Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecock's scrimmage notes and injury updates from the football team. And also part one of my season preview and predictions. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:54] Okay.
[00:00:56] Welcome to episode 400 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, and I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. First off, before I get into anything, 400 episodes.
[00:01:13] Wow, that is really, really something. I feel like I say this at every milestone here, but it really is so much fun doing this. And thank y' all for the support. If you're listening for the first time today or it's your 400th episode, I really, truly appreciate it.
[00:01:31] I think when I started this thing, I thought I was going to get rich and famous by episode 10.
[00:01:36] That hasn't happened yet. But I've met some really cool people along the way, connected with some athletes and former athletes and just various fans from all different walks of life. And it's been really, really cool connecting with y'. All. And thank you for being an audience for just a fan and for someone who has found an outlet for their passion and trying to have a little bit of creativity. So will we. Will we be doing this for another 400? I don't know. We'll see. I mean, hey, if y' all keep listening, I'll keep going. But really do appreciate all that. But let's jump right into this. It is a jam packed episode. All football episode part one of my season preview and predictions on top of a lot of other notes.
[00:02:24] But before I get into that, I have to, of course, look at my handy dandy Gamecock trivia here. It's only a few more of these because once we get into football season, this thing goes back in the drawer. So here we go. In what year did the South Carolina women's tennis team make its first NCAA tournament appearance? That year, the Gamecocks reached the national quarterfinals.
[00:02:50] I'm gonna say 96. Out of Thin Air, 1982. I didn't give them enough credit.
[00:02:56] Damn.
[00:02:57] Shout out. Women's tennis. For real. Shout out. Shout out. All sports I know we've had. We have women's soccer underway, and men's soccer, I think, I believe, has already begun their season. This week, classes are back. There's a lot going on, but it was simply going to be a jam packed episode, and I wanted to leave room for. For the preview. So, of course, we'll give the rest of the fall sports their shine. But now we will jump into football for the rest of the episode. Here I have some updates for y'. All. Real mixed bag here. Let's get the bad out of the way here. News broke that Jaden Sellers and Jaden Gibson, both wide outs, are out for the year.
[00:03:40] Absolutely gutted for both of these guys. Starting with Gibson. Comes in from Oklahoma, transferred, hasn't played a lot of football over the last two years because of injuries. Works his way back. Was going to have a pretty neat role for this offense. Bigger body. Might not have gotten a ton of targets, but he was going to be an X factor at some point. And then Jaden Sellers, I was so, so looking forward to him this season, taking that next step in his development. A guy that really could do it all for you. The Sellers to Sellers connection was going to be strong this year, and it just sucks to see. I mean, to not even be able to step on the field. Week one is just absolutely brutal from a football perspective. That wide receiver room is deep, but part of the reason we've been saying it's deep is because you have guys like Jaden Gibson and Jaden Sellers. So now it's just, who's gonna step up? I'm looking at Donovan, Murph, Ma Bennett, of course, is being talked about a lot. He's gotta bounce back. Is there someone else we're not talking about? Lex Cyrus? There's been some talk about DJ Black. So let's see who steps up for that group.
[00:04:50] And then speaking of week one, it was more or less confirmed. Like, it seems like Beamer kind of let it spill to Chris Lowe, national reporter, after being coy in the press conference. But Peak and Stewart are essentially confirmed to be out for week one. This is no surprise. This is making headlines nationally.
[00:05:16] But this is not a surprise if you're a Gamecock fan. These guys were injured in the spring. Dylan really going back to, you know, the summer or even, you know, even, you know, or whatever before that. Right? They haven't practiced. They haven't scrimmaged. This is not a surprise.
[00:05:34] This is really a question of do we see these guys out there for game three for SEC play? That's the question. That's really what I have for Stewie. I feel confident that Peak will be back by then.
[00:05:46] I wouldn't be surprised. Even we see him in week two. But yeah, that is more or less official now. It stinks. But as I'm about to. About to get into, I think the Gamecocks will be just fine, especially in week one and two without these guys. But definitely something to keep an eye out for and then speaking of scrimmaging, there was a scrimmage last weekend. I believe it was the first one. Seems like things went well. It's. It's always a give and take with these, right? Because if you get a report that the defense was kicking ass, that means the offense was struggling and vice versa.
[00:06:20] What I took from this, and Shane Beamer said it in his presser, was that there were dramatically less penalties on the offense in this scrimmage compared to the same scrimmage last year. I think he said it was like half as many where they had like seven penalties on offense this year and it was 14 or even a little bit more last year. Admittedly that's still a lot, but I think he said the offense ran 90 plays.
[00:06:49] So you look at that as a percentage, it's pretty small. But the fact that we're talking about a new offense already operating with more efficiency than the Shula offense, a guy who was on staff, that's something to. That's something to be optimistic about. And that really gets me excited there. And then the leader of our offense, Lenore Sellers, making headlines. Would it be a South Carolina offseason without a non issue becoming a national headline? He was asked about his class schedule. The guy is set to graduate in December. He's done with his academic classes. He just has an internship now and he's interning at a local golf facility.
[00:07:34] And you know, he's focusing on that and football. To me, that's elite QB1 behavior.
[00:07:40] And somehow this is getting blown out of proportion that he's not in school, et cetera. Like, didn't Carson Beck legitimately not have classes? Didn't Joe Burrow by the end of his career, like, live at the facility? Basically, like, this happens all the time. And if Lenoris was in the sport management program, like, I can personally attest that's how it works. You finish your classes only to then get an internship. I digress. Had to at least talk about it. It's really more funny than anything else.
[00:08:12] But okay, without further ado, it is time, y'. All. The much anticipated annual season preview, Part one for the Gamecocks football season this year. So I'm going to do the first six games today and then next week we'll do the final six games. I don't get into scores and the nitty gritty, like, that's nonsense. I'm going to give you my vibes of the game and the ultimate outcome that I think I have really tried to get better and better with being a Little bit more realistic in this. If y' all remember, like 300 episodes ago or 370 episodes ago, I basically had South Carolina winning the national championship. And then the year after that it was like, oh, maybe they lose one or two games and then I am slowly becoming more realistic. But still, I'm an optimist. I think we have a good team.
[00:09:05] I'm never going to go into a year thinking we're going to be ass. I'm just not. So first six games, which works out perfectly because it's the bye week at this, at the halfway point in the year. We're really lucky with that.
[00:09:17] And then we'll wrap up from there. But, okay, here we go.
[00:09:21] Week one opening just a few days away. Kent state. It's at 1245 kickoff. Prayers to everyone in the stadium in the sun for that. I got this as a win.
[00:09:34] Starting the year off 1 0.
[00:09:36] Kent State, they've had a lot of roster turnover, they've struggled.
[00:09:41] Shout out to Mac, but I don't think South Carolina is going to struggle in this one. I really, really hope we can see some offense right away. Like, I hope this isn't an Old Dominion situation where it's a little bit of a slog.
[00:09:54] I hope this is. Oh, yep, we have a professional running our offense and this game is away early.
[00:10:03] Game two, first night game of the year against Towson. That's a big honor for them. I got South Carolina winning this one two zero. Pretty much copy and paste what I said a second ago to Towson. I think South Carolina should be able to roll in this one. Especially when we talk about week two, you're back into the groove. You have your game week, preparation and everything like that. It is nice that the team gets both ends of the spectrum right away with an early kick and then the late, because those days are very different.
[00:10:35] And I think that's going to be important for some of the newcomers to know how we operate in those situations as well as a guy like Kendall Briles. Like, what does Shane Beamer expect at the night game for the coaches versus the early, etc. So we have the Gamecock starting 2 0, which is going to feel great. But you're obviously looking at the schedule saying, all right, it's set up this year where you got your two cupcakes and then it's time to get into the real meat of the schedule here. But I'm down with the cupcakes early. Like, people hate on that. Like, there's a reason we call them Cupcakes because they're sweet and they're good to eat. Okay, so give me the two and oh, start after only winning four last year. And let's go into this game. SEC opener against Mississippi State, set for 415.
[00:11:22] It's a nice, very specific time. Kickoff now. Mississippi State is an interesting one here.
[00:11:29] They are bringing in a new quarterback with limited experience in, Camario Taylor.
[00:11:34] Bringing in some new pass catchers as well.
[00:11:37] They're an interesting bunch.
[00:11:39] You know, Lebby has and you know, it's only his third year, I believe. But they got better last year. They've struggled in the sec. They were close in some ones last year. Couldn't get over the hump and it feels like this is a make or break year for him, but he has seemingly got them to play better and better. So I don't think these guys are going to be slouches. They also bring in a new defensive coordinator who's coming back to Mississippi State and Zach Arnett, who he has a very unique system. I'm glad we're not playing them week two because we're going to be able to get some tape on these guys. And an interesting scheduling tidbit on the Bulldogs here is they're actually going up to Minnesota to play the Gophers week two before us. So a, it's a quick turnaround for them back to back road games. Gotta love. But they're going up against Power 4 competition in week two, so they might have to empty the bag a little bit more than some other teams, which is going to help for film preparation on both sides of the ball.
[00:12:43] But again, like, don't think because Mississippi State has been struggling the last two years that that's just going to be a cakewalk. Right? I do feel confident in saying this will be a game that South Carolina will be favored in, especially at home. But I'm looking at this one, week three as a signal for how the rest of the year could go, right? I could be wrong in this. I said that in 2024 when we went to Kentucky.
[00:13:15] Will this be a game that South Carolina is able to win comfortably or will it be this grinder, nail biter, underperformed when you're two and oh, at home, that's going to tell us a lot. Like, and if it falls somewhere in between, like it's a back and forth game but you end up winning by, you know, 7 to 10, you could feel okay with that, right? It's an SEC opener and whatnot. That they have a good offense, can Be a tricky defense. If it's a game where you win by two or more scores, you feel really good about that. If it's one where you eke out a win or worse, then we might, we might have a problem because you need to start well this year. But nonetheless I do have South Carolina winning in this one at home relatively comfortably. Give me a 10 to 13 point win in this one to move to three. And oh, and can you just imagine the vibes like we won four games last year if we start three and oh, I mean there's a chance depending on how the chips fall, you're in the top 25 going into this one.
[00:14:22] So very, very fun prospect to think about here. But three zero. South Carolina finally hits the road. Going to Alabama, back to Tuscaloosa.
[00:14:33] It's a kickoff set between 6 and 8pm right now and this is a tough task for the first road game right now as I'm recording this.
[00:14:43] Alabama does not have a clear cut QB1 to my understanding and they have to replace some key starters from last year on both sides of the but really on defense too, it seems they were able to reload right on offense there's some more question marks about like offensive line. Like they have some good pass catchers coming back but they lose their top guy, whatever, right? Like these games have been close the past two years and I don't think this is going to be any different.
[00:15:14] The Gamecocks at this point in the year are going to have solid experience under their belt. They're going to have clearly defined roles and at this point in Game 4, there shouldn't be any growing pains as far as the new offense is concerned going into this game, Alabama will already have played Kentucky and Florida State, so they're certainly going to be more banged up than South Carolina is. And it's tough because you think of that, you think of some roster uncertainty at Alabama. But I just hate that this game is at night and I've, I've really gone back and forth on this one, y'. All. Like I really have. Like my head tells me that the first road game is going to be a big test for the team and it might just be too tall of a task at night at Alabama. Like there's question marks on this team, but they're still just so talented recruiting wise.
[00:16:16] DeBoer is a good coach, right?
[00:16:19] But my heart says that Lenores is owed a victory against the Tide and that you know what, this team, damn it, the Tide, they are not the team that they were 10 years ago, let alone the team that they were a year ago when we almost beat them. It's a whole new group and they are not as dominant as they have been. So you know what? Give me South Carolina to upset the Tide on the road to move to four and oh, on the year.
[00:16:52] God, I'm jacked up right now. Can you imagine? Like, we are owed that, y'. All. We are owed that. We should have beaten them two years ago and we should have beaten them last year.
[00:17:03] This year, those little things that went wrong in those games are going to be corrected. The only thing that's standing against us is that this game is at night. But don't let the haters fool you. Like Tuscaloosa, it's a tough place to play, but it's a tough place to play because it was Nick Saban coaching there for the last two decades.
[00:17:25] Right? Like, they have been vulnerable under DeBoer.
[00:17:29] They're less tough.
[00:17:30] So let's see what we got.
[00:17:33] So coming home after 40 against Kentucky here, at this point, it would be pandemonium in Columbia. Like, this game would be absolutely rocking. If this team comes back undefeated after a big time upset in the sec. You're certainly ranked at this point.
[00:17:54] Like this could be not. This wouldn't be a game day with Kentucky. This could be like the SEC Nation, though. This could get featured. This game is a flex. So it's anytime between 3:30 and 8 and that's a lovely time. Anytime that that works. If it's a little bit earlier, that second half is going to be chilly and dark. If it's a night game, forget about it. Kentucky, of course, is in a new era. After firing Mark Stoops, new coach Will Stein will be bringing in his offensive prowess. Like that word to the Wildcats.
[00:18:26] I have zero clue who their quarterback is going to be, and I don't think they do either.
[00:18:33] However, I do expect that some of the Stoops holdovers will still be those tough, gritty guys that we were used to seeing at uk. The question for me is, how quickly does this team, Kentucky, how quickly do they gel together?
[00:18:49] And the big question is, is Will Stein built for the sec?
[00:18:55] You give me a later game in Willie B.
[00:18:58] I think that's too much for the Cats. And I think the gamecocks get this one to start October. 5 0. What am I saying right now that's not unreasonable?
[00:19:08] I'm not saying that South Carolina is going to Indiana and Oregon and Texas and beating them all. I have a sitting at five and oh, with that big road upset being the anchor of that. The rest of these games are at home.
[00:19:22] Two of them are against Cupcakes. Kentucky's rebuilding Mississippi State's a big question mark.
[00:19:27] You're sitting at 5 and, oh, you're getting ready to move, you know, really through the depths of your schedule here. You're into October at this point and you're heading to Florida, which is set to be an early kickoff scheduled between noon and 1pm that is a saving grace in this game. You heard it here first, but I really don't know what to make of this game. I don't know what to make of Florida, really. I mean, first off, it is nice to see Florida back on the schedule. It feels right.
[00:19:55] The Gators, with their new head coach, you know, he has the job of rebuilding them up. Their quarterback situation, at least to my knowledge, right now, is also up in the air. But at this point in the year in our hypothetical, that's going to be settled.
[00:20:12] And I think John Sumrall is a really good coach.
[00:20:15] He seems to be someone who can quickly instill the culture change that's needed desperately in the Swamp.
[00:20:23] Florida is usually pretty talented. I don't know the inner workings of their roster. I'd imagine some of the better players from Tulane followed Sumrall to Florida on top of whatever else he did on the recruiting trail.
[00:20:38] And it's the Swamp. It's a tricky, tricky place to play. Has been tough for the Gamecocks. And because of that and because the it's, you know, that don't know what to make of this team here, I actually do see South Carolina falling here in a tough game. You can call it a trap game if you want. I don't think you can think of the Gators as such, but maybe a little bit of a hangover game from the last few. But nonetheless, heading into the bye week, sitting at 5 and 1, which would still just feel incredible, and you have a whole back half of the year ready to continue kicking ass. So that's part one.
[00:21:17] Again, I'm not saying anything crazy.
[00:21:21] It was back and forth with Bama in my head, but I mean, my goodness, like, why not? And if we can really get this thing rolling on offense, we're going to be tough outs every single week. And that's the kind of team that can really sneak up on some people. And there's a team in the SEC and every year that does that. Why not us?
[00:21:45] Part two next week that wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is Cox Gamecocks. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox Talking Gamecocks. And please like subscribe and review the podcast. I appreciate all y'. All go Cox.
