Sunday Takeaways: South Carolina vs. Furman

In many ways, this game was exactly what South Carolina — the football team and the fan base needed — to cleanse the palate after the Week 1 loss to North Carolina.

I believe it was Steve Spurrier who would talk about the boost in morale that a program received in a game from getting all of its players on the field.

With SEC play ahead, there are likely few opportunities any time soon to empty the bench like the Gamecock did last night. And whether it was getting a true freshman valuable first snaps so that the moment isn’t too big when he’s called on later — or getting a third-string walk-on on the field in front of his friends and family — there’s a ton of value that should carry over into practice this week.

In the moment, I was a little bit surprised that Shane Beamer went ahead and made the move to the backups with Carolina up by just 20 midway through the third quarter. But Beamer trusted his backups and perhaps sensed the urgency in getting those guys those valuable reps and it seems to have paid off.

[Win a Spencer Rattler-autographed football]

— My expectations for Spencer Rattler, based on everything GamecockCentral heard throughout the preseason, were absolutely through the roof — but he’s exceeded even those during the first two games of the year.

Rattler’s numbers — 55 of 66 for 698 yards and 3 TD (with a rushing score) — speak for themselves but his play has been even better than those numbers represent.

Of his only two misses on Saturday, one was a spike to stop the clock and the other was a slightly high out route to Juice Wells, where he put the ball where only Wells could make the play, keeping it away from the defender.

Rattler has managed to continue to be aggressive in his decisions while simultaneously keeping the ball out of danger.

He’s easily playing at the highest level of his entire career and the Gamecocks will have a chance in every game as long as 7 keeps playing like he is.

— I thought Dowell Loggains did a fantastic job of balancing several things — the need to get the ball out on the perimeter as an extension of the running game, the need to simultaneously work on the more traditional rushing attack, and the top priority, to lean on the passing game and get the win.

Loggains described the offensive front as being a “work in progress” during his press conference last week and I’d say that’s a fair characterization still.

There was definitely some progress from the offensive line — due to a combination of actual improvement, getting the ball out even quicker, and the opponent. The matchup will, of course, be really tough this weekend at UGA even with the improvement.

I have not rewatched the game yet, but I did like some of the flashes from young offensive linemen Tro Baugh (he seems to have a mean streak to him) and Tree Babalade as well as newcomer running backs Mario Anderson and DJay Braswell.

During the early portion of the year, the Gamecocks’ “running game” is likely going to be highly dependent on using those quick outside throws as an extension of running the ball. But over time, we could see the run game progress. I’m also still on the train that Braswell could emerge in a major way as the year goes on.

— Until the day that the running game does take a big step forward, this offense is going to be based around Rattler and the receivers, where Carolina actually has even more playmaking ability than I thought coming into the season..

I’ve said multiple times that confidence is a heck of a drug and Legette is playing with the utmost confidence — but he also should be credited with working his tail off all offseason to put himself in position to be a bonafide No. 1 receiver at the SEC level.

For both the sake of Ahmarean Brown and the team, you’ve got to hope his injury isn’t going to be one that lingers because he’s playing the best ball of his career. Loggains is getting him in space and Brown is showing he can use his speed as a weapon and make people miss in the open field too. The added strength and muscle seems to be paying off for Brown too in terms of being able to run through people.

Frankly, I had lowered my expectations for Eddie Lewis (compared to what they were when he committed) after not hearing much about him from contacts in the preseason and then his lack of snaps last week. But against Furman, he appeared to be a solid all-around receiver who can get open, make people miss, and just overall make some plays.

Throw in Luke Doty (more on him below), and the freshmen, and Juice Wells, who should get his feet back under him, and this could be a really special receiving corps.

— It’s not all the uncommon for quarterbacks to switch over to receiver but it is fairly uncommon for them to look as comfortable as Luke Doty in doing so.

Based on the first two weeks of the season, Doty playing receiver appears to be far more than just a package or a gimmick. He not only looks natural playing the position but looks like someone who can continue to help this team, and that could have a bright future playing that spot.

When Doty says he wants to do anything he can to help the team, he truly means that, so it’s pretty special to be seeing him get his chance to make a big impact.

— I wanted to get a little bit more into the freshmen and the defense but this has gotten super long, so we’ll save most of that for another piece.

The two defenders who kept grabbing my attention were Debo Williams and Jalon Kilgore. Williams has taken another step or two and may end up leading this team in tackles. Kilgore has looked like a veteran. He’s a sure tackler, around the ball, and there’s probably a big role for him, even when Nick E returns.

These thoughts would not be complete without mentioning LaNorris Sellers. WOW.

The deep ball was one of the most impressive freshman throws I’ve maybe ever seen in that stadium. The backshoulder ball to Nyck Harbor was a fairly advanced throw too that was perfect in terms of timing and touch and accuracy. And for a guy who is supposedly all about size and speed and raw upside, that was a pretty impressive body-control catch from Harbor.

It was also interesting to me that not only did Tyshawn Russell make the grab on the deep ball from Sellers but he also entered the game fairly early, so he could be moving up in the rotation.

Make no mistake, the competition takes a HUGE step forward this week and this one will be tough to win to say the least. But there was a lot to build from on Saturday and I believe it gave fans a glimpse of what the future core of Beamer’s teams will be when you combined this freshman class with what’s on the way in 2024.

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