What South Carolina HC Shane Beamer said about Arkansas
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer met with the media Tuesday to look ahead to Saturday's matchup with No. 16 Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Beamer spoke highly of the Hogs and told some interesting stories about Razorback head coach Sam Pittman.
Here is some of what Beamer had to say about the Hogs prior to Saturday's matchup, which is schedule for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN:
On Arkansas offensively and defensively:
Beamer pointed out KJ Jefferson and Raheim "Rocket" Sanders as two players that the Gamecocks see as weapons right away.
"So many weapons offensively," Beamer said. "You just look at them with the quarterback, 245 pound quarterback, 225 pound running back. A big, physical offensive line. I mean they've got a 6'9 offensive tackle out there. They're large, obviously. The tight end is a really good player. They've got multiple backs."
On the defensive side, Beamer talked about linebackers Bumper Pool and Drew Sanders as two guys that he thinks are really good.
"Defensively, it jumps off tape, the whole team," Beamer said. "The effort they play with, the physicality they play with. You watch them on defense with size up front. Bumper Pool, the linebacker, just a fabulous player. Drew Sanders, who's the other linebacker for them now that transferred from Alabama. I can remember being at Georgia and Drew was a freshman in high school and we had him at camp in Georgia and knew that he was going to be an absolute freak once he graduated, and that's what he was."
On Matt Landers and Jadon Haselwood:
Beamer has history with Arkansas receivers Jadon Haselwood and Matt Landers, who he coached at Oklahoma and Georgia, respectively.
"Both starting receivers I've been with," Beamer said. "Matt Landers was with us at Georgia and he's had a great career. Transferred in there and he's doing a nice job for them. Jadon Haselwood, I was with Jadon at Oklahoma. He's doing a great job for them as well. So we've got a real challenge."
Respect for Sam Pittman:
Pittman is known as an elite recruiter, and Beamer found that out before he even met Pittman.
"Sam Pittman has done an amazing job there elevating that program since he came in," Beamer said. "Ton of respect for Sam, even before we coached together at Georgia. Always heard the name Sam Pittman going back to when I was here at Carolina and we were recruiting Robert Quinn from Fort Dorchester and the guy recruiting him was Sam Pittman. I remember thinking 'How in the heck did the offensive line coach at North Carolina just get Robert Quinn to come to Chapel Hill?'"
Beamer also mentioned how Pittman was a big help for him when the two were on the coaching staff at Georgia together.
"He was a huge help to me when I got hired at Georgia by Kirby (Smart)," Beamer said. "Sam helped me so much just being the offensive line coach. The offensive line coach and the tight ends coach work very closely together and he was very patient and taught me a lot about offensive line play and tight end play. Got a ton of respect for him. We lived in the same neighborhood in Athens. He's a good friend and someone I've always pulled for."
Game plan for Razorback QB KJ Jefferson:
A question that might be asked to every opposing coach this season was asked to Beamer today: Is there a way to game plan for KJ Jefferson?
"No, there's not," Beamer said. "To be that big, but to be able to — people just bounce off him back there. To be able to, in the run game, run the football like he does, but then also in the passing game be able to sit back there and take hits and throw the ball downfield. Or to have people bounce off of him, he's able to scramble, but he keeps his eyes downfield and he's able to throw.
"No. We'd have to take one of our defensive ends and make him a quarterback. For us it's just emphasizing 11 hats to the ball and gang tackling and getting people around him. Let's do a good job of understanding their schemes and being in the right place, being in the right gaps. And then rally to him because it's going to take all 11 to rally to that ball to get him down."
On the Arkansas run game:
The Razorback run game is something that every opponent needs to prepare for, and Beamer credited the coaching as a reason for the Hogs' success in the ground game.
"They do a great job coaching, for one," Beamer said. "Sam's an offensive line guy. You see that when you watch them play. They're big, they're physical. With their size up front, they're able to cover people up."
Beamer also talked about how the Razorbacks do a great job of scheming up ways to find success running the ball.
"They do a great job schematically, as well," Beamer said. "They use tempo, so you've got to be able to handle that. They'll get in multiple formations. They've got motions. You've got to be disciplined with your eyes against the guys because they're big and physical, but now they're also going fast."
Getting ready for the 11 a.m. kickoff in Fayetteville:
Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT this Saturday, and Beamer made it seem like that was a good thing for his squad.
"11 a.m. is right up our alley because we're in the building everyday before that," Beamer said. "11 a.m. central time is 12 eastern, so we're basically done with practice everyday by the time kickoff will be Saturday...Our last early kickoff was against North Carolina last year and we played pretty dang good."
On the 2007 Arkansas vs. South Carolina game in Fayetteville:
Beamer was a part of the South Carolina coaching staff when the Gamecocks lost to the Hogs 48-36 in Fayetteville. Arkansas ran for 542 yards as a team that day, and Darren McFadden accounted for 321 of them.
"McFadden, Peyton Hillis and Felix Jones, yeah I think they each ran for 500 yards a piece," Beamer said. "That was a long night in Fayetteville and hopefully we play a lot better defensively than what we did that night."