Marcus Satterfield 'super confident' South Carolina can be more explosive in pass game
If there was one thing Marcus Satterfield wants to improve on, it was South Carolina’s efficiency in the pass game.
That encompasses a lot from protection to spacing and route running to quarterback play. But all of it adds up to being a more explosive passing team.
Where the Gamecocks are there pleases Satterfield exiting the team’s second scrimmage.
“When it was time to take a shot we’re not doing anything detrimental to keep us from getting the ball off or making a play. Sometimes last year we’d take a shot and turn somebody loose,” he said Wednesday.
“Those things aren’t happening at this point. I think our kids have worked hard and have a great understanding of how we’re trying to attack. It’s showing.”
Last season the Gamecocks finished 13th in the SEC in pass plays of at least 10 yards, ahead of just Vanderbilt, and 11th in passes of at least 20 yards.
South Carolina quarterbacks struggled with the deep ball. They completed just 47.7 percent of attempts of at least 20 yards in the regular season, averaging 12.9 yards per attempt with five touchdowns and six picks.
That’s an NFL quarterback rating of 92.23.
There were 15 balls batted down and also one drop. The line gave the quarterbacks an average of 3.2 seconds to throw.
Also bringing in Spencer Rattler should help the Gamecocks’ vertical passing attack.
In his three seasons at Oklahoma, Rattler completed 48.6 percent of his 74 attempts, averaging 16.7 yards per attempt on deep balls. He threw 14 touchdowns to four interceptions with a passer rating of 111.77.
He had 27 balls batted, eight drops and an average of 3.72 seconds to throw.
With Rattler and the group of skill position players South Carolina has, Satterfield is positive the Gamecocks will be more explosive.
“Super confident we can be more explosive. I look forward to watching those guys. It’s fun to watch them compete,” he said. “If we have these four plays in, they’re all fighting like, ‘I’m the Z on that one, I’m the X on that one.’ It’s fun to watch them fight and compete and try to get those spots.”
South Carolina wrapped its final scrimmage of the preseason Saturday. It enters a mock game week now before the real thing starting Sunday.
Satterfield was also pleased with South Carolina’s progress from the first scrimmage to the second. And time will tell what this offense can look like in year two.
“Just the consistency and tempo we played with in scrimmage two, we definitely improved. Situationally we improved,” he said. “They’ve done a nice job, especially our one group, of taking care of the football and not having a lot of penalties. Knock on wood, I hope I didn’t jinx myself there.”
