Dowell Loggains shares what to expect from South Carolina offense during spring game
South Carolina football will return to Williams-Brice Stadium this weekend with the Garnet & Black Spring Game. And with that game comes the opportunity to see the Gamecocks’ new-look offense for the first time.
Some South Carolina fans have likely conjured images of what they expect to see from the team’s offense that night. Like LaNorris Sellers launching deep passes on the run to wide receivers flanking down the sidelines. Or one of the Gamecocks’ incoming transfer running backs erupting on a long run to the end zone.
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Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said that would not be the case – from a creativity standpoint, at least. He likened South Carolina’s spring game playbook to vanilla ice cream – something that tastes good but doesn’t have much flavor.
“I like vanilla ice cream, but not everyone else does. They want the sprinkles and the syrup and all the toppings,” Loggains said. “It’s not going to be that.”
Loggains said he isn’t looking for players to make flashy, highlight-reel plays. Rather, he wants to focus on the basics without giving too much away.
“We’re doing a draft, and we’ll split up so people are playing with different people, and those things,” Loggains said. “But it’ll be more about technique, fundamentals (and) making sure we’re executing our simplest form of offense.”
Saturday’s spring game will be slightly different from South Carolina’s other practices and scrimmages this spring. Instead of being taking place behind (mostly) closed doors, this one will be played in front of thousands of Gamecock fans.
Loggains said any opportunity to step onto the field is an opportunity to improve, regardless of the surrounding environment.
“Every time you practice, it is the most important thing we do. It is the only thing in this program that really matters,” Loggains said. “It’s the only way to get better.”
As South Carolina’s offense prepares for the fall, there will be many areas in which to improve from last season. The Gamecocks finished last in the SEC in rushing yards per game in 2023. The team also struggled to protect the quarterback with a rotating cast of offensive linemen starting each week.
But Loggains said that before a positional group, or the team as a whole, can improve, individual players must be able to do so.
“This is the ultimate team sport. But the only way to make the team better is to improve yourself and making sure each guy is getting better than the day before.”
The Garnet & Black Spring Game will give offensive players an opportunity to do exactly that, Loggains said.
“It’s like one more opportunity to get better, make sure that we’ve improved in an area that we weren’t great at on Tuesday, Thursday,” Loggains said. “That’s really what we’re looking at – it’s the individual steps to get better.”
