Shane Beamer Discusses Run Game Woes

In light of a poor start for the Gamecocks' rushing attack this season, Shane Beamer was asked at his Tuesday presser what could be changed to get better production in that facet of the offense.

In terms of being able to see what could be holding a football team back from reaching its full potential, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what what's wrong with South Carolina's offense right now. Through the first two games of the season, against Georgia State and Arkansas, the Gamecocks have rushed for 79 and 40 yards respectively on 61 collective carries.

While there has been a debate amongst the fanbase on what has led to the lack of a potent ground game, in Shane Beamer's eyes, the solution to this conundrum is simpler than some people think. When talking to the media on Tuesday afternoon, coach Beamer was asked by a reporter what could be changed schematically or personnel-wise in order to get a higher output from the running game, and Shane felt there were multiple factors to consider.

“I would say a few things, one, I think we also need to look at when we call runs on 1st and 2nd down in the open field, we averaged close to 4 or 5 yards a pop if I’m not mistaken. Now those stats got skewed because of we had 3rd [and short] and 4th [and short] situations on the goal line where you’re not gonna have long runs" Beamer lamented. "So I feel better about our run game coming out of the game last Saturday against Arkansas. Two, every week is different schematically what the teams are playing, but we need to be able to line up and run our best runs no matter what defense [our opponent is] lined up in."

Run Game Woes: The Importance of Balance and Execution

One question that a portion of the fanbase had after the Arkansas loss surrounded the low amount of called rushing plays early in the game, as in the Gamecocks' first fourteen offensive plays, two of them were called runs, an extremely lopsided ratio. While Shane Beamer said after the game that the coaching staff felt they could exploit the Hogs secondary which led to the emphasis on the passing game, he made it clear yesterday that his goal is to try and remain balanced on offense.

"When I interviewed for this job, I told Ray Tanner and Chance Miller… I want to be an offense that has the ability to run and the ability to throw it."

Of course, while coaches can try to scheme and game plan around their deficiencies as much as they like, coach Beamer also conveyed that once the players are out there on the field, they have to be able to execute the play that's called.

"Also being able to win those battles… when we call runs [everyone has] got to win their one-on-one battles as well" Beamer professed. "We gotta be great competitors and win those battles as well.”

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