As expected, there was plenty of energy at Williams-Brice Stadium on Sunday as South Carolina fans got their first glimpse at the Shane Beamer era.

The Garnet and Black game was pushed to Sunday because of an inclement weather forecast for Saturday, and the weather did not disappoint. It was partly cloudy and 72 degrees, and the fans came out in force with an announced attendance of 13,225, out of a capacity of 15,000.

At halftime, the Gamecocks handed out a host of awards from the spring.

Among them, Dakereon Joyner and Nick Muse received the Co-Offensive Player of the Spring, while Kingsley Enagbare, who had 2 sacks in the first half, was given the Defensive Player of the Spring. Joyner also received the Special Teams Player of the Spring.

Dylan Wonnum was given the President’s Outstanding Student-Athlete award, and the GPA Awards went to ZaQuandre White, Zacch Pickens and Brad Johnson. Jovaughn Gwyn and Tonka Hemingway received the Gamecock Toughness Award, and Jalen Brooks took home the South Carolina Spirit Award.

The game had several speciality periods, including special teams early on, and then 3rd-down and goal-line periods in the second half. The defense had the upper hand on 3rd down, but the offense punched in a rushing touchdown at the goal line.

Here are 5 takeaways from the Garnet and Black scrimmage:

5. Injury concerns

Before the game, injuries were a main storyline of the spring. On the SEC Network+ stream, Beamer lamented that one-fourth of team was not playing because of injuries. Injuries hit every unit on the roster: RB Rashad Amos, DB James Bartholomew, WR Ahmarean Brown, WR Randrecous Davis, LB Spencer Eason-Riddle, DE Gilber Edmond, LB Sherrod Greene, RB Kevin Harris, DB Joey Hunter, WR Xavier Legette, LB Mo Kaba, RB MarShawn Lloyd, OL Jakai Moore, WR Sam Reynolds, DB Darius Rush, TE Jesse Sanders, RB Bruce Staley, DE Jordan Strachan, DE Aaron Sterling and WR Mike Wyman.

To make matters worse, senior safety R.J. Roderick, who opted out last season, went to the locker room on crutches midway through the game.

4. Does ZaQuandre White mean a 3-headed RB monster?

Harris and Lloyd didn’t play, so there more carries for others. White showed burst early with a 22-yard run, and he later scored the first touchdown of the game with some tough, physical running on the goal line. Coaches have said he has taken advantage of Lloyd and Harris being limited this spring. For perspective, at the end of the first half, White had 95 yards and a score on 14 carries, and through all of last season, he had 16 carries for 59 yards.

“I would say Z has taken advantage of this spring unlike any other,” Beamer said. “He’s had a great spring. He’s a playmaker and I don’t know what his issues were here in the past. The kid’s a heck of a football player and the energy that he brings to each and every day to every meeting, every practice, every weight workout, every rep. He doesn’t have bad days and every rep is a meaningful rep. That’s the mentality that we need on this team.”

3. Is Luke Doty truly being pushed at QB?

It is clear that this isn’t a true quarterback competition, but the incumbent starter and rising sophomore still needs to prove his claim as the starter. He was limited much of the spring to guard against injury, and the other QBs competing are either an early enrollee freshman (Colton Gauthier), FCS transfer Jason Brown and former walk-on Connor Jordan.

Doty was 5-for-7 passing for 54 yards, while Brown was 3-for-5 for 47 yards.

During an interview on SEC Network+, Beamer laid out his expectations for Doty, including an interesting comparison.

“Luke’s a great athlete, first and foremost,” Beamer said. “When I was at Oklahoma, we liked him and the athleticism speaks for itself. He’s extremely intelligent, he’s works really, really hard and I forget that he’s still young. He’s just a veteran it seems in so many ways. He’s young. But he continues to get better and we’ve limited him this spring just because we blew a quick whistle. He’s a great athlete. I was around Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma and I’ve been around some really athletic quarterbacks and Luke has a lot of the same skill-set. He’s a weapon with his feet and he’s really working to improve his throwing and his accuracy and I’m really pleased with where he is right now.”

2. X-factors on offense

It didn’t take very long to see how the offense could come together in a best-case scenario. In fact, all it took was the first half. For starters, TE Jahiem Bell on the first drive had 2 carries for 18 yards, and a 7-yard catch. Then, near the end of the first half, 6-7 and 242-pound wide receiver E.J. Jenkins, who transferred from St. Francis, hauled in a beautiful pass from fellow St. Francis transfer Jason Brown for a touchdown in the corner. They connected for another touchdown later in the scrimmage. Those two are not household names, but Marcus Satterfield’s offense needs contributors and they fit the mismatch mold.

1. Changing the culture

Even in a limited spring game setting, Beamer said he wanted the players to compete.

“We talked about it this morning in our team meeting,” he said. “Putting it on tape how much we’re competing, how much we love to compete and how physical we can be. So far, so good. Offense is doing a nice job of running the ball, defense bowed up there and got some stops there.”

If there’s anything that so far stands out as a dramatic difference from the Will Muschamp era, it’s that Beamer is trying to develop a different culture and vibe around the complex. That means everything from the weight room to film sessions with coaches, and based on comments from Beamers and players, it appears to be moving in a new, positive direction.