Dowell Loggains Talks Continued Growth Of Mario Anderson Jr.

Running back Mario Anderson Jr. has seen tremendous overall growth in South Carolina's Football program, which his offensive coordinator discussed on Wednesday.

At the beginning of the season, Mario Anderson Jr. didn't even register a single snap in the Gamecocks' week one matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Fast forward three weeks later, Anderson played 47 snaps in an SEC matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and hasn't looked back ever since.

With how Mario bursted onto the scene, some fans wondered why the South Carolina native hadn't gotten the starting job out of the backfield to begin the 2023 season. The answer from offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, essentially, was that Mario wasn't quite ready for all the responsibilities that come with being an SEC running back. At his weekly Wednesday press conference with the media, the Gamecocks' first-year playcaller told the media that that's no longer the case.

"I think the kid's learned how to play without the ball," Dowell stated. "You can see his confidence. Guys that break tackles know where to put their eyes. They're confident in their ability to run through arm tackles, and since the bye week, he has greatly improved - And most [of the] time, success builds confidence and success. Confidence is only built from demonstrated ability when he's actually putting on tape and doing it."

Mario Anderson Jr. receiving a handoff from Spencer Rattler (28th Oct., 2023) / Dustin Safranek | USA Today Network

The most significant point of emphasis with Anderson before he became South Carolina's starting tailback was that he needed to be more consistent as a pass protector, which holds even greater importance for the Gamecocks this year, considering their revolving door along the offensive line and the superstar quarterback they have in Spencer Rattler. The confidence that Dowell brought up hasn't just parlayed into Mario's running tenacity; it's also helped him process everything much more clearly now than he probably could back in September.

"The thing is, he's really good with chips. He does a great job. He understands what where protection where when we call chips and butches and nudges where like how to fit the tackles, and he does a great job communicating with the tackle," Loggains explained. "He has clean eyes now, and he understands his mind is clean now. There's no clutter; he can process those things - And that's where he's won our confidence [cause] he wasn't playing that way in August and September, and now he is, and he will continue to play that way because he continues to be professional and continues to do things the right way." 

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