Gamecock Digest

South Carolina's Shane Beamer Gives His Thoughts on Oklahoma

Alex Joyce

Oct 12, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer during the first half at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer during the first half at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images / Butch Dill-Imagn Images

South Carolina is set for a noon eastern time kickoff (11:00 am CT) against the Oklahoma Sooners. Both teams look to get back into the win column following losses to Texas and Alabama resectively.

Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer met with the media Tuesday to talk about the upcoming road game in Norman.

"Got a ton of respect for Coach Veneables," Coach Beamer said. "Obviously what he did at Clemson speaks for itself. What he's doing out in Oklahoma speaks for itself. Got a fantastic defense, that's very opportunistic."

Oklahoma's defense is 7th in the country in takeaways so far this season. The group has eight forced fumbles and six interceptions on the year. Meanwhile South Carolina is 116th in the nation in give aways on offense, eight fumbles and four interceptions. The Gamecocks have to find a way to keep that clean this week against an opportunistic Sooner defense.

Former five-star Jackson Arnold entered the year as the starter for the Sooners. After a rough start against Tennessee, true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. took over and never looked back. His ability to stress defenses on the ground and in the air has the eye of the Gamecocks' coaching staff.

"Offensively, I know they've played two different quarterbacks, but both equally talented," Coach Beamer said. "I see a group on tape that's really impressive how hard they're playing in all three phases. That's a testament to Coach Veneables and the culture that he's created."

South Carolina's Shane Beamer was able to learn under a lot of great head coaches prior to his time in Columbia. One of those stops was in Norman, Oklahoma. During his time there (2018-2020), Beamer was the assistant head coach/tight ends coach. Going back to Norman will bring back lots of memories to Beamer and his family.

"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't going to be emotions. I'm so appreciative of my time there. Thankful to Lincoln Riley for giving me an opportunity. Thankful for the great players that I was around. There'll be a lot of memories," Coach Beamer said.

Coach Beamer was able to update the status of sixth year senior OL Jakai Moore. It looks like the veteran Gamecocks leader won't be on the field in 2024.

"I would say that's doubtful at this point. We'll see what the future holds, but at this point would say doubtful," Coach Beamer on sixth year senior Jakai Moore's return to the lineup this season.

South Carolina is 3-3 on the year, but the record doesn't tell the entire story. Two of those losses came to top ten teams in LSU and Alabama. In both games, the Gamecocks had the opportunity to go down and win the game. Going into game #7, just how close is this team to breaking out?

"I think we're extremely close," Coach Beamer. "Two losses to top ten teams by a total of 5 points. We had plenty of opportunities in both of those games to win it. The thing we have to do a great job of is finishing. In both those games, we led going into the fourth quarter. How do we finish? We play cleaner football."

South Carolina has the opportunity this week to right the ship and get back into the win column.

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Alex Joyce
ALEX JOYCE