Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, the football team has a new offensive coordinator along with several assistants. Players opt for the draft, among other news and notes. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:55] Okay.
[00:00:57] Welcome to episode 362 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And what a week it has been, y'. All.
[00:01:13] My goodness. I mean, you kind of got the sense that we were gonna have a lot to talk about one way or another this week, whether it was action or inaction, but, whew, we have a lot to go over. It's been a very exciting week to be a Gamecock fan.
[00:01:33] That glimmer and tantalizing sense of hope is actually round these parts again, which I did not think I would say for quite some time. And it just makes it exciting. You know, there's a lot going on in the college football world, whether we're talking playoff rankings, teams opting out of bowl games, coaching scandals. I'm not going to get into that right now. But there's a lot going on, and it's nice to have some positivity and fun things and good potential to talk about with our football team. And, yeah, like, that's just funny because it was a slow week, games wise, like it was exam week. So you had no action going on in the midweek, basketball or otherwise. So really, all we had was the news coming from the football team, which I am going to dive into in a second here. But to touch on the other sports here, men's basketball, they are back in action Saturday night at home. They will be taking on the Citadel and really looking to continue the good vibes that they had from that win against Stetson, seeing if they can keep up the momentum there. And then women's basketball, the ladies back in action Sunday afternoon with another Power 4 opponent as they take on Penn State. So a little SEC Big Ten matchup there to get excited for, and that rounds out your weekend. But, yeah, all the news from this week and all the chatter in my group chats have been about our football program.
[00:03:13] I mean, we knew something was coming around the pike, but, man, there was a lot of news to discuss. So I'm going to kind of go reverse order here where we're going to talk the smaller bits of news. And then finishing with the crescendo of the big hires here. So some housekeeping. The 2026 opening game has been set, if you'll remember correctly. The Gamecocks canceled, mutually canceled. A home at home series with Miami keeping in line with what a lot of other schools are doing. So the 2026 opening game was open, but now has been filled with a matchup with Kent State.
[00:03:55] So something to look forward to. And then roster news here. Linebacker Jaren Willis entered the transfer portal, you know, excited to see what he can do next. Someone who was in the program developed for a few years after transferring in. I would have loved to see him stay. He's a good athlete. That progressively got more playing time over the years. He made a couple of big plays for us this past season, but I think he ultimately probably saw the depth chart. I don't know how much eligibility he has left. I'm thinking one year. So probably wants the chance to start somewhere, but obviously leaves a pretty big hole of someone who played a lot at that linebacker group, but a good depth piece for us, so it's tough to see him go.
[00:04:42] And then defensive backs Jalen Kilgore and Brandon Cise announced they will be entering the NFL draft. So a couple of big time playmakers for the Gamecocks, I mean, starting with C, say, obviously transferred in just for the one year, but instant impact guy, and I knew he had that ability when he transferred in. There was a lot of excitement about that. It showed, you know, like any cornerback, you get burned from time to time, but he was pretty consistent. You didn't hear a ton about him because he was kind of just locking down. His guys made a couple of big interceptions across the year as well. So we'll be exciting to see where he goes. And then Jalen Kilgore, I mean, wow, what a career as a Gamecock. I mean, instant playmaker, you know, someone that, you know freshman year, made plays and then just got better and better and better and grew into that role as a really good cornerback. A guy who can play on the outside, a guy who can play the slot. He's very physical, gets after the ball.
[00:05:43] Really high IQ player that will be sorely missed in the garnet in black. But he has a bright future in the NFL. We'll definitely see him playing on Sundays for quite some time. I'm excited to see where he goes. And yeah, I mean, it's, it's a funny thing with college football. You know, you see these guys develop and grow in your program and it's really great to see and you're excited for them to take that next step, but your mind automatically starts to go to, okay, well, who's, who's behind him, right? Like, who else is on the team right now that can step up in that role. And you talk about two big roles actually with Kilgore and C say so you start to think of a guy like Swain, you know, maybe J. Louis, Solomon, Judge, you know, and that also is part of the fun of the transfer portal as well. But that's a conversation for another day. Right now this is giving Kilgore and Cse their flowers because they absolutely deserve it. Two good gamecocks who will be sorely missed on the field, but we will be rooting for them.
[00:06:44] But all right, now that we've gotten through that, the big, big pieces of news from this week is that Shane Beamer has hired the rest of his offensive staff. He has filled out that side of the ball and spoiler alert, I love this staff.
[00:07:02] I think this is the best offensive staff easily that Shane Beamer has had. But I think top to bottom, you're now looking at probably the best offensive staff we have had since Steve Spurrier left. And it's just guys in position, coaches and coordinators who know their stuff, who are good developers, who aren't just a name or who don't just have like this specific type of background. They've done it. They have bodies of work from tight end, from tight end coach and Sean Elliott to Mike Furry staying, both of these guys staying. Mike Furry, obviously a wide receiver, but bringing in these new hires are exactly the type of people and coaches that we need. So starting off with the open running backs coach position that was filled by Stan Drayton who last season was at Penn State, Penn State had a pair of very, very good running backs. So to be able to coach them is saying a lot. Penn State obviously is one of the bigger names in college football, so that is a big hire there. But it's really his experience.
[00:08:13] Well rounded but with a proven track record in this position.
[00:08:18] He was a head coach at Temple, but Drayton also was the running back coach at Ohio State, Texas, Florida and also the Chicago Bears, among others.
[00:08:29] His whole career has basically been a running backs coach and he has the proof. He has worked with players like Carlos Hyde, Ezekiel Elliott, Bijan Robinson and more. So it's a guy that's going to bring, I think, just a different level of intensity and attention to detail that we did not have previously and he has the track record to back it up recruiting wise. And I think that is a big piece. That's that Shane Beamer was looking for in all of these hires development and recruiting as well. But across the Board, you are seeing that with the staff offensive line coach. So this was up in the air a little bit. Some folks were hoping that Sean Elliott would fill that gap. He is, as said a second ago, he's staying on staff, which makes a lot of people happy. But he is going back to coaching tight end. So our new offensive line coach is veteran coach Randy Clements, who is following our new offensive coordinator. That is a key piece there because these guys speak the same language. They understand the expectations of each other, they have a working relationship.
[00:09:42] Not that I don't think the other, you know, Teasley and the other OCS that we've had didn't work in concert, but it was almost a forced marriage. And a lot of times when you see an offensive coordinator get hired, he likes to bring someone or someone's with him, whether that's a quarterback coach, an offensive line coach, sometimes a couple of players just to have that familiarity. And so now to have that, it is going to give our offensive line a leg up in understanding exactly what is expected of them. Clements has coached the offensive line for 23 years, so I think he's been around the game a lot. He's had stops at tcu, unc, Florida State and more. Now while his recruiting track record, at least what I quickly saw, maybe not incredible, but what he has done is develop well and he's coached in season well, which that has been lacking the most. We've been able to get these high caliber talented guys on campus, but we have not had them reach their potential. So if you have guys in that room like Josiah Tro Tree, Darius Gray, Shed, Sarat young guys who maybe haven't lived up to their potential. You bring in a coach who can help them reach that sooner.
[00:11:08] You just figure out the recruiting afterwards. Honestly, Beamer can help with that. Have freaking Sean Elliott help recruit some offensive linemen, right? And it's just going to be a team effort there. But as long as we can have someone who actually can coach this position at a high level, well, that's all that I ask for.
[00:11:27] But the big hire came with our offensive coordinator, Kendall Briles.
[00:11:33] I'm ecstatic. I love this hire and I kind of touched on it a second ago. But I'm excited for this because he is an actual offensive coordinator, like someone who this is what he has done, right. It's not this guy who bounced around as a position coach who had a cup of coffee in the NFL who you know, knows Shane Beamer from when he was a grad assistant who you know has A philosophy that aligns with Beemers offensively. Like, no, this is a hire because you have a problem and you're bringing in a guy who has a proven track record of good offenses.
[00:12:18] If you remember correctly, back when we hired Dowell Loggins, he was at Arkansas. Now, Briles was the OC at Arkansas at that same time. A lot of people thought Beamer was going to hire Briles then, and I was hoping for that, too. It went to Loggins, but this name has circulated around the Gamecock sphere for quite some time. And the connection where he was previously at TCU to our current athletic director, Donati, where he came from, I think, made it all the more natural, where you didn't have to do this big vetting process. You had a really good intro there. And I'm sure Shane Beamer, you know, went through the full process of interviewing other candidates and everybody and landed on Briles. It just really excites me because not just the Briles hire, but these other hires as well. It finally signals that Shane Beamer is changing it up and he understands the severity of the problem that we've had, and he's not taking a chance. Like, is Briles a perfect coach?
[00:13:26] No.
[00:13:27] But he has the best track record that we've had at South Carolina, at OC since Steve Spurrier.
[00:13:36] And anytime you hire a new coach, it's kind of taking a risk, but he's the safest risk that there was. You're not asking a guy from the group of five to jump up and do this. You're not asking a guy who hadn't called plays in several years to do this. Like, this is what Kendall Briles does. He calls plays, he installs offenses, and he scores points.
[00:14:01] Most recently at tcu, he was at Arkansas. Before that, he's had stops at Florida State, Baylor with his father, Florida Atlantic with Lane Kiffin. He has been around the game, and he knows offense. His system is pretty unique, which I love coming to South Carolina. He calls it the Veer and shoot. Some folks call it a spin off of the Air raid. It's a lot of RPOs. It's a lot of layered passes where you're going to have guys running to take the deep shot, but he's going to give the quarterback options. But he also wants to have a very balanced attack. He's had some years, whereas he's had quarterbacks throw for over 3,000 yards. But then he's also had years where he's had to rely more on the running backs and he's not afraid to do that.
[00:14:52] All in all, the word and the phrase that keeps coming up when I'm reading about his system is putting strain on defenses and creating chaos for the defenses with motion and putting guys in space and just making defenders have to make a decision and putting our offense in the position to take advantage of that.
[00:15:16] Last year at TCU, Briles led the Horned Frogs to a top 30 offense in yards per game with averaging 31 points per game. And the year before that, TCU averaged 33 1/2 points per game. He has turned around offenses plenty in the past. Pretty much everywhere he's gotten hired, has needed a boost on offensively and he has provided it.
[00:15:41] It's just a really, really good, sensible hire here that I'm very excited for. And it's funny because, like, the bar is pretty low, right?
[00:15:55] Like coming off last year, what were we? 15th in total offense in the SEC?
[00:16:01] I don't think we've been, you know, ever in the top half of the league. So really, if Briles can just do that and bring us to eighth in the sec, like middle of the road, slightly above average with the way our defense has historically been under Clayton White, like, that's a really good winning recipe.
[00:16:22] And I think the last two years in total offense at TCU, they've been in the top 35. You know, it's.
[00:16:31] You look at the stats and he's racking up yards like, you know, maybe the red zone percentage isn't incredibly high, but they're right. They're always knocking on the door. Right. Just a matter of converting. But we'll take that compared to what we have. Right. What we had. And you're saying last year was a little bit of a down one, averaging 31 per game. And the year before that he averaged almost 34 top 30 in the country in yards per game. So you're moving the ball up and down like these frustrating three and outs and constantly getting behind the chains, like hopefully that's not the norm now. Right. And then that's going to ease things up for the defense, which has constantly been strained and tired in the end of the game.
[00:17:15] So it's Shane Beamer signaling that he means business. And he's signaling that to the fans, to recruits and to current players and to players in the portal, like, this is a fun system to be in. You know, they move with tempo at times, they try to create chaos. They get, they try to get the man open and it's just a very efficient offense, and he has talked about adapting to the personnel that he has, and I know that shouldn't be like a foreign concept, but at South Carolina, it seems like it has been that. It has felt like it's been this uphill battle with our offensive coaches to just say, who do we have on this team? And how can I get the most out of them? You kind of saw that in the second year of Dalla Loggins, but that's what Briles does. Like, he has changed his system in the past to fit the needs of his personnel, and it's just a fun and aggressive collegiate offense that I think will be a little easier to understand than some of these other ones. And he's been in big games before.
[00:18:24] He's been in the SEC.
[00:18:25] He's coming from the. From the Big 12.
[00:18:28] It's. Again, it's just having an actual offensive coordinator leading this side of the ball who has a proven track record of consistent offenses in college, and that's really what we needed. You know, again, is he perfect? No, like. But at the end of the day, he has consistently turned around offenses and has consistently put up very respectful, very respectful years. I mean, being top 35 in total offense, I'll take that in a heartbeat.
[00:19:00] And I think when you look at the roster that we have now, like, I think Lenora Sellers, should he decide to stay, would thrive in this system.
[00:19:09] I think Briles, who worked with K.J. jefferson at Arkansas, could say, hey, he was all SEC when I worked with him and we can make you the same now. Might go about it a little differently, but I think he'll absolutely do that, and I think he'll get the most out of our running backs on. On who are on the roster right now.
[00:19:27] I'm just very, very happy with this hire. I know there was a little bit of discourse back and forth of like, could you go with this guy or that guy?
[00:19:35] You got Briles, he's a leader. He knows how to coach offense. It's a guy who.
[00:19:41] Yeah, I mean, maybe there's a world in year two where it's better than year one, but I think he can install this pretty well. And you talk about going back to the top of the show. You're opening the season against Kent State, and then I think it's Towson, so you have a chance to really warm this thing up and go 2, 0, potentially with a new offense and having a unique look and a unique system is going to make South Carolina hard to prepare for. For these other coaches, you know, I think in the past it was South Carolina runs this pro style system.
[00:20:15] You watch one game of theirs, okay, that's what they do. You know, like, I don't think it was that hard for coaches to diagnose what we wanted to do. And I don't think the defense had a hard time with that either. We would get in our formation, maybe put one guy in motion, and that was it. They kind of knew what was coming. With Briles system, it's going to take more time to prepare for game plan wise because it is different than a lot of other systems. But it also is going to put strain on the defenders on the field to make a decision. And then you're giving the keys to your running back or quarterback to make the right decision and the right read to score some points and move the ball. I'm very, very excited. I also think Nick harbor would thrive in this system as well. So big, big time week from the Gamecocks. I'm, I'm stoked if you couldn't tell. I'm excited about it and you know, maybe we'll talk more about it next episode. But this wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is Cox gamecox. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox Talking Gamecox. And please like subscribe and review the podcast. I appreciate all y' all go cocks.
