South Carolina Gamecocks College Football Pregame Quote, 11/19/2024

Opening Statement

“Saturday is our salute the troops game. That is always one of the highlights of the season for me. I remember last year, I think it was the cold, rainy day against Vanderbilt and seeing those men and women in the stadium and the fun they were having really put things into perspective last year during the game and does every year during this game. So grateful for them, all of the military branches. The men and women and the sacrifices they make for their service to our country. Really proud and honored to be able to recognize them this Saturday, as well.

“Always starts with us and there is a lot for us to be better at. As great as the last month has been and as good as Saturday night was, there is a lot for us to be better at in all three phases. That is what I talked to the team about this morning in our team meeting is we need to get better this week. There is no question about it. We are excited about getting back to work. Had a good practice this morning and good spirits and energy. I said this on Saturday night then I forgot to do it in the teleconference, so I am definitely going to do it right now. We need to make sure we honor the seniors the right way on Saturday. Gamecock Walk needs to be electric because for so many of those seniors that will be getting honored on Saturday, that is the last Gamecock Walk that they will ever get to do. I guess unless they come back here as a coach one day. As a player, it will be their last Gamecock Walk. We will honor them right after pregame warmups. Right around 3:30, somewhere in there is when we will do our Senior Day recognition. I would just ask all of our fans to shut the tailgates down early. There is plenty of opportunities in the future, God willing, to tailgate. This will be the last opportunity and only opportunity to recognize a really special group of seniors. I would love nothing more than for Williams-Brice Stadium to be absolutely packed at 3:30, 30 minutes before kickoff, so we can give those seniors that will be playing their last game in Williams-Brice Stadium the recognition with their families on the field and the ovation that they deserve. There are other opportunities to tailgate this season, as well. If they are not going to the Clemson game next weekend and tailgating, they can come to whatever the postseason game is after Clemson. They can tailgate after that. You have all day to tailgate. Get there early, tailgate, but shut that thing down and please get into the stadium by 3:30 so we can really make that Senior Day recognition special for these guys because this is a really, really special group of seniors that we are honoring. Guys that either came in January as a transfer and have made an impact in their time here. Guys that were a part of the signing class when I got hired that never met me like T.J. Sanders or Juju is a better example. T.J. was a part of that class. He is technically not a senior. Juju is a senior and honoring him or the guys that were here when I got here. Tonka, Boogie, Vershon, Kai, Alex and whatnot, Hunter. There is just a bunch of really good players that we need to honor. Please help me in doing that Gamecock nation. I would appreciate that.”

On Nyck Harbor’s development

“So proud of him. The guys works his butt off. He is so appreciative for everything that he gets. I have told you guys the story where after the A&M game last season, he came into my office on Sunday night and thanked me for the opportunity to play so many plays. When he caught a touchdown pass against Furman, thanking me for giving him an opportunity to play. He is just appreciative for everything. That is still ongoing now with all he has done. He is still making those phone calls, sending those text messages or whatnot. That is why he brought the actual game ball into the postgame press conference the other night. It really meant a lot to him to get that ball. It is pretty cool to see. When I say he works really hard. He works really, really hard. He is in here on his off day. He is out there with coach Furrey. It is important to him. It is really cool to see someone who is a great young man, first of all, work really, really hard and have the success that he has had. Like I told him, he is just scratching the surface for how good he can be. He is just really developed. Even the play the other night and the long pass down the sideline. I don’t know if he would have made that last year. It was a good release off the line of scrimmage. It was a good route. It was great ball skills to track the ball and make the catch. Then, the threat he poses to defenses. He got the holding penalty because the guy literally grabbed the back of his jersey and just hanging on because Nyck was running past him. He has worked really, really hard on the details of being a receiver. Credit coach Furrey for pouring into him like he has, as well.”

On if he wants to have a non-SEC opponent the week before Clemson in the future

“It’s different. They don’t ask me, first of all. I guess the schedules, I am assuming the 2024 date for the Wofford game was probably set before I even got hired. I guess Clemson is doing the same thing because they play The Citadel this week. So, I guess they are doing the same thing. I really hadn’t thought about it. I know it is coach speak to say, “We will just play them whenever we will tell them to play them and we will be there.’ Which is true. We will play them whenever we are supposed to be there as far as the week before that Clemson game. Now that you mentioned it, the more I think about it, it seems like most teams in the SEC do have a non-conference before the rivalry game. It seems like Alabama always does in the past. I guess they don’t think week. I think they play Oklahoma. I don’t know. I know I am bouncing around and haven’t really given you an answer. There is merit to both of them. Obviously, we have had success with playing a big non-conference game before Clemson and I guess we have won all three games before the Clemson game.”

On if there is one play that LaNorris Sellers made on Saturday that stands out the most

“Probably one that no one is really talking about is when we had the called quarterback run in the fourth quarter over there where he kind of ran out of bounds near our sideline. I think it was maybe a 1st and 10 play and it was a designed quarterback run. I think it was after Missouri had just taken the lead. It was a play that he ran for a first down but he broke a couple of tackles and it really got that drive going in a lot of ways. People talk about the passes and those were great and there were some really good ones. That is one that stands out to me because it is a good, tough run downhill. He broke some tackles and his extra effort of breaking tackles and straining allowed us to get a first down and really get the drive going. I think that was the drive that we took the lead for the next to last time. I think it was that same drive. It was the fourth quarter and it was a designed quarterback run.”

On staying locked in this week

“We talked about it as a team this morning that, one, you better have a respect for Wofford and have yourself ready to play because they can present you some problems. You just watch special teams. They had a fake punt against Chattanooga. They had a fake field against Richmond. They did a fake field goal this year against Western Carolina. On a kick off return, they faked a throwback pass against I think it was Mercer. They did a surprise onside kickoff in the middle of the game against VMI. So you better have yourself ready to go and have a respect for them, first of all, because they can attack you in special teams and next thing you know, you are in a battle because your mind is not where it needs to be. For us, we always talk about this. It really is about us. The message that I have given them that we have talked about is, we need to get better this week. Going back to the beginning of the month and we talked about, they remember November. They remember November and not just what you do in the SEC games in November. It is, they remember November. We are still writing this story in the month of November and we need to get better. We have been a team that has always gotten better as the season has gone on. That doesn’t mean that you get better, get better and you play a non-SEC team and you stay the same. You better get better this week, as well. I just go by, are they on time for meeings? Is there a sense of urgency? Is the practice still spirited and intense? All the answers to that were yes. Hopefully, we can continue to have a really good week and lead into Saturday.”

On Senior Day and the emotions that go into that

“As far as the seniors and their emotion, we talk about it each year that there will be the emotions of that and then you really have to put an end to that. You have to go play football. They will come out the tunnel, they will see their families, they will be recognized and then, they have to go back in and put their helmets on and get ready to go come right back out and play football. That is something that you worry about, for sure. Really, continuing to emphasize to them that how you make your Senior Day really special is to go win the football game. You do that by understanding that it is going to be different because it is your last time. When the game starts, it is all about football, as well. Yeah, absolutely. I know I will. I am like that. I cry during movies and things like that. I had to film a video with our social media team, and I wasn’t even talking about the seniors individually in that video. We were just talking about a group and caught myself a couple of times just thinking about them and got a little emotional. It is just because of how much gratitude I have for them. ‚Ķ Every year I say this, but this is the group that has been here the longest that I wasn’t the coach that they came to play for. This is Year 4 with me. In today’s time, it is so easy to just pack up and go somewhere else. Man, this guy doesn’t know what he is talking about. I didn’t come play for this idiot and move elsewhere and go to another team. Easily could have done that last season when we were 5-7 and they all doubled down on, no, we believe in what we are doing. We believe in this program. We want to leave this place a better place than what it was record wise in 2023. I am just so happy for them that they are having the success in 2024 that they came back for which is pretty cool.”

On Nick Emmanwori’s impact on the program

“Huge. Nick has been awesome. He really has. It seems like yesterday that he was just out here at our summer camp and we kind of knew about him but we didn’t really know about him. Then, he came out here going into his senior year at Irmo and realized what a special talent he is. To come out in his very first game as a Gamecock. We didn’t even really know if he was going to play against Georgia State that year and then he ended up coming into the game and playing and playing really well. I remember we go out to Arkansas the next week. I still vividly remember there is a one-on-one tackle, him and KJ Jefferson, the Arkansas quarterback at the time. Nick gets this big quarterback down as a true freshman. There is just play after play just some individual great effort plays. For it to be a guy from the state of South Carolina is awesome. I tell recruits all the time. When I was here before when we really got it rolling, we were doing it with players from the state of South Carolina. Him and DQ coming into that class together and what they have done has been really, really cool. Nick is a guy that after last season, with the kind of player he is, there were plenty of places he could have gone if he wanted to. He wanted to leave a legacy here and be a guy that finished what you started in the state of South Carolina and be a guy that’s remembered here forever and not a guy that just came and played a year or two and bounced and went to some other school for whatever reason. He believes in this place. He loves this community and it is really cool to see him have the success that he having as well and the career he has had here that will allow him to go play football for a long time after Carolina, as well.”

On the defensive improvement and how much of that comes from the returning players

“That’s huge. It’s something that I think really gets overlooked when they talk about our defense or really even our team in a lot of ways. That’s why I could’ve shook my head at some of the preseason projections about us. Look, I get it. We were 5-7. We lost our starting quarterback and lost our best offensive player in Xavier Legette. Everybody is like, ‘Well, they stunk last year. They were 5-7. Quarterback is gone. Receiver is gone. They are not going to be very good.’ Well, look at who we have coming back. I know LaNorris Sellers was unknown, but it wasn’t like we had a bunch of slaps that were returning. We had a good team coming back this year whether it be Vershon Lee at center or Josh Simon at tight end. Then, you talk about a lot of the receivers that were coming back and whatnot. Then, you look at the defense. We played really good defense down the stretch last year and that whole group returned outside of Marcellas Dial, Jordan Strachan. Two linebackers left but we we brought in some really good players to replace those guys. If you count us having five starters in the secondary, counting our nickel. Four of our five starters in the secondary were back and our top three defensive tackles were back. In my mind with Bam and Debo, our top two linebackers were back. So, we brought a lot back but we knew we needed to improve the pass rush. There is no question about it. I told T.J. and Tonka and Boogie when they were deciding whether or not to come back this year. Look, y’all had to play too many plays last year because we didn’t have the depth at defensive tackle. We are going to get some depth around you and we have done that with the guys that we have brought in there whether it be Jules, Monkell, Rondarius or Nick Barrett. It is huge. When I meet with those TV crews on Fridays, it is one thing I try to mention to them because they will bring up those guys, the new ones.  We brought back some really good players that have embraced those new guys and it has been a perfect mix of talented freshmen, older returners and older transfers that have come in.”

On when they have to be at 105 players on the roster

“My understanding that when the season starts. It is a challenge right now just trying to get clarity on a lot of things because there is a lot of stuff going on right now in college football, as you can imagine, when it comes to roster management. In regards to the final roster number, my understanding is that it is before the season starts in 2025. Not spring practice, not summer, not even preseason camp. Again, I could walk back into my office and have a call from coach Tanner and he tells me that has changed.”

On how they go about planning for that

“Great question. I wish I had a great answer for you. You really just try and project. It is hard. You know who you have on your roster right now. You know who is committed to sign with you in a couple of weeks. You know who you are still recruiting that isn’t committed that might sign with you. You know that you are going to lose some guys that will leave early for the NFL Draft. You will probably lose some guys that decide to transfer for whatever reason. Transfer guys that you bring in. You are doing a lot of projecting. It is tough because when we walked out of SEC meetings in May down in Destin as head coaches, there wasn’t real clarity on, is it going to be you are capped at 85 players, period. Are you capped at 85 scholarships with 20 walk-ons? Is it going to be, you have 95 players and they are all on scholarship? There was a lot of balls in the air when you were walking out of there. I think a lot of coaches thought, you are going to have a roster limit of around 105 and you are going to try and stay around 85. If you want to go up to 105, great. You walked out of Destin having a couple of possibilities. Then, it came down, you are at a hard 85 scholarships with 20 walk-ons, or whatnot. That part has just been tough just having to adjust in some ways in regards to your overall scholarship number. Which I am sure a lot of coaches across the country didn’t even think they were going to have to be capped at 85, that it might be more than that. If that makes sense. ‚Ķ I am planning for 105 roster spots and 85 scholarship spots. But, who knows.”

On the challenges of retaining seniors and finding the right guys in the transfer portal

“I think challenges were just, I don’t know how much of a challenge it was. It was just making sure these guys understand that we are not far away. I know there was that social media video that Justin King and them put together that it has me in the weight room the day after our season ending banquet on that Monday morning and I tell the team that last night stunk because we weren’t getting ready for postseason but that we weren’t that far off. I truly meant that. We really weren’t. Telling our players and there is a player that left our program after last season and one of the reasons he told me he was leaving was, I don’t think we are going to be very good, and we don’t have a quarterback. He told me that. I said, ‘Well, I disagree. We have us a quarterback. You have seen our quarterbacks at practice, and we are going to be good around him.’ That player said, ‘Well, I don’t know coach. It isn’t looking too good.’ Well, he is somewhere else right now and there are a lot of guys that are here and are glad they are here. It wasn’t so much of a challenge. It was making sure our guys understood, one, we are not that far off. Two, leaving a legacy here and three, here is the plan that I have in place to get it right. Going back to what we said about getting some depth on the defensive line and adding some pass rushers. We knew we needed to do that. We knew we had a talented freshman class coming in. We needed to add depth to the quarterback room outside of LaNorris and those guys. It wasn’t me having to convince guys, please stay. You always want to do what is best for the young man. If they felt it was best to move on, we would support them and wish them well. NFL feedback, here is the feedback that you have gotten from the NFL that recommends you come back for another year because here is where you would most likely be projected to be drafted if you did leave. If you do come back, here is the plan to, one, make sure that we can maximize your abilities on the field and ours as a team, also. Then, there is an academic element of it, also. Being able to come back and graduate and things like that, as well. It wasn’t so much of a convincing. It was more just clarity and showing them here is why it is going to be different in 2024 and listening to them also. Not that there was a bunch of complaints about last season but me listening to them and hearing from them what their thoughts were in regards to 2023 and how to be better.”

On his favorite videos from Justin King and his team

“I have said it before and usually with Justin and his team, I don’t even ask questions. He just tells me what to do and I do it. Like the one of the other night getting the trophy out of the little storage thing that was out on the field after I finished up with you guys and did the radio show with Todd. I walked out to do the TV show and he said before we do the TV show, I need you to do something. I just need you to walk by this, bend down, pick up the trophy and walk away. I was like, ‘OK, cool.’ I did it and he put that out. There is not a lot of questions that I ask him. I just ask him not to embarrass me. Favorites, I think all of them. Everything he has done are really, really good. He is so talented. His whole team is. They work really, really hard back there in the back. I walk down that hallway going to Joe D’s office every day when I meet with Joe D about special teams. They are all in there working. They are always talking about ideas and things like that. It is a really talented group of people back in there. I would say the one video that still comes up all the time is obviously the Soulja Boy video from before media days a couple of years ago. That one always comes up. I was at a high school football game back in October during the off week and I was standing on the sidelines and the high school I was at in Alabama started playing Soulja Boy. The mom of the recruit that I was there to see texted me and said, “I had them play that for you. That is for you.’ Which thought that was pretty cool. Then, The Office spoof. That was still comes up everywhere. It is not so much recruits. I don’t know how many recruits watch The Office. From just random people. I may be out to dinner at an airport and some random 60-year old person will come up to me and tell me they saw that and how awesome it was. That was pretty good as well. AB and those guys did a great job acting in that, as well. Kim Fields. We had a whole assumable that was a part of that group.”

On the injury report

“Brady Hunt won’t play. Outside of that, I would say that we are optimistic on everyone else that didn’t finish the game. If we had to put a report out, I would say maybe not probable, doubtful or questionable, but optimistic on everyone else. Judge Collier should be fine. He practiced today. The ones that to me would be the most questionable, doubtful, probable, optimistic would be the tight ends and seeing how they respond outside of Brady. They were out there today. Have to see how far they come along between now and Saturday. Everyone else should be good. Jared Brown is banged up a little bit but we will see how he is as the week goes, also.”

On the plans at left tackle for Wofford

“Josiah is back healthy. He should be good to go. Tree obviously has started a lot of games for us going back to last season and played really, really well Saturday against Missouri. We feel like we have two really good left tackles and are good with both of those guys regardless of who is out there.”

On his donation to the band for their trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

“I did give a contribution to help the band be able to go up to New York City for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. ‚Ķ We did. One, I am so grateful for the band. So grateful for the impact they make on Saturdays in Williams-Brice Stadium. One of the highlights of my year is getting to go talk to them in August when they are here. We are doing preseason camp and they are here two weeks early before school even starts and they are practicing and getting ready. So grateful for them. That is the greatest environment in all of college football across the street there and part of that is the atmosphere and impact they make. I was actually sitting in my office, and this was probably the week of the A&M game or Vanderbilt and it was late on a Tuesday night and I got a text from Darius Rucker and Darius said, ‘Hey, what do you think about this. The band is trying to get up to New York City. What about if me, you and Dawn, we each contribute and help them go. ‚Ķ I said, I think that is great. He feels about the band like how I feel about the band and everyone else here at Carolina. Grateful for them. Darius texted me that and it took me about five seconds to respond, ‘Heck yeah. Just tell me what you need from me.’ I love this university and love this community. Be awesome for them to be able go up to New York City and appreciate Darius coming up with that idea and being able to do that for them.”