Everything Mike Shula said in his first Wednesday press conference of the season

South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Shula spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the Gamecock offense entering 2025.

The Gamecocks kick off 2025 on Aug. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Here is everything Shula had to say in his first official presser of the 2025 season.

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LaNorris Sellers was in here yesterday and was talking about the motivational thing with the plastic dump. Where did that idea come from?

“A long time ago. Actually, is all a really good friend of mine. A line coach that had won two Super Bowls and at least one national championship. He would always use that phrase when players weren’t doing kind of what they’ve been asked to do. It’s kind of like, right on your desk or whatever. So I thought that was kind of funny and carried that with me. (I) got to the Giants, and I think I said in that room right there. And sure enough, the next day, there was that object right on my desk. Eli Manning bought it, so you can thank Eli for that.

“And then from there, it got to the Bills, the guys I was in an office with the pro personnel staff, who are the coolest pro personnel guys in the whole NFL. So, they actually texted me when they heard it yesterday. But, yeah. Eli took it and ran with it.”

I’m not gonna ask you if that means Sellers is on the radar for Josh Allen’s replacement?

“No, no, no. It’s funny what motivates people, though.”

What have you seen from Sellers that’s been particularly impressive?

“I just think it’s the constant steadiness. We’ve had a lot of really good practices regarding competition with offense and defense, and Shane (Beamer) does a great job of promoting that. So, with the competition being as high as it is on both sides, it gets emotional even in practice. You guys are up there for a little bit, but I mean, it’s very competitive, which is great, and it becomes more game-like.

“But for him to be kind of constant throughout that, through some good plays, through some negative plays, you guys know, we’re young, we’re still fit pieces together. And everybody’s kind of in the same boat. There’s gonna be a lot of other teams that are gonna have young guys playing or transfer portal guys playing together, try to make it fit as fast as you can. Each play together kind of helps that. So while we’re doing that, coming closer together, he’s been very constant in that regard.”

What have you seen from the offensive line in run blocking?

“Yeah, I think it reminds me a little bit of last year. I hate to kind of compare, because you kind of can take off with it. But that part of the group they were kind of new in the spring, and then trying to pick up as fast as we could in the fall practice. They work together, I think they’re they’re communicating much better. They’ve got a higher comfort level with the calls being made.

“Every position on the field, you’ve got to think really, really quick. And yes, when we draw it up on the board, it’s easy to kind of go over and say, ‘Yes, we got it.’ But all of a sudden, the defensive line moves right in front of you, and you’ve got to make a call. It starts with our center. Every offensive line starts with communication from the center; that communication has got to be passed on quickly, so they’re doing a better job with that. We’re all striving for more consistency.”

Less than two weeks until the season starts. Do you have an idea of whether you’re going to be on the field calling plays or in the box?

“Yeah, probably going to be on the field, I think. I’ve been kind of leaning that way all along. I can’t remember if you guys asked me earlier, maybe in the offseason, but I think there are pluses and minuses to both. I think being down there with the quarterbacks, with LaNorris, will be good. And also, we’ve got really good guys, we’ve got a really good offensive staff, really good staff in general, but guys that you can count on the information from upstairs and fast information, and guys that have cool heads that are smart and fast thinkers. So that’s very important to me to be able to get that information if I need it.

“The use of the iPads over the last couple of years are really advantageous as well. We can’t get those usually, until after the series, unless there’s a timeout.”

How are you talking to (Rahsul) Faison and the other running backs? Can you approach it as normal, with the situation still lingering?

“You just have each guy worry about what he’s supposed to do, and kind of try to block out everything else and just dial in and expect for him to be here, and he should do the same thing. And then, if not, then we have to adjust.

“But in the meantime, like, I think I said this last time, you know, it’s kind of like, ‘Hey, if you’re if he’s not available for whatever reason, and then the next guy’s got to be ready.’ And all those guys are, you know, it’s very competitive, not just offensive defense, but guys that are good teammates. They’re competing for playing time on each side of the ball, no different in the backfield.”

With the receiver group, there’s obviously the group of freshmen and the experienced guys. How have you seen those two different dynamics?

“First of all, the group is becoming closer as a unit, in regards to just kind of, ‘Hey, we’re going to be in this together. We need to win. We need help for this football team to win as receivers.’ I think the younger guys, and again I haven’t been around a lot of young guys in a while coming out of high school, but I think they’re a very mature group and I think the older guys that are here, they’ve done a really good job of embracing the fact that there’s younger guys that are going to help us and that are going to be on the field.

“So it’s a group that’s pulled together, and I think they’ve done some really good things. Now we’ve got to be consistent. And yeah, as a coach, too, you want everybody to do everything perfectly and to know the offense exactly how you want. And sometimes you have to kind of, you know, it’s a fine line between making an excuse for a guy. But then also you kind of got to realize that this guy, just this time last year, was getting ready for senior year in high school. But we want to push him, and they want them to push themselves so they can get ready and go out there and fight fast because they’re confident and they know what to do, and then do what we saw him do in high school.”

What have you seen out of Isaiah Augustave?

“I think he’s done a really good job of picking up the offense and taking advantage of his reps. I think he’s gotten more reps as training camp has gone on. I think he’s gonna, he’s gonna bring something to the table for us, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we do. But he’s got good speed. He can run behind the pads, run with good power, and I think he’s got some versatility.”

On the accuracy of the perception of him “reeling in” Sellers and making him more of a pocket passer.

“I wouldn’t use the words ‘reel him in.’ That part of it maybe is a little bit inaccurate. I would say, ‘Hey, we want you to run it. But when you think back to throwing it, and it’s a designed pass, and there’s guys open, okay, see it, anticipate it, trust it, and throw it. And then if it’s not okay, then you go, you run.’

“Whereas maybe last year at times. Now, he was really good last year, don’t get me wrong, maybe there’s a couple of guys open that he could’ve thrown to, and he just took off. So, yeah, I mean, he’s going to go play, we’re going to go play fast, and he’s going to be, you know, we’re going to do a lot of things with him. Hopefully, because of that, he’s going to be very hard to defend if he’s making good decisions. It’s all about making good decisions and then letting his decisions that keep him and our offense on the field, and then his athletic ability, whether or not it’s running or throwing, it will help move the ball and hopefully get the ball in the endzone.”

Is there a position group on the offense this pressure? How do you like just the whole group mesh together with the season opener just next week?

“Yeah, I think they’re all different. It’d be hard for me to say there’s one group better than the other. I think they’re all different, and they’ve all done a good job of working together to help each other out and help that position, you know, prepare for the season. I think overall, you know, you kind of see that we just kind of talk into we talk in there at times after scrimmages and things like that, just, ‘Hey, number one, stay in your own lane, worry about yourself first.’

“And then, if you’re not in there, watch the guy who’s playing your position, making sure you do the things that he’s doing. Or, if it’s a mistake, make sure you don’t make that same mistake. So communication has gotten a lot better overall offensively, and that starts with the quarterback, starts with the center. So yeah, I think just overall, I think any probably coordinator standing would say the same thing, but compared to our first day of fall practice, I think we’re a lot further along. But obviously, the tests come when the games come.”

When you’re watching these wide receivers, do you ever think of how many might play in a game?

“Yeah, I kind of leave that up to Coach (Mike) Furrey a little bit. But I do think that more so than maybe what we thought. Yes, on paper, everyone, you know, they all come in, you got six guys coming in, but, like, ‘Okay, there’s six freshmen. They’ll probably be one or two.’ No, I mean, like you said, there’s going to be multiple guys.

“And Coach Beamer does a great job of expressing that to all of our players, but especially those young guys at the receiver position of, ‘Hey, you might not be playing right now, or you might be first on the top two on the depth chart right now, but that could change pretty quick and you’re going to get evaluated on every practice, you know whether or not it’s the beginning of practice with routes or towards the end, maybe you’re on scout team, but we look at all that stuff, and we move people around.’ And he’s done that in the past; he showed clips to the team of how guys who have started out the scout team, and then halfway through the season, they were starting. So I think there’s going to be more (freshmen) than we thought on the field.”

Not asking for the playbook, but last year ran a lot of two-tight end sets. Do you see your tight end as being able to fulfill that role if y’all wanted to go that way?

“Yeah, I think so. Now, do we have Josh Simon? No, not necessarily, but we’ve got guys that are doing a good job that are going to help this offense move the football, and when the ball comes their way, we feel confident of getting them the football.

“So they’re doing a good job, and those guys can make you versatile as an offense, not just because they’re on the field with multiple tight end groups, but if they can play different positions, you know, lining up next to each other, that’s going to help too. That way, with that personnel on the field, you can’t get booked, can’t get like, ‘Okay, they’re only running this play or that play.’ You can do different things. That’s the goal, really, for all personal groupings. But I think our tight ends have done a good job when they’re in there doing that.”

What have you seen from the quarterbacks not named LaNorris Sellers?

“Yeah, I think progress for sure. I think all those guys have done a nice job. Luke (Doty)’s got obviously, more college experience in general, and then Air (Noland) and Cutter (Woods) have done the same thing. They’re kind of a microcosm of what I’ve just talked about. They’ve gotten considerably better since day one of fall camp.

“Both of them are just getting better with each rep. And so it’s good competition right there, and it’s a good room. They’re all pushing each other, positive. And they can help each other, not just motivationally, but just you know, thinking faster, remind each other about certain things. So again, with that position, especially, you gotta make sure that you take what you see or what you do in the meeting rooms and what we go over and then apply that to the practice field quickly.”

It might be hard to say without playing an actual game yet, but what do you feel will be the biggest difference about this offense this year?

“Yeah, it’s hard. You guys might know more than more than me. I mean, just because we’ve got so many new guys. I think the same thing last year, we at this time, you know, not quite sure, kind of think how it might unfold, but and how we’re going to be, but haven’t played a game yet.

“We’ve had a couple scrimmages, yes, spring ball, yes, practice against each other, but we still haven’t played a game yet,” Shula said. “So it’s our job to kind of not, yes, you have to have direction, but you have to have some flexibility as well, in case things are like, hey, you know, even though we like this, we’re really good at maybe something else that, at first, we didn’t like so much. Hey, let’s be flexible enough to allow these guys to go play fast. We’ve got a talented group. Let’s go show their talent by doing what they do best. So it’s hard for me, it’s hard for us to answer that question. I know it sounds boring, but it’s probably just going to unfold as we go.”

When would you like to name a QB2, QB3?

“I just talk right now, have those guys doing the best they can, not worrying about it. Coach Beamer will announce all that stuff. But those guys, stay focused on how you can get better, and if you’re not in there, watch the guy that’s in there.”

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