Everything Jake Crain of Crain & Cone said about South Carolina on 107.5 The Game

Jake Crain of Crain & Cone joined the GamecockCentral Takeover Hour on 107.5 The Game this week to share some national perspective on South Carolina and the Gamecocks’ upcoming 2026 season. Below is a transcript of the appearance and make sure to check out the always-entertaining Crain & Cone show, part of the On3 network. On the biggest questions for South Carolina to answer to have a bounce-back season… Well, I mean, I think it’s the most obvious one, guys. And when you look at South Carolina, if I was a South Carolina fan, the thing that would frustrate me the most is we have a couple Lamborghinis, but we can’t ever let them out of the garage because the offensive line hadn’t been good enough. That’s just the truth. I mean, LaNorris Sellers has ran away from everybody except the FBI in the last couple years. And I want it not just for South Carolina fans, but to really be able to see the potential of LaNorris because it’s going to be so sad if the offensive line is below average again this year. So you’re going to have to be fighting uphill and really do it yourself. And if it doesn’t work and then he goes to the league and balls out. I don’t want that. I like Coach Beamer a lot. I got a lot of respect for Shane. He’s always treated us really well. But it’s not like South Carolina is super far off. You know, it’s not like there’s nine different things that have to be fixed for them to be a legitimate playoff contender. Last year, you’re one of the worst teams in the country in running the ball. The last three years, I think you’ve given up a total of 142 sacks. That’s unacceptable. That shouldn’t happen at a place like South Carolina. And the problem has been identified. It just hasn’t been fixed. And the crazy thing is, if they fix it, I don’t put a ceiling on this team because they’re that talented. The only other thing I’ll say is Nyckoles Harbor’s got to be able to run more than two routes. He’s got to be able to run more than two routes. You can’t just run the vert and you can’t just run the post. You’ve got to be able to punch the dig. You’ve got to be able to keep defenses guessing. You’re going to run by ’em a couple times. But if his bag gets opened, that’s going to open up a whole other side of the field because it takes a battalion to guard that guy if he can do that. So those are the two things I look at. What do you think of Jake’s perspective? Wes Mitchell and fellow subscribers are discussing it now on The Insiders Forum. On what stands out about Kendal Briles’ offenses over the years… Well, to your point, it is a very college-oriented offense. And what do we mean by that? I mean, it’s true spread. It’s alternate splits. Never forget, Josh Heupel didn’t invent the wide-choice offense. Art Briles really did when you go back and look when he was at Baylor. So Kendal obviously comes from that tree. What I like the most probably about Kendal is I think he has answers to deficiencies. And what I mean by that is he’s not going to go pro style where you’ve got to live in 11 personnel and 12 personnel and you’re trying to bash your head against the wall to open up things down the field or to be able to spread yourself out. Kendal’s going to go into it thinking, I’m going to spread the defense out. I’m going to make them be thin at certain places, and I’m going to be able to attack them at those places. It’s not as condensed as what you’ve seen. And I think that’s going to help LaNorris out. I think that’s going to help South Carolina get into second and sixth instead of second and nine, which gets you to third and two instead of third and six. So I think being able to be a little bit more open, to be in a little bit more conducive to doing alternative things, supplementing maybe a lack of a run game with a short pass game early, the now, the bubbles, slants, pitches, things like that. So you’re not just boxed in to having to do a couple things to open up other things. That’s where I think Kendall can really make a difference for this offense overall. On why he labeled the South Carolina-Georgia game as a potential upset by the Gamecocks… Yeah, well, I think obviously kind of where it falls on the schedule matters. When you look through it, the way you kind of segment games, some coaches say, hey, we’re playing three, four-game segments. Some other coaches say, hey, we’re playing four, three-game segments. I think probably the main reason is because I do think, and again, this is all going come down to whether South Carolina can hang up front. Because if you can’t hang up front, Georgia’s going to eat you alive. I don’t care if you’ve got Superman at quarterback, which you’ve really got a version of Superman at quarterback. But I do think if the stars align and it works out, South Carolina’s got the horses to run with them. South Carolina’s got guys that can make big plays against Georgia. They have guys that can threaten Georgia offensively and defensively, I believe. So I don’t think outside of the offensive line, which is a big question, there’s this humongous talent gap at every position group between South Carolina and Georgia. So if you’re looking at it from an optimistic view, or maybe even you put a great game together. I watched South Carolina look like Brady’s New England Patriots for the first half against A&M, and then obviously they totally forgot in the second half. But it’s in them. You just got to put it together. So where it is on the schedule, what South Carolina can do to you as well if it lines up. That’s why I don’t think it’s some crazy take to think South Carolina could beat them. On some of his “bold takes” in a recent episode of their show… Well, and I think when you have bold guarantees, it’s not like craziest takes. If I’m going to guarantee something, it can’t be that nuts. But this is like on the line of where the next thing I would not guarantee, if that makes sense, to give people a barometer. One that I had that I don’t think is as nuts is I don’t think Soresby’s that much better than Hammond at Texas Tech. Size-wise, just natural what you got at birth. Yeah, he’s bigger. But I don’t think Will, and again, Will’s coming off the ACL injury. I don’t think Soresby’s done enough that all of a sudden now Texas Tech’s going to fall off a cliff because they’re so much better than I think everybody else in the Big 12 position group-wise and on the line of scrimmage. So I don’t see Texas Tech losing. I think Texas Tech’s going 12-0. I feel as good about guaranteeing that as I did with Soresby because I’m just not one of these Soresby truthers that think this guy’s going to come in and be Batman. I just always thought he was a pretty good Robin. On which conference will win the national title this year… Well, it’s funny because I could obviously say, hey, the SEC is going to win it regardless of Texas or Georgia. But what if I told you no conference is going to win the national title? I’m looking at this Notre Dame team and say what you want about the scheduling and stuff like that. This Notre Dame team is different. Like Marcus Freeman has upgraded the overall athleticism and athletic depth at Notre Dame. And CJ Carr, I think is going to end up being the number one overall pick in the draft when his time comes. I think he’s that good. Again, one of the best offensive lines in the country. They’ve got another really good running back room, even though they just lost an elite running back room. The wide receiver group is experienced and they’ve added to it. The kids they got from Ohio State, Quincy (Porter) and the other kids, have a chance to be really good to go along with (Jordan) Faison and (Jaden) Greathouse is back healthy. And the defense is going to be nuts. They got some young D linemen that they’ve developed that are going to be absolute nasty to go along with a great linebacker group and a really good secondary. And because they don’t have to go through that conference schedule, they’re going to be better rested and I think less beat up than a lot of other teams. They don’t have to play a conference championship game, guys. So I’m going to say no conference wins the national title. On a future household name in college ball that no one is talking about enough… I’ll give you one — how about Trey’Dez Green from LSU? Some people saw him. The dude can play basketball too. I watched him come in against Bama off the bench when he joined the team and he did a 360 dunk the first possession. But this guy has a chance to be different than a lot of guys that we’ve seen. He’s huge, but he’s lean. He can run. He doesn’t mind physicality. He’s a football player. He’s not a track guy. He’s not a basketball guy. He’s a football player. And in Lane Kiffin’s offense, with the weapons they have around him, he’s going to get some one-on-one in the seam. And if he goes against a linebacker or a safety, or I’ll be honest with you, put anybody against him. Physically, there’s nobody that can match up with him. I would not be shocked if he had one of the best years that we’ve seen a quote-unquote tight end have. Give me Trey’Dez Green from LSU. On South Carolina this season… I’m telling you, something feels right about South Carolina. So just wait. I may have a prediction coming up here soon, I think Gamecock fans may like. Have a question for the GamecockCentral staff? Ask it on The Insiders Forum.