South Carolina coach Shane Beamer met with the media Tuesday to preview Saturday's game vs. Tennessee.
Here are some key notes and quotes from Beamer's availability:
– Beamer on Saturday's game: "We've got a heck of an opportunity on Saturday in Columbia. Back in Williams-Brice Stadium. Another sold-out environment in Williams-Brice Stadium. We need our crowd to be the factor and have the impact on Saturday night – just like they did against Texas A&M."
– Beamer on Tennessee: "We've got a heck of a challenge once the game kicks off on Saturday night. A really, really good team that's playing well – not just on offense, but all three phases. Special teams plays really, really hard. They're explosive, they've got really good returners. Defensively, you look at everything statistically in our league – they're right up near the top in all of it. They're playing really well."
– Beamer on Hendon Hooker: "It speaks for itself what a great player Hendon Hooker is. I remember watching him in high school. I was at Georgia, we were trying to recruit another young man from Greensboro. I remember being up there on a Friday night watching that young man play, and he was playing against Hendon's team. I just remember watching him that night and just how talented he was as a quarterback. As an alumnus of Virginia Tech, I'm still trying to figure out how the heck he got out of Blacksburg when he was their starting quarterback there and ended up at Tennessee."
– Beamer pointed out that each of Tennessee's offensive and defensive starters are either juniors or seniors, which makes the Vols a veteran group. He said that they've played a lot of football – and it shows.
– Beamer on Tennessee's wideouts: "They've got fantastic receivers all over the field. There's a bunch of weapons. You've got to get lined up with their tempo. It's certainly a challenge."
– Beamer on if he's talked to his players about last season's slow start vs. Tennessee: "No, I haven't talked about it. ... I think they know. Last year's game is last year's game. The only thing we can make reference to is that we can't be shocked by (Tennessee's) tempo. We have to handle the tempo better earlier – better than we did last season."
– Beamer on the challenge of facing the Vols: "They're playing at a really, really high level. Our guys are excited about the challenge. It's going to take a great week of practice to go out there and play well on Saturday night."
Login to view embedded media
