South Carolina coach Shane Beamer couldn’t stop talking about LSU’s offensive line at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“Arguably, the best offensive line in the country,” he said early in his opening statement and zoned in on left tackle Will Campbell and right tackle Emery Jones, Jr. – a couple of juniors expected to be first and second round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, respectively, should they come out a year early.
Campbell (6-foot-6, 323 pounds) is considered a likely top 10 pick, while Jones (6-6, 315) is viewed as an early second round selection.
“The two tackles are unbelievable,” Beamer said as he prepares South Carolina (2-0) to host the No. 16 Tigers (1-1) at 11 a.m. central time Saturday on ABC.
The South Carolina coaching staff grades key opponent players before games and gave both Campbell and Jones an “elite/rare” tag.
“You might see that maybe once a year,” Beamer said. “Certainly, those tackles have those grades from our standpoint. There’s a reason why they’re going to be high draft picks. But like I told our players this morning, that’s life in the SEC.”
Campbell and Jones and the rest of the Tigers’ line has done remarkably well in front of new starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who leads the nation in touchdown passes with eight and has not been sacked this season. He is No. 15 in the nation in passing yards with 610 with 57 completions in 76 attempts with one interception.
“Really impressed with Nussmeier,” Beamer said. “He does not look like a first-time starter. He looks very poised and confident. He can make all the throws.”
Beamer, though, did not mention the struggles LSU’s offensive line has had with the running game this season. The Tigers are 116th in the nation in rush offense with 88.5 yards a game.
“What an opportunity to go against what many are saying is the best offensive line in the country,” he said.
That line features four returning starters in all. The other two are senior left guard Garrett Dellinger and senior right guard Miles Frazier.
South Carolina has played well on defense so far this season. The Gamecocks are No. 19 nationally against the pass with 120 yards allowed a game. But Beamer kept repeating himself.
“We’re getting ready to play against the best offensive line in the nation,” he said.
And it’s not like Beamer does not have other big things to worry about. South Carolina is hosting ESPN’s College GameDay for the first time since 2014. Beamer took over in the 2021 season and is coming off a 5-7 season, including his third straight .500 or worse season at 3-5.
“We don’t need to be like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s LSU, and it’s GameDay,'” he said. “The bandwagon is getting full right now. We can’t sit around and drink the Kool-Aid all week.
“This is going to be the first of many times that GameDay comes here for one of our games,” Beamer said of his era. “So we need to get used to it. Can’t wait to keep this thing rolling.”
Beamer will try to make the best of GameDay and the significance of LSU coming to Columbia for the first time since 2008.
“I would encourage everyone to please get here early,” he said. “We know traffic will be wild, to say the least. We don’t need filtering in because of traffic. Get here early. Start tailgating from 6 a.m., whatever you’ve got to do. So get in here, because this place needs to be rocking on Saturday. This will be their quarterback’s first true road start. He’s a mature quarterback who’s been in big environments, but we need to make it difficult for him.”
Beamer also has a new LSU defensive coordinator to prepare to play in former Missouri DC Blake Baker.
“Haven’t watched a ton of last year’s LSU defense,” he said. “I’ve watched more of 2023’s Missouri defense, because schematically, we’re going to see more of Missouri. The thing that jumps out is the effort they play with. You can tell they have a lot of confidence in what they’re doing. They’re playing fast, getting lined up and utilizing their abilities. They don’t try to disguise a lot. They line up in press man-to-man and say, ‘Go beat us.’”
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