South Carolina Football Offseason Autopsy:
Grading the Offensive Coordinator
Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer and former offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield parted ways after the 2023 season, and depending on who one asks, Satterfield was fired, was asked to look for a new job, or left without any resistance from his head coach. No matter the details, Satterfield became the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ problem, and former Arkansas assistant Dowell Loggains became the play caller in Columbia.
Because Loggains was the man in charge of the offense, he gets the majority of the blame for the bad season on that side of the football, and most of that is deserved. However, it is important to note that the Gamecocks’ process on offense was better than the last two seasons under Satterfield.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean that the 2023 South Carolina football team was led well on offense. Loggains struggled mightily whenever his opening game script ran out (though, he was elite on script for most of the season, scoring in the 1st quarter of every game but one).
His players liked the simplicity of Loggains’ playbook, but the Gamecocks really could have used some more “complex” middle passing game this season. Behind-the-line-of-scrimmage plays and deep shots were the majority of the passing calls, but USC had success on crossers and outs in the few instances they chose to run them.
Loggains was handcuffed severely this season by his offensive line, but he only seemed to adjust in some games this season but not in others. The Texas A&M and North Carolina game plans looked like they were tailored to hide the Gamecocks’ deficiencies up front with quick passes and other “offensive line-proof” concepts. The Missouri and Clemson games notably did not.
If Dowell Loggains is the offensive coordinator for the Gamecocks in 2024, he will have quarterback LaNorris Sellers most likely at the helm. Though no one should expect Sellers to be as good as Spencer Rattler next year, his running ability might fit Loggains’ offense in a way that makes him more comfortable as he resembles Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson physically.