What South Carolina Has to Fix to Reach Its Full Potential

I believe South Carolina has the talent to be a very good football team.

I also believe this team has a higher ceiling than a lot of people nationally realize.

But talent alone isn’t going to get them there.

When I look back at last season, I don’t see a South Carolina team that needs to completely reinvent itself. I see a team that too often made things harder than they needed to be.

Some of it was execution. Some of it was offensive philosophy. Some of it was decision-making. And yes, some of it was coaching.

If South Carolina is going to reach its full potential, these are the things that have to change.

1. STOP BEATING YOURSELF BEFORE THE BALL IS SNAPPED

This is first on my list because there is absolutely no excuse for it.

False starts. Illegal formations. Communication problems along the offensive line. Guys looking around before the snap trying to figure out assignments.

Those things will get you killed in the SEC.

You cannot consistently turn first-and-10 into first-and-15 and expect to operate an efficient offense. You can’t continually put yourself behind the chains and then ask LaNorris Sellars to rescue you on second-and-long and third-and-long.

The communication has to be better.

The discipline has to be better.

And the pre-snap mistakes have to disappear.

2. FIND A DAMN RUNNING GAME

South Carolina has to be able to run the football.

And when I say run the football, I don’t mean LaNorris Sellars scrambling around and becoming the team’s running game.

That’s a weapon. It shouldn’t be the offense.

A legitimate running game changes everything.

It keeps you ahead of the chains. It slows down the pass rush. It opens up play-action. It makes linebackers hesitate for that split second that can turn a 12-yard completion into a 40-yard play.

Most importantly, it takes pressure off Sellars.

If South Carolina can consistently run the football when the other team knows they want to run it, this becomes a completely different offense.

3. PUT SELLARS IN BETTER POSITIONS TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS

Sellars has to improve his decision-making.

There were times last season when he held onto the football too long. There were times when he tried to create something when the smarter play was simply taking what the defense gave him.

But I’m not putting all of that on him.

I thought too often the offensive philosophy put him in situations where he was being asked to create something rather than simply execute something.

Give him defined reads.

Give him answers against pressure.

Get the football out quickly when the defense dictates it.

Make the easy throws easy.

Then when everything breaks down, you have one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks in college football capable of turning a busted play into 30 yards.

That’s when you want the athletic ability taking over.

You shouldn’t have to depend on it every possession.

4. CREATE MORE EXPLOSIVE PLAYS

South Carolina needs more plays that completely change a football game.

I’m talking about the 60-yard touchdown pass.

The running back who gets through the first level and suddenly there’s nobody between him and the end zone.

The receiver who catches a 12-yard pass and turns it into 45.

You aren’t going to consistently put together 12- and 14-play touchdown drives against good SEC defenses.

Eventually somebody is going to make a mistake. Somebody is going to lose a block. Somebody is going to commit a penalty.

Sometimes you need to blow the damn thing open.

South Carolina needs more players capable of changing the scoreboard on one snap, and the offense has to create opportunities for those plays.

5. STOP GIVING UP EXPLOSIVE PLAYS

The opposite is just as important defensively.

Nothing drives me crazier than watching a defense play five outstanding snaps and then give up 40 yards on the sixth.

You just erased everything you accomplished.

Make teams earn it.

If somebody is going to drive 80 yards against you in 12 plays, shake their hand.

What you can’t do is give them 45 yards because somebody missed an assignment, took a bad angle or blew a coverage.

Those are the plays that change games.

6. FINISH FOOTBALL GAMES

This may be as much mentality as anything else.

Good football teams compete.

Great football teams finish.

When you’ve got somebody on the ropes in the fourth quarter, finish them.

Convert the third down.

Get the stop.

Make the field goal.

Protect the football.

Don’t give them another possession and another opportunity to believe they can beat you.

There were opportunities last season when South Carolina played well enough to win but didn’t close the door.

If this program wants to take another step, that has to change.

7. GAME MANAGEMENT HAS TO IMPROVE

And here’s the one that some people probably won’t like.

Shane Beamer has to make better situational decisions.

I like Beamer. I think he’s done a lot of good things at South Carolina.

But if we’re going to evaluate the players honestly, then we have to evaluate the coaching honestly too.

There were fourth-down decisions last season that I simply didn’t agree with.

I understand analytics.

I understand being aggressive.

But analytics should be a tool. They shouldn’t replace common sense or an understanding of how the football game in front of you is unfolding.

Sometimes you take the damn points.

Sometimes you punt the football, flip the field and tell your defense to make the other team drive 80 yards.

And sometimes you absolutely go for it.

The key is understanding the difference.

A failed fourth-down attempt doesn’t just end a possession. Depending on where you are on the field, it can hand your opponent momentum and excellent field position.

Those decisions ultimately belong to the head coach.

South Carolina needs better execution from its players this season, but it also needs better situational football from the sideline.