SerpApi.Org
The early returns on Kendal Briles’ time as South Carolina’s new offensive coordinator have included plenty of positive reviews.
Perhaps no review was as glowing as what former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Tampa.
“I think Shane Beamer made one of the best hires of the offseason,” McElroy said while speaking on an SEC Network broadcast. “There’s a few coordinator hires in this league this year that I am really excited about, but I’m not sure any is bigger than the hire of Kendal Briles.”
That’s great feedback on South Carolina’s fourth offensive coordinator in Shane Beamer’s six years as the Gamecocks’ football coach. Briles was one of five new assistant coach additions at USC this offseason.
Beamer fired Mike Shula in November, and the Gamecocks (4-8) finished at or near the bottom of the SEC in several offensive categories.
Briles was hired in December, going to South Carolina after a two-year stint at TCU. Last year, the Horned Frogs’ offense averaged 425.3 yards and 30.8 points per game. For comparison, the Gamecocks averaged 336.3 yards and 22.7 points.
McElroy said Briles’ ability to simplify South Carolina’s offensive system will work wonders for starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers, and in turn, for the Gamecocks.
“I think this year is about transitioning from being a great football player to a great quarterback, and Kendal Briles’ system will allow him to do so,” McElroy said of Sellers. “He can throw it, he can run it, but he also needs to be a distributor. And if he can do those things on time and help the offensive line out, help the receivers out, this offense has a chance to go from being one of the worst in the league to one of the best in the league very quickly.”
Take Briles’ first year at TCU, for example, when the Horned Frogs averaged a whopping 466.7 yards per game in 2023. That was the best mark of Briles’ tenure in Fort Worth.
Beamer and the Gamecocks are hoping Briles can engineer something similar at USC in 2026.
“I think it just goes back to his system and what he wants to get done,” Beamer told local media on Tuesday. “He knows what he’s looking for. He knows how to call it, and he’s just efficient. ... He gets really good at what he wants to do, and we just rep it over and over and over again, and then those guys get out there and are able to play freely and go make plays.
“He’s got a proven track record as a coordinator, and it’s a big reason why I hired him and (I’m) eager to see that continue.”
That concept of being able to play freely is exactly what veteran receiver Nyck Harbor likes so much about Briles’ system.
Harbor made it seem like South Carolina’s wide receivers have more license with how things play out on the field compared to years past. It’s one reason why he expects the Gamecocks to find success on offense in 2026.
“It’s freedom, and everybody loves freedom,” Harbor said of Briles’ offense. “Everybody loves the ability to run a route and have the opportunity to do what they want to do in the route. He gives you the option of whatever you see, you can run. We always didn’t have that. We had a pen and paper, and you ran what was on the paper. So now you get the opportunity to do what you can.
“It’s a little bit more freedom, so it just lets us play like pros at this point.”
