New additions impactful in blowout win
South Carolina saw two of its transfer portal additions impact Saturday’s 56-20 win over Charlotte.
Christian Beal-Smith, a Wake Forest transfer, rushed for 55 yards and scored his first two touchdowns as a Gamecock. He averaged 6.1 yards per play on nine rushing attempts. He also caught his first pass of the season for a six-yard gain.
Trailing by four in the second quarter, Beal-Smith leaped over the Gamecocks’ offensive line and into the endzone for the go-ahead, one-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, after breaking free for 27 yards, Beal-Smith pounced into the endzone on the following play for another one-yard score.
Corey Rucker only made one catch in his Gamecock debut, but it turned out to be a big one. In what was a busted defensive coverage, the Arkansas State transfer notched a 52-yard touchdown on South Carolina’s final drive of the game.
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In his weekly teleconference, Shane Beamer said he was happy to see the pair return to South Carolina’s offense.
“They’ve really been working hard,” Beamer said. “Two guys that had really good seasons at their previous schools. And then they come in here and they haven’t been healthy. So I know it’s been frustrating for them.”
It wasn’t easy for Beal-Smith or Rucker to watch from the sideline at the start of this season. Both had sustained injuries and were impactful players at their previous schools.
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“They’ve been great teammates while they’ve been out and not able to play,” Beamer said. “And I think that shows with the way that their teammates were how excited they were for them when they scored those touchdowns. There was a lot of energy and excitement on the sideline for those guys.”
“And, it’s because of the kind of people they are and the way that they’ve worked and handled their business during the time that they’ve been out.”
Beamer also was impressed with Beal-Smith’s pass-blocking ability. He said it was the best perimeter blocking game that the team has had offensively this season.
“I mean, they were fantastic,” Beamer said. “(Beal-Smith) did a great job. (Austin Stogner) was already blocking the guy and CBS came in here and cleaned it up. And then I think CBS went up there and got another guy that I want to say Juice (Wells) was on.”
