday assistant coaches met with the media for the first time since spring ball.
A few Gamecocks assistants and coordinators got to update their rooms and more as camp looms next week. Here are a few notes from a few different conversations.
Dowell Loggains
–One really interesting thing Loggains spoke about since he was hired was the hash marks at the college level and how it impacts offense compared to the hashes and offense at the NFL level. The NFL hashes are structured in a way (six-ish yards apart). There’s not really a field side and a boundary (sideline) side like there is in college. That affects how defense gets played at both levels. College defenses have to pay attention to field and boundary whereas NFL teams don’t to the same degree.
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That means offensive coordinators can mess with receiver, route and concept spacing to the wide side of the field more at the college level than what NFL teams can do. He talked about that spacing being why people see more bunch sets to the short side (boundary) of the field.
–Djay Braswell is going to have to have a good camp and the Gamecocks are going to need him to be ready and available once the season starts. He also talked about Markee Anderson and a few of the other offensive linemen in the class as freshmen who will have to either play or be ready to go.
–He first noticed Dakereon Joyner’s running back skill set in bowl practices. Loggains talked about the potential position switch to Shane Beamer on a recruiting trip. Joyner looks like a running back when he’s carrying the ball, has some natural instincts and feel. Loggains called him “smart, tough, dependable” and has done everything that’s been asked of him. Joyner has size and he’s shown good instincts once he’s hit the hole and finding the right seam with the ball.
Clayton White
–The majority of the conversation centered around the linebacker position, but White expressed the need the be more of a “complete” defense. They’ve had moments but need to put together entire games instead of quarter, halves or 45 minutes of a game. He knows the Gamecocks have to fix the run defense, but cautions against solely blaming the defensive front. It’s an entire defensive thing and they have to clean it up at all three levels.
–Speaking about linebackers, White mentioned not wanting to rush a guy like Mo Kaba back from his second ACL injury. The staff wants to make sure Kaba is mentally really, but when he’s ready he’s going to “play early.” He could be limited at the start of camp but will absolutely have a role when ready.
–White is very pleased with South Carolina’s progress building out the linebacker room. After coming in and not knowing what they had, the Gamecocks have Kaba, Stone Blanton, Debo Williams, Bam Scott, Pup Howard and others. He called those guys “GPS linebackers” who can identify things, shoot gaps and clog holes. They have to get better in coverage, but White’s pleased with the progress.
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–Pup Howard is a “grown man who is still 18.” The Gamecocks’ freshman looks the part and White said Howard is “going to play a lot of football for us.” White said in his first conversation with Howard, the linebacker said he wanted to leave Florida and get a different look. White continued to recruit him and ultimately landed him, something that is “good for us,” White said.
Travian Robertson
–One big thing Robertson wants from his unit is to create pressure from the interior. What made the lines he played with at South Carolina so good was the tackles could affect the quarterback and rush the passer. That’s something the Gamecocks need to continue doing, and Robertson mentioned guys like Tonka Hemingway, TJ Sanders and Boogie Huntley. But he said when a team can pressure the quarterback from inside it “takes a lot of pressure off the guys on the edges when you have guys in the middle doing damage.”
–Asked about stopping the run, Robertson said that was something both Georgia State and Tulane struggled with before he arrived. The biggest fix for a struggling run defense is to limit arm tackles, limit arm tackles and “wherever you make contact with the running back he needs to go down.” That starts with learing how to “violently shed blocks” and fill gaps so tackles can body up a running back. Robertson it’s a simple fix if you can do that.
Justin Stepp
–His biggest message to this group now is to do it again this year, primarily with Juice Wells. But having some of the newcomers or younger guys step up will be big. Stepp mentioned guys like Eddie Lewis, Landon Samson, O’Mega Blake as guys they need to have develop. But he’s been very pleased with where they are.
–Xavier Legette had a great offseason entering camp, and Stepp spoke about it here.
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–Elijah Caldwell will probably play “a little bit of both” in terms of outside or in the slot. In Dowell Loggains’ system guys can bounce around to different spots. So it’s imperative to know concepts and not just specific routes.
–Talking about Loggains’ offense, Stepp said it “just flows a little better.” Loggains is very focused on how to teach concepts that players will understand so they retain information. He’s kept most of the passing game terminology the same, which is a big boost for Stepp and the guys in his room.
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