Kevin Harris, South Carolina Gamecocks. (Mandatory credit: Arden Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)
The South Carolina football program begins its first season with new coach Shane Beamer in 2021.
In a victory campaign now for the 2020 South Carolina football team, the Gamecocks failed.
While we were in the middle of a global pandemic, South Carolina was 2-8 in Will Muschamp’s senior year in Columbia. The university fired its former coach before the end of the season. With former Oklahoma Sooners assistant coach Shane Beamer returning to South Carolina, Gamecocks will have a lot of work to do during the reconstruction process.
What makes Beamer an interesting hire is not who his father is, but the fact that he was in South Carolina during the glory days of the SEC East program. He saw firsthand what it takes to build a winning program here when he was on Steve Spurrier’s team. 2021 will be a year of great challenges for Gamecocks, but, fortunately, it is a year that prepares them for future success in the future.
South Carolina’s biggest off-season issues facing football
3. Can the running game lead Gamecocks to some extra wins?
For Beamer to reverse this South Carolina program, he and his team must identify the strengths on both sides of the ball. Although I will approach South Carolina’s defense a little better soon, let’s look at the attack and see where Gamecocks can win from day one. The logical point would be to run the ball relentlessly behind a solid offensive line with an underestimated accelerated attack.
At the front, South Carolina has extensive initial experience. This will allow junior Kevin Harris and freshman Marshawn Lloyd to give an identity to this South Carolina crime. Add to that that Beamer is best known for being a tight-lipped technician, and this fully aligns with what Carolina from South could try to do it offensively. A more offensive approach to soil control is worth building.
While South Carolina may not be ready to push for bowl eligibility in 2021, Gamecocks may be able to steal some wins here and there in the SEC game. Although the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs appear at the top of the SEC East ranking, South Carolina can battle Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt through the middle of the division in 2021.
Remember that Lloyd did not play last year due to a break in the ACL. He was a former four-star recruit who dropped out of high school and one of the top 50 players in 2020. Assuming he is healthy, South Carolina could be stealthily good at directing football in 2021. The best part is that Lloyd doesn’t stop be the workhorse right away, as Harris is one of the SEC’s best running backs.