Nuggets Climb The Mountain (Hour 1)

Live from the palatial yet not overly ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City sitting on top of the 10th floor 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates Sirius XM channel 158 and that free Odyssey app 855-212-4CBS number to jump on in 855-212-4227. You could always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's z-a-c-h-g-e-l-b. Coming up 40 minutes from now, a little college football fix time with the head football coach at the Gamecocks of South Carolina in Shane Beamer and joining us later on in the program at 7 20 p.m eastern 4 20 p.m pacific liege doosable, former NFL player with the Jets and then we will also be talking to Bradley Gelber who does cover the Buffalo Bills at 9 p.m eastern 6 p.m pacific as there's a lot going on that I don't really know what's going on is the way to word it with Stefan Diggs as I had to take an aspirin today and kind of scratch my head trying to figure out how the heck we're going to talk about that one but first up producing this extravaganza for the next four hours there's no other than hot take kicky. So we'll get into the Stefan Diggs thing coming up in about 20 minutes but let's start off the show talking about the world champion Denver Nuggets congratulations to them for hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy last night and you'll look at Denver I want to give a quick thought on Denver and then a quick thought of Miami and then talk about the future of the league. The immediate thought about Denver is you're going to get now your respect and your respect is going to get taken to a different level because if you were actually watching basketball this season you shouldn't have been doubting Denver you shouldn't have been questioning Denver because a few years ago when you saw the excellence of the Nuggets in the bubble that should have been a sign that Denver was going to be a force to be reckoned with and then the next year they made some moves one of them getting Aaron Gordon you already had Michael Porter Jr. he was dealing with his injuries you have Nicole Jokic you had Jamal Murray and you started to see this Denver team come together where it was okay they could take that next step and then right before you really had a lot of people starting to believe right when that was happening Jamal Murray tears his ACL and after that they lost their way they were still a good team Nicole Jokic still won two MVPs but you knew in an era now of dynamic duos that they needed Jamal Murray to come back and Jamal Murray to be the dominant Jamal Murray that we saw glimpses of right before the ACL tear so he missed one postseason then a full year after that and another postseason and the big question surrounding Denver this year at least to me wasn't could they win it all it was will Jamal Murray be back and what kind of player you're going to get from Jamal Murray because if Jamal Murray got back to 80 85 percent of what he was before the ACL tear that was going to be a team that was going to be a championship contender and whether it was because a lot of people didn't watch Denver whether people want to call which is just ridiculous Nicole Jokic boring the Nuggets all throughout the year got better and better and going into the postseason in a wide open western conference to me they were the favorites but you had people talking about the Suns with the flashy Kevin Durant and Devin Booker people were loving the story of the Sacramento Kings can the Los Angeles Clippers ever be healthy Golden State you can ever count them out oh LeBron and AD are going to make a late push and it's almost as if people forgot about Denver or didn't want to buy in to the Denver Nuggets now they quickly go through not just the western conference but also the eastern conference champion Miami Heat and they hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy last night in five games and now the parade of extolments do come your way when you have Nicole Jokic who is a generational player at the age of 28 already having two NBA MVPs now an NBA championship now a finals MVP he is now considered he's now got that tag of he is the best player in the sport it kind of reminds me a lot like Giannis Antetokounmpo a few years ago where yes he got already the NBA MVPs but because of the NBA the lack of an NBA championship people didn't want to give him that best player in the sport tag that's what it reminds me a lot of and you got to see Jamal Murray play really well all throughout the playoffs and oh yeah by the way he's just coming back from an ACL tear he's just coming back from a year and a half two-year absence and he's only 26 so you look at this Denver team in an NBA right now that you don't have a team that you look at as a rival and go wow you're shaking in your boots if you're a Nuggets fan that the word dynasty gets thrown out there and is this the making of a new dynasty in the NBA to join the recent likes of Los Angeles and San Antonio Golden State what we've seen throughout the last 25-20 years in the association and I'm not going to sit here and tell you that this team is a lock to become a dynasty because I don't think it's fair and I think it undermines the teams that actually did become a dynasty but if you ask me right now will Denver win another championship with this core I would be foolish to say no like I do think Denver and Nicole Jokic will be a multiple time champion in this league because you don't have a lot of great teams Denver is a great team you look at the other teams around the league there's a lot of teams that we think are great or teams that fall in that very very good category like I will say the Milwaukee Bucks who won a championship a few years ago we wonder what their future is going to be they're going to be a force Boston has been knocking on the door they made it to the finals two years ago we'll see if they could eventually hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy Philadelphia let's see if they can even get to an Easter conference finals first Miami I like the looks of Miami but you look at the Miami Heat sure Jimmy Butler is a tremendous player even though he didn't have a good finals and I do think that ankle did impact him that he did suffer the injury up against the Knicks and Bam Adebayo is a really really really good player that shows signs of being a great player but I think Bam on a championship team is more of a three than he is a two and if Jimmy is your one you need to find a way to get a better number two player and I kind of look at the market right now I would love to see Dame get traded there but who knows trying to predict if Dame wants out of Portland or if he wants to stay there and give them the benefit of the doubt once again I've seen in the past they flirted with Kyrie Irving that would be the complete antithesis of heat culture if you're bringing in Kyrie Irving and I would not be on board with that if Miami elected to go down that road but those are really the teams that you look at in the east that you say could be contenders Bucks Celtics I don't really love the direction of the Sixers and the Miami Heat like the Cavs not ready yet the Knicks not ready yet Nets Atlanta come on like what are we doing and then you look in the western conference Memphis I don't know what's going on with John Moran the Kings I like what Mike Brown did in year one but are they just going to be a team that has a ceiling and I love the iron fox of being a really good team or can they take that next step to being a great team the Clippers I can't trust them to be healthy Kawhi Leonard's never healthy just suffered another serious injury Paul George also deals with a bevy of injuries as well Golden State's a team that as long as you have Steph Curry there they'll be a tough out but are they gonna hitch their wagon and rest on their laurels from the past with their great players or are they going to try to expand that championship window Los Angeles with the Lakers I don't think Lebron's going anywhere yet Anthony Davis is going to be there but will that duo be able to stay healthy and how are you going to keep this roster with the moves that you made and make it even better and you want to look down the road you know a team that doesn't get mentioned a lot because they've been rebuilding but that Oklahoma City Thunder team they're coming and you know how good Shay Gilgis Alexander can be making it all NBA first team this past year Dallas I love Luka Doncic but who's your number two and if it's Kyrie Irving well he's the least trustable player in the NBA so I'm looking at the league right now can Denver become a dynasty yes am I gonna sit here and tell you I guarantee you that they're gonna win three four five other championships no but if I'm a betting man I would like and I do think it's very possible and likely that they'll win another championship as long as they stay healthy because let me remind you as great of a player the Koliokic is and he is the best player in the sport you are a Jamal Murray injury away and we've seen that before in their run the last four years where you're a really good team and you go back into that kind of area and that level being a really good team but you don't feel like you could win a championship again until Jamal Murray gets back and that goes to the Koliokic as well like if the Koliokic gets hurt everything goes right out the window for the Denver Nuggets so I love what Denver has built I love what Mike Malone has done I love what Calvin Booth has done I love this team the way that they play with guys like uh Nicole Jokic leading the way Jamal Murray being right the robin to the batman and then you look at the other players in an Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. even though he didn't have the best of finals and you see guys like uh Christian Brown play really well Bruce Brown played really well in these NBA Finals.

Kintavious, Cobo, Pope, Big Steel last night they have a really good roster of guys and if I'm not even like a star just a role player or someone that is available via free agency and you want to make an impact I'm looking at Denver and I'm saying why wouldn't I want to be a part of this right now because the biggest thing Denver has going for them is you have a player Nicole Jokic who we get to the point in this conversation it's not how do you stop him it's how do you contain him no one has the game plan right now to stop Nicole Jokic but can you come up with a game plan where you can contain him like he didn't even give you his best first half last night and the guy still went and still did go in that game for 28 points and at times in the fourth quarter he was just dominant and a force to be reckoned with and when he gets that ball right at the free throw line and does like kind of a sloppy fade away it goes in 9.9 times out of 10 and the best thing going for Nicole Jokic too is he's selfless because how many times do we sit around this show when we talk about the NBA and we talk about a selfish star or we talk about a player that's all about himself or a player that quits on the team Nicole Jokic won a championship last night and he treated as if it was a a Monday night in the regular season in November I just got to go home I don't even want to go to the parade he's a different cat he's cut from a different cloth and you look at Nicole Jokic he's all about the team if I asked him would you rather have 20 assists or go for 50 points I bet you'd rather have 20 assists because he loves seeing the other players on his team thrive so Hickey that's where I'm at with Denver I know sometimes right at well anytime someone's champions like can this become a dynasty and players and coaches like Malone turns around all right we got one now we got to go get another so that's why the conversation starts I understand why people can feel today that's a genuine feel that this team can become a dynasty I just think that's a big jump going there but if you ask me was this the last championship we'll see from this Denver Nuggets core I'm gonna say no they'll win another championship and it's also the perfect timing not only do they have a great team but you look at the state of the league there's not many teams that really should have Denver shaking in their boots or saying man we really got to worry about that team yeah I'm with him I think Denver will be the first team since the Warriors to win multiple championships with their core they have everything you need they have a young core they have two stars right now in the middle of their prime good depth great coach and a path where in the west like they are on the good side in terms of age wise where LeBron James aging you look at Kevin Durant aging you look at some of the other teams like the Mavericks total right now disarray the grizzles you can't trust right now with John Moran and his future it is right now there's the west is is obviously and rightfully so theirs to win each and every year for at least the immediate future and yeah I don't really dynasty's tough three and five years you know three and four years a lot to ask but definitely another championship I think so for sure and also you look at the NBA like a few years ago when the Bucks won people were were salivating over the Bucks and then this past year for the last two years right they suffered an injury in the playoffs with Chris Middleton and they lose the boss and then the year after that they go down in the first round when Giannis gets hurt to this Miami Heat team so it's so tough to just proclaim when a team wins a championship they're going to become a dynasty but can I see this team winning another championship with this court they stay healthy absolutely because like I said Jamal Murray is the perfect complement to Jokic and most importantly Nicole Jokic is selfless and there's no way to stop this guy we'll just see if anyone can come up with a game plan to try to throw him off his best game and contain him moving forward it is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio what the heck is going on with Stefan Diggs we'll discuss next you're listening to the Zach Gelb show it is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio I don't get what the heck just happened today in Buffalo so originally you have Sean McDermott speaking and he's saying it's very concerning that Stefan Diggs has not showed up to the first day of mandatory mini camp and then moments later you get the agent for Stefan Diggs saying hold on he's in Buffalo he actually did some of the pre-medicals yesterday in the facility and then a report comes out well actually Stefan Diggs was there at the facility this morning he met with Brandon Bean the general manager he met with the coach Sean McDermott and then I guess he just said peace I'm out of here because he never showed up for the mandatory mini camp session on the field and I'm trying to figure out what is Stefan Diggs so mad about you just got a contract extension in 2022 so it can't be money at this point so what is it and ever since they lost that game to Cincinnati the lasting image of that embarrassing performance by the Bengals I mean by the Bills up against the Bengals is Stefan Diggs throwing his hands up in the air yelling at his quarterback in Josh Allen now for the most part sure that's not a good look but it's not the first time we've ever seen a wide receiver get into it with their quarterback and you could chalk that up heat of the moment embarrassment but it's not as if Stefan Diggs has done anything as of late to extinguish that flame because whatever's going on today it's mystifying I don't get what he's trying to accomplish you're either mad at Josh Allen are you mad at are you mad at the organization and I've seen him say before that he was all in on them potentially signing Odell Beckham Jr I know there's been rumors about maybe DeAndre Hopkins but nothing that's really got the needle moving so is that starting to annoy him does he feel insecure about that or is he just not happy in Buffalo and does he no longer want to be a part of the Buffalo Bills because whatever transpired today it doesn't make Stefan Diggs looks look good like I understand if there's a personal issue if there's a personal matter but if that was the case that would have been communicated by Stefan Diggs who's in the building like if something serious is going away off the field and you wouldn't have had Sean McDermott get out in front of the media today and say oh I'm very concerned about Stefan Diggs not being here in the large scheme of things what goes on in the mandatory minicamp it's monotonous it's irrelevant but to create this noise and to put up this fight if you're Stefan Diggs I don't get what your end goal is it can't be contractually you just got extended and it only makes me believe that Stefan Diggs is either not happy with Josh Allen not happy with Sean McDermott not happy with the Bills organization and I don't think he's going anywhere he may eventually get traded down the road but not this year not right now after you just got paid where the dead cat money is and to have this distraction it's extremely discouraging right now because the Buffalo Bills should be all in on the redemption tour right now where last year you were that team that everyone was picking and you failed because whether the GM wants to say it or not and I like Brandon Bean he's been on this show a bunch it's championship robust last year they didn't do it and it's championship robust this year and the AFC only got better the AFC East only got better and I need everyone all in and when everyone shows up to mandatory minicamp today but Stefan Diggs and then you find out oh he was there on Monday and then he was there this morning but he didn't make it to the practice field it just continues to make you think that Stefan Diggs doesn't want to be in Buffalo anymore and if that's the case that's a flat out joke because why should this guy not want to be there he's gone from being a good wide receiver to a great wide receiver in Buffalo part of that's on him the other part of that is on Josh Allen and you've had a team the last few years that has been a championship contender if you can't be happy in this situation I don't know if you'll ever be happy in the NFL NFL it's time for Stefan Diggs to grow up and it's time for Stefan Diggs to be a professional because whatever this hogwash was in the last 24 to 48 hours it just makes me scratch my head because I don't get what's going on here and there is nothing clear right now that suggests oh Buffalo's in the wrong and Stefan Diggs is in the right Hickey what say you on this yeah I'm with you I don't really understand if you're Stefan Diggs what you're angry about like sure last year did not end the way you wanted and we saw his visible frustration on the sideline with Josh Allen but time heals all wounds that was six months ago and you are right now the number one wide receiver on a Super Bowl contender with a top five quarterback in the league getting top five wide receiver money what is there to be frustrated about and again if you are still frustrated how the season ended grow up move past it because if you the longer you find the solution to make it better about last year and whether you didn't get enough targets or whether you thought you were open sure got the ball more or didn't like how the game was called whatever your issue is and whoever your issue is with what mature winners do is hash it out figure out how to move past it and also figure out a solution and you're just pouting complaining and making this all by yourself sounds like a baby yeah he is absolutely crybaby you're and you're detracting from winning more than you're helping it let's hear from Sean McDermott this is from earlier today he says Stefan Diggs isn't at mandatory minicamp Steph is not here um everybody else is here at the current time how concerned are you about that oh very concerned yeah very concerned I'm not going to get into and listen I respect everyone's everyone's questions and what they want to know about our team right now I'm just I'm not going to get into into that anymore so we'll talk about practice happy to do that happy to answer those questions um and we'll move forward from there when you have your coach saying that you're very concerned it means that the organization thinks Stefan Diggs is in the wrong they don't understand what Stefan Diggs is upset about I guess that meeting this morning did not go well and now him being in Buffalo being in the facility this morning and not making it to the practice field once again these things that go on in the practice field are silly but it doesn't make sense and it just makes him look bad finally here's Josh Allen saying Stefan Diggs is working through personal stuff with the team I know internally we're working on some things um not football related but you know Steph he's my guy I excuse my love him he's a brother of mine you know this does not work what we're doing here without him you know we we wish he was in here today and was out there on the field with us and that's that's not the case but I've got his back no matter what he may be your guy you know you need him but it's time for Stefan Diggs to grow up because whatever just happened in the last day or two it makes absolutely zero sense Shane Beamer will join us on the other side you're listening to the Zach Gelb show we miss college football Bennett takes the snap and the shotgun throws for the corner Brock Bowers one-on-one caught touchdown he ate him alive falls down into the end zone six more for Georgia we can't wait for the 2023 season Caleb Williams throws the fade in the corner touchdown Trojans and we're counting down the days to kick off here is your college football fix only on the Zach Gelb show 81 days until the Gamecocks of South Carolina kick off their season against the Tar Heels of UNC last year South Carolina had big wins at the end of their season against Tennessee and Clemson to post an eight and five record and now joining us entering his third season as the head honcho of the South Carolina Gamecocks is of course Shane Beamer coach appreciate the time as always how you been I've been great hope you have been and thanks for having me on today well I appreciate you coming on so I mentioned in the open the high octane performances by your offense towards the end of the season when you take a glance and you look back at last year what did your team display in year two of Shane Beamer at South Carolina I thought a lot of grit to improve as the year went on we didn't get off to a great start started out oh and two in the SEC one and two overall but you know we were a team that just continued to get better as the year went on and went from a one and two stretch to opening up to a four game winning streak and nationally ranked and then great wins over some big time opponents in the last month of the season so proud of the guy way our guys fought all year proud of the way that we continued to get better as the year went on and you know that that last year is behind us and we've moved on but certainly things that we've learned from last year that will take into this season with us it's so tough to build trust in a program the first two years your results have been pretty damn good have you been able to build that trust and build that culture a culture yeah it's a great question I mean we got great people in our program the young men on our team the coaches staff I think there's great alignment in our football program everybody's going in the same direction and believes in the same things and then I just think the the consistency is key you know our players see from myself and the rest of the coaching staff that we don't say one thing and do another we are who we are and we stay consistent week in week out and uh you know that's that steadiness consistency hopefully uh as a result it shows with the way that we play on on Saturdays and we've got to continue to do that and got a long way to go to get where we want to be but uh very proud of what we've done the first couple seasons and as we continue to recruit great players and bring great people into this program uh our success will continue to grow you took over a program that at the time the year before went two and eight I know that you've been waiting for this moment your entire life but you also know even though there may be some patience a lot of times if you don't win quickly then people start to go south on the higher did you feel that pressure early on because it doesn't seem that way no I didn't I mean I'm not naive I get it I coach in the SEC and you've seen coaches that have won a national championship in this conference and they're fired less than two years later um so I understand the the arena that I'm in without a doubt but I know it's cliche but I'll be honest I mean I really just uh when I got the job I knew we had a lot of work to do but all I was focused on was each and every day day in day out just trying to improve the program and get better on and off the field and and knew the results would take care of themselves and and that's really what I was focusing on if I start thinking too much about you know the negative and what could happen if we don't win that's not helping anybody so I uh got great great administration great support and then the other thing too is when I came here I mean we had we had good players in this program when I got here and and uh you know felt like we had enough good players in year one to to win some games and we did and uh we've got to just continue to improve day in day out how'd you get your kids to believe so early because I heard you say in other interviews you were kind of surprised that the confidence was a little bit shot when you took over yeah um I was you know as a team like you just alluded to the year before I got here they had won two games and that was the COVID year so there wasn't a lot of you know excitement and joy in the program and then the confidence had taken a hit with with everything that had happened on the field the previous two seasons you know so for us it was just trying to bring a positive mindset of every day in the building great positive energy and and uh staying staying positive um you know trying to build a team as quickly as we could just the togetherness that we needed uh within our within our roster uh for sure and then really just trying to find ways to just celebrate small victories whether it be uh academically a great grade that a player made on a test and and spotlighting that or or you know uh something on the practice field really just trying to instill competition as much as we could in every single thing uh that we that we did and do uh on and off the field. Shane Beamer here with us I know you had a change in the offensive coordinating position as Marcus Satterfield did take the OC job at Nebraska you end up making the hire of Dow Loggins what made him the right guy to to help run your offense? I knew Dow um had never worked with him but knew him uh you know I've known him for a long time probably since or not probably really since I was an assistant coach here before with coach Spurrier back around the 2007-2008 time frame so I'd known Dow for over 15 years knew what kind of person he was uh great background in the NFL had been with multiple teams but more importantly he had worked with multiple quarterbacks uh his his background is as a quarterback coach and he worked with veterans like Jay Cutler and Matt Hasselbeck the rookies like Sam Darnold or whatnot so he had been around a lot of different guys and then I think that uh his years that he's been in college football he spent some time at 10 state with James Franklin uh as an analyst he coached tight ends at Arkansas the last two seasons so he was really intriguing to me because of the kind of person he is uh and and his recruiting skills that he showed in two years at Arkansas but then I like the fact that he had been in the NFL but he'd also spent time in college he wasn't married to quote unquote a pro style system and this is how you have to do it his time in college I think really helped him understand that sometimes I think guys in the NFL maybe over complicate things and the hash marks are different in college football and how you can take advantage of the width of the field in college football different than you can uh in the NFL so there were a lot of things that were appealing and he's been fantastic even better than I expected when I hired him he's a great person like I said he's been a great recruiter for us our players love him and excited to see uh what he'll do with our offense not just this year but as we continue to build this thing going down the road.

Whenever you bring in a new voice Shane Beamer there's always an adjustment period I know you talked about that slow start last year uh no favors on the schedule early on you got UNC and Georgia two out of your first three games how do you try to prevent a slow start when you're bringing a new voice? Yeah that's a great question and then great point and and we've we've we uh we're not tiptoeing into anything this year we're gonna have to score points uh to win football games uh especially early on you know it started in spring practice and kind of you had 15 practices in the spring to get a good analysis of our strengths and where we are who our best personnel you know who they are uh that's what the summertime for as well the NCAA allows us to do a little bit more with our players in the summertime than we have and you know than we could maybe five years ago so taking advantage of that time in the summer and then we've got to do a great job in August I mean we've got essentially three weeks of practice and then we're into you know regular game week so in a short period of time we've got our you know volume is is not necessarily a great thing meaning the amount of offense you have in let's figure out what we do well let's figure out who our best players are and then let's let's find ways to just continue to you know repeat and do things multiple ways the things that we do really well and getting the ball to the players that give us the best chance to be successful and hopefully we'll be clicking early. And as a college football fan I'm really excited with your first game up against UNC because Spencer Rattler is so easy to root for and then we know what Drake May their quarterback is capable of. Yeah that'll be a fantastic match up we uh we played North Carolina in the bowl game two years ago and and heard so much uh Sam Howell was the quarterback for that team but heard so much going into that game about uh Drake May and how excited the North Carolina coaches and program was about him and you've seen that now since then what a fantastic player he's elite there's a reason everybody says he's going to be a top five draft pick and and uh we feel really good about our quarterback as well so that'll be that's a program we have a lot of respect for a coach and Mac Brown that I have a lot of respect for and will be a great matchup right in Charlotte there'll be tons of Gamecocks in the fans in the fans on Tar Heels and that's a uh that's an exciting uh week one matchup to say the least. How do you look back at the season that Spencer Rattler just had for you guys? You know I think um he's a guy he his season I think a lot of people act like I get asked that question a lot and a lot of people phrase it as the last couple games well he did some really good things before we got to November now was he throwing for 500 yards a game no but he led us to our first win against Kentucky and Lexington in a long time he led us uh to our first win ever over Texas A&M uh you know we overcame a one and two start to win four games in a row and become nationally ranked so Spencer did some great things uh throughout the season maybe statistically it wasn't great until the end but I was pleased with him I think maybe in you know in his mind early on in the season was maybe a little bit conservative from his standpoint maybe he has a sense to make some throws for fear of making mistakes I don't know or throwing interceptions but you all think Spencer did a great job late in the season of just cutting it loose not worried about making mistakes and just giving our receivers and tight ends the opportunities to to go make plays with the ball in the air and those guys did it for him in our last few games down the stretch and and he's got to continue to build on that and in his defense too I mean he was he was a guy transferred in he had to learn a new system he was throwing a new quarterback our new receivers and tight ends and running backs it was a learning process for him and going back to what you said a minute ago it's gonna be the same thing this year he's gonna be throwing to a lot of new faces and we can't wait to uh game seven or game eight to to have a good rapport with those guys that needs to be something that's built throughout the off season and that's what we've been doing since January. With Spencer Rattler now you're two under your program and the face of your offense what do you think he could accomplish this year? I think the sky's the limit I mean there's from a talent standpoint there's there's no question I mean the guy can make all the throws on the field he's he's his body I think he's you know more uh more imposing physically than what he was last year he's changed his body around a lot of ways I think he looks more muscular that'll help you from a durability standpoint he's a better athlete than people give him credit for he can he can run and then he can make all the throws and I think he's got a great comfort level with what we're doing offensively we didn't necessarily just blow up everything that we did last season there's a lot of carry over from last season and there's some new stuff uh oh that we're doing this season but you know Spencer's got good pieces around good players around him good personnel and he's coming into the season with great confidence and leadership skills have improved so I'm excited to you know see see what he does I'm not worried about Spencer we've got to just continue to uh develop the people around him he's going to be playing with a lot of true freshmen around him on the offensive line and at tight end and at receiver and at running back and uh those guys got to do a great job of elevating their games and helping Spencer uh have the kind of season that I know he can have we we know the highs and lows of this sport Shane Beamer and you saw it with Jalen Hurts do you feel like Spencer Rattler could have a Jalen Hurts type of season that Hurts had his final year at Oklahoma I would hope I mean if we did that means we just won an FCC championship and we're playing in the playoffs uh so that would be fantastic uh uh you know Jalen's a unbelievable leader a great player even better person of all those um and Spencer's got a lot of qualities he's improved as a leader Spencer's a great person and a talented player so you know I'm I'm excited about what he can do this season and and uh excited about the the all the players that we have in our program and then the kind of people they are and the way they've been working since January and we're eager to get going here in a couple months Shane Beamer here with us a few more moments with the South Carolina Gamecocks head coach they do have on September 2nd unc to open up their season I've talked to you a lot about your dad throughout the years I just want to talk about some other coaches that you've worked with what what was the thing that you took away the most now uh when you look back at it with your time with Kirby Smart um Kirby made me a better coach uh during my time there you know I mean I it was it was uh different than anything I had really been exposed to it was great for me because I came in year one with Kirby I was part of his first staff so I was able to see how he implemented what he wanted to do uh in his football program coming from Alabama I was there from day one with them and it helped me coming in day one as a head coach a few years later when I got the head coaching job here at Carolina so he's a relentless recruiter uh he's never satisfied very demanding but really enjoyed my time at Athens and I learned a lot from Kirby just you know running a program being involved in all three phases the intensity that you got to have in recruiting and then just you know structure of how you do things in practice and in the off season there's a lot that you know I took from my time at Georgia that we utilize in our own way here in Columbia and I see the same question about Lincoln Riley as well um similar to Kirby I wasn't there necessarily year one because Lincoln got the job in June of that year when Coach Stoops retired but I was hired in January so basically I was there with Lincoln for his first true off season first spring practice first summer all that as a head coach so it was great to be able to experience that with him uh from year one and just uh um so innovative I'm still blown away by the fact that you know he can be the offensive coordinator coach the quarterbacks and be the head coach I mean it's hard enough for me being the head coach if I was coaching quarterbacks in column plays it would be tougher so Lincoln did that um and I just think he just had a great steadiness and consistency to him willing to think outside the box what he did offensively um you know wasn't afraid to try new things very very creative and everything that he did and uh had a great time with him during my time there in Norman. Another one of your former players in Kyler Murray a lot of people have called in to question his work ethic just what can you tell people about your experience dealing with Kyler Murray? No I love Kyler I remember when I was deciding whether or not to take the job at Oklahoma and leave Georgia I had a conversation with Lincoln and Lincoln's like look I know we're leaving Baker Mays or losing Baker Mayfield but we've got this quarterback that's going to be our guy this season that's unbelievably special and that was Kyler Murray and my offices in Norman were right across the hall from the quarterback meeting room so I saw a lot of Kyler coming in and out of that meeting room he's a great person uh fierce competitor uh just super talented and loves to compete and um you know uh I've never coached him specifically as a position coach but never heard anybody there complain about work ethic and he's super talented and and led us to a unbelievable first season uh at Oklahoma as well winning the Big 12 and then lost to lost Alabama in the playoff game but what a performance he put on against Alabama uh that night and hopefully you know the Cardinals can continue to improve around him and he can go have the NFL career that I know he can have. Well coach always appreciate your time thanks so much for doing this as always. Yeah I appreciate you guys having me on have a great week. Go Gamecock!