COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Shane Beamer recommended his staff this week to not let feelings overwhelm them of their season opener with Jap Illinois.
“And I told the guys,“ Beamer recalled with a grin, ”I’m in the identical boat.”
The feelings and pleasure are off the charts this week for Beamer, the son of Virginia Tech nice Frank Beamer, as he prepares for his first recreation as a school coach Saturday night time.
“I love to be the coach who could say I was so focused on the game,” Beamer stated. “But that’s a bunch of crap. Excited, I can’t wait.“
It’s been a long time coming for Beamer, 44, who was a South Carolina assistant for Steve Spurrier from 2007-2010 before joining his dad’s staff with Hokies. The younger Beamer had stops at Georgia under Kirby Smart and, most recently, at Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley before accepting the Gamecocks job last December.
It hasn’t been easy to get to this point. Beamer had to make 14 hires for his 10-man staff after several coaches accepted the job, then moved on to other schools.
His latest staff upheaval may have the biggest impact on the football as one-time grad assistant Zeb Noland was named starting quarterback against Eastern Illinois. Noland was on the field prepping players in mid-August when expected starter Luke Doty suffered a mid-foot sprain and Noland turned in his whistle for a helmet and shoulder pads.
Eastern Illinois, of the FCS’s Ohio Valley Conference, played its ninth game since Feb. 21 when it opened the 2021 season with a 26-21 loss at Indiana State last week.
Panthers coach Adam Cushing said his team didn’t make the critical plays that lead to wins and the week has been spent tightening things up.
“We’re going to play a heck of a team out there in South Carolina, but we’re focused on us,” Cushing stated.
Another issues to look at when Jap Illinois performs South Carolina:
MULTIPLE QBS
Shane Beamer stated whereas Noland will begin, backup Jason Brown will see the sector as effectively. Brown, like Noland, is a switch from an FCS program in St. Francis, Pennsylvania, and has labored laborious to earn a shot a enjoying within the Southjap Convention.
SEC LEADING RUSHER
Kevin Harris, the junior tailback who led the SEC in dashing yards final 12 months, is predicted to play after present process a process on his again. Harris has missed a lot of the preseason due to it. However Beamer stated this week that the dynamic Harris, who had 1,138 yards and 15 touchdowns final week, will likely be out there to face the Panthers.
GAME PLANNING
Jap Illinois coach Adam Cushing stated there have been loads of unknows in prepping for South Carolina due to its first-year workers. Cushing stated regardless of his pedigree as an assistant, it’s laborious to know for positive what Beamer’s offense and protection and particular groups type will appear like as a first-time coach.
“It’s a little bit of guessing game,” he stated.
FULL HOUSE
South Carolina is planning on a full, SEC-style expertise with a packed stadium and pre-2020 tailgating as followers return to the stadium after the boundaries of 2020 attributable to COVID-19. The varsity is encouraging followers to put on masks indoors aside from once they’re consuming or ingesting.
ONE GAME IN
Jap Illinois’s Cushing liked getting a leap begin on the season, even when he wasn’t loopy about dropping to Indiana State. When he watched movie, Cushing noticed his gamers calming down and stepping into good type.
“We played better and better and better and better into the fourth quarter,“ he said. “Everybody was doing their job better.”
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