South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer addressed the media this week following the program’s latest coaching shake-up — the firing of offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley and the reassignment of tight ends coach Shawn Elliott to lead the offensive front.
Elliott, a Camden native and former South Carolina offensive line coach under Steve Spurrier (2012–15), brings valuable experience to a unit that has been one of the team’s biggest concerns this season. The hope in Columbia is that Elliott’s return to the trenches can steady the Gamecocks’ protection issues — though Beamer admits the blame doesn’t rest on one group alone.
“It’s a combination of everything,” Beamer said Tuesday. “It certainly starts with the offensive line. I’m not going to say that it doesn’t, but again, we’ve all got a hand in it. The other night there were a couple of pressures where, yeah, we got beat on the offensive line — and when you’re playing against a good SEC defense, that’s going to happen.”
Beamer explained that breakdowns in communication and missed assignments have also been costly. “There were a couple of pressures where a tackle should have been getting help from either a tight end or a running back, and for whatever reason, it didn’t happen. He thought he had help outside, and he didn’t, and we gave up a pressure.”
The numbers back up the concern. South Carolina ranks 125th nationally in sacks allowed (20) and 110th in tackles for loss allowed (37). Against LSU, quarterback LaNorris Sellers was pressured on nearly 60% of his dropbacks — an unsustainable rate in SEC play.
Beamer emphasized shared accountability. “When I look at the pressure we’ve given up, we’ve all got a hand in it,” he said. “Whether it’s the quarterback not getting rid of the ball fast enough, the running back missing a block, the tight end, or a receiver not running the right route — we all need to be better. It’s too much.”
Sellers echoed that mindset, noting that communication and recognition are crucial. “Certain protections are zoned one way when it’s man across the board. Or if they’re bringing a four-weak, I should see it. But everybody has a hand in it,” the redshirt sophomore said.
He also admitted he needs to speed up his own decisions. “You’ve got to make quicker decisions, really,” Sellers said. “They pressured a lot. We knew they liked to pressure. So, you just got to make quicker decisions and work quicker on the fly.”
Despite the struggles, Sellers remains confident in his offensive line. “I just trust them. I think everybody can do their job on offense,” he said. “If they make mistakes, they’ll be like, ‘Hey, that’s on me.’ That’s what I need more — that accountability.”
Beamer acknowledged the trend of protection issues throughout his tenure but made it clear improvement is the only acceptable direction. “That’s not playing winning football,” he said. “So whoever’s responsible for it, we’ve all got a hand in it — players and coaches — and it needs to be better. I’m confident that it will be going forward.”
As for Sellers, he knows it comes down to one thing: consistency. With Elliott now leading the offensive line and a renewed focus on communication, both quarterback and coach believe this group can start turning things around — before it’s too late.
