Shane Beamer Expecting Much of the Same From Georgia's Defense

Despite not having to worry about the eight NFL draft picks from Georgia's defense a year ago, Beamer is expecting much of the same challenge.

Harrison Reno | Sep 13, 2022

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Georgia Bulldogs

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer went viral for his comments last year following his Gamecocks' dismantling at the hand of Georgia. The then first-year head coach delivered the infamous "They've got like 100 five-star football players on their defense..." speech that spread around social media like wildfire.

Fast forward a year later, Georgia has captured its elusive first national title in over four decades and lost a considerable amount of its "100" five-stars from last year's defense.

Yet, through two games, Georgia's defense has shown very little signs of regression on the scoreboard. The Bulldogs' defense has allowed just 3 points in two games; that field goal came against Oregon in the season opener.

A rather youthful and inexperienced defense is now preparing for its first road game of the season, which will also couple as its first conference game. Williams Brice Stadium will undoubtedly be one of the most hostile environments that Georgia will play in all year, even though it is a noon kickoff.

Shane Beamer, a former assistant coach under Smart in the first two seasons of the Georgia head coach's tenure, shares familiarity with the program's inner workings and, after last season, knows what it is like to face a Kirby Smart-coached team.

The Gamecocks scored just 13 points against Georgia's historic defense, amassing 90 yards rushing. Even with eight defensive players from last season's defense off to the NFL, the Gamecocks' head coach is expecting much of the same challenge.

“It’s tough. We can sit here and say we wanna run the ball, well I think Georgia was No. 1 in the nation last year in stopping the run… These guys aren’t going to be easy to run the football on. We gotta work really hard as coaches to come up with a plan to run the ball cause it’s gonna be a long day Saturday if we’re not able to run the ball a little bit against these guys. That’s just a fact. And then also be able to stop the run, because frankly Georgia is watching our tape from that Arkansas game last Saturday and probably feeling really good about being able to get up and hand the ball off to those big running backs that they got over in Athens right now."

- Shane Beamer

Beamer knows it will take a lot to beat the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs, and he will need a big day from his offense and its quarterback Spencer Rattler. Smart spoke on Monday about his concerns with South Carolina's offense, noting Georgia's struggles with the speed of the Gamecocks at receiver, paired with the arm strength of former five-star Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler.

“They have a great receiving corps. They have really good wideouts. Fast wideouts. Guys who struggled with last year, they have -- you know, quarterback's got an elite ability to throw the deep ball. He can throw the ball over 70 yards, stretch the field. And he's an athlete."

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