Marcus Satterfield weighs in on why offense has struggled
This offseason, South Carolina spent months and plenty of hours of manpower diving into the portal in search of offensive skill talent.
The Gamecocks, destined to improve after a staccato first season under Marcus Satterfield, succeeded in bringing it in, headlined by Antwane Wells Jr., Spencer Rattler and Austin Stogner.
But through 10 games, things haven’t clicked the way the Gamecocks wanted, and Marcus Satterfield weighed in on why Wednesday.
•Subscribe until the 2023 football season for only $10!
“Just inconsistency of guys staying healthy at the right time and guys learning a new offense. We did it in the spring and did it in the summer. It’s another thing to do it when you get to camp and play games. Learning each other through games with player to coach, coach to coach, coach to player,” he said.
“The inconsistency of having all of our guys at the same time. When you lose a guy like MarShawn, who’s a first down every three or four times he touches the ball, it hurts you. Having to be a little bit of a grab bag at times to make sure we’re doing things to try and move the ball creates inconsistency.”
The Gamecocks did lose Corey Rucker for nearly all of the season outside of a handful of snaps. Two of their top three rushers–MarShawn Lloyd and Christian Beal-Smith–have been hurt for stretches as well.
But even when Lloyd was healthy, South Carolina never really got off the ground consistently through the first 10 games.
South Carolina ranks ninth in scoring offense, averaging 28.6 points per game. It ranks 11th in the SEC in rushing yards per attempt (3.98), seventh in yards per attempt (7.7), eighth in quarterback rating (136.6) and eighth in yards per play.
The issue, though, becomes two anemic performances in the last three games: a 10-point, 203-yard outing against Missouri and “rock bottom,” as Satterfield says, with a six-point performance against Florida where South Carolina had 237 yards of offense.
“I wouldn’t say we’re trying to reshape our identity. We have our identity as far as our program and as an offense. Are we able to huddle up and run 65 plays and hand the ball off and rush for 250 yards right now? No,” he said. “That feeds into the play action pass and movements and all the different concepts we use. We’re still the same offense, we just have to clean it up and make some plays when they’re there.”
• Win a MarShawn Lloyd-autographed Gamecocks football
Things don’t get easier for South Carolina, going up against two top-10 teams to end the regular season. While things aren’t working, Satterfield said he’s committed to the process while trying to find a way to help this team reach its maximum potential.
“I’m sure most people would think I’m stubborn or old school but I’m not. I look at it as toughness and a commitment to the process that allows you to get to certain points as a football organization or individually. We know what it takes to win, we know what it takes to play smart football, we know what it takes to take care of the football, we know what it takes to run the football. We just have to be demanding as coaches at practice,” he said.
“I’m always searching for ways to do things better. I hate being reactionary. I hate when coaches come in and say, ‘By god this week we’re going to take care of the ball and do ball security.’ i hate that. You don’t ever want to be reactionary because that means you let something go before it happened. Offensively we’re always trying to find better ways to do what we do.”
• Subscribe (for free) to the Gamecock Central YouTube page!
With anemic showing after anemic showing this year, there is plenty of outside pressure on Satterfield. It’s something he doesn’t necessarily read, but he knows about and welcomes if warranted.
“It’s more family and players having to process that. I love (the criticism. I worked my whole life in football and been too many places where they didn’t even know you had a game. It’s basketball season and they’re at the gym. I love the fact we’re that passionate about this program and this organization. Is it frustrating at times? It is. But I need to get our guys playing better,” Satterfield said.
“As a fan, you come out and want to see a product. As a coach, I want to see the product of our hard work at practice. It’s frustrating. So I totally get it. I have no ill will towards anybody. everybody has a right to their opinion. It does get tough at times but it is what it is. When you sign up for this job you know you’re going to go through the ups and downs of it.”
