COLUMBIA, S.C. — A 2-5 record was not what anyone inside the Carolina camp envisioned after last season’s eight-win campaign and the return of a number of playmakers.
But a host of injuries on the offensive line and receiver have played a big role in a three-game losing streak which will stretch to four if the Gamecocks can not find a way to win at Kyle Field, home to the Texas A&M Aggies. But in spite of the adversity facing the team, head coach Shane Beamer says it is important for everyone within the walls of the Long Family Football Operations Center that there are at least five opportunities remaining for the team.
“A lot of the goals that we had in the beginning of the season aren’t attainable. A lot of the goals that these seniors had in the beginning of the season are still very much attainable,” Beamer said Tuesday at his weekly news conference.
“These seniors, Dakereon Joyner, who has given so much to this university, did not come back this season to be sitting here at 2-5. Like I told these seniors, this is your team. Whatever you want to get done, you need to communicate that so it’s on you guys. We have empowered you as leaders. Now, what are you going to do with it? I have seen great signs of that with those guys communicating with one another throughout the week, at practice, with their work ethic.”
Beamer added that regardless of the previous game’s outcome, the adversity is easier to be handled because of who is with him in the bunker.
“Like I told you guys all along, we’ve got great young men in this program. It would be one thing if I woke up on Sunday morning, or really don’t wake up because you hardly sleep on Saturday night after a loss, but when I get out of bed and come to the facility and if I came in here like, ‘Oh God. I have to go deal with these guys again today.’ That is not the way I feel. Even after a brutal loss on Saturday, gut wrenching loss the Saturday before. I come in here on Sunday and I can’t wait for the players to come into the building on 3 o’clock on Sunday and be around them and that is the truth. We have good young men. We have good people in this program. We have good leadership on this team. We all need to be better. We have a lot of football left and let’s make sure we appreciate being around one another day in and day out, too.”