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Shane Beamer breaks down Texas A&M’s use of 2 quarterbacks
By Andrew Olson
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Shane Beamer’s South Carolina squad is gearing up to face No. 10 Texas A&M. The Gamecocks are considering two quarterbacks as they prep for the Aggies.
Conner Weigman is in his third year at Texas A&M. Weigman was Texas A&M’s QB1 out of camp and has been the starter when healthy. Against LSU, however, Weigman was benched for Marcel Reed. Off the bench, Reed provided a spark and led A&M to a come-from-behind victory.
While Reed was the story of the night, Beamer reminded South Carolina media members that it wasn’t the quarterback’s first taste of action in 2024.
“I laugh like some people reach out to me like Marcel Reed just arrived out of thin air like he had never played in an A&M uniform before. There were so many people texting me Saturday night and Sunday,” the Gamecock head coach said in his Tuesday press conference.
“The guy started 3 games this season and is a heck of a player and beat Florida in Gainesville and beat Arkansas in Dallas and beat Bowling Green.”
Watching the game film of Texas A&M’s two quarterbacks, Beamer sees two quarterbacks that are capable of doing multiple things, but present different strengths.
“I think Reed the other night threw 2 passes the whole time he was in here and he is on tape a lot making defenders look silly,” Beamer said. “There is a clip in the Florida game, backed up in their end zone and he scrambles up the middle and there is a Florida linebacker that has him dead to rights and he completely just – what do the kids say? – broke his ankles, or whatever you want to call it. He can make people look silly in the open field. He is a talented guy that can throw. I know they didn’t throw a lot with him the other night, but he can make throws.
“Conner is obviously a really talented guy and they named him as the starter going into the season for a reason,” the South Carolina coach continued. “It is a challenge because they are different skillsets. Not that one can run and the other can’t. I am not saying that. They can both run the ball and throw. They will do some different things with Reed in there, for sure. You have to have a good plan for both of them. For us, it starts with whoever is at quarterback. We have to affect him. We have to tackle him and then we have to able to tackle the running back because that is what they want to hand the ball off to not just (No.) 8 but (No.) 5, as well, and let them get going.”
South Carolina hopes that both quarterbacks will be a bit rattled by Williams-Brice Stadium under the lights. Texas A&M is favored by 2.5 points at FanDuel Sportsbook for Saturday night’s showdown.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
