What South Carolina's Spencer Rattler has to prove vs UNC and how Shane Beamer came to his defense

COLUMBIA — For the first time in three years under coach Shane Beamer, South Carolina football will not begin the 2023 season on a penciled-in victory. In fact, the team enters Week 1 as underdogs to No. 21 North Carolina.

With ESPN's College GameDay in the backdrop and a primetime kickoff, the stakes are high for the Gamecocks' matchup with the Tar Heels on Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) at the Carolina Panthers' Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. There's also history in the game, dubbed the Duke's Mayo Classic after South Carolina beat North Carolina 38-21 in the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl.

From a sixth-year veteran to a brand new coordinator, here's who has the most to prove in South Carolina's first game:

Spencer Rattler, quarterback

Beamer had to take a moment to check his emotions when asked whether he thinks Spencer Rattler is being "a little bit overlooked" as a top quarterback in the country. The senior was left off of the 45-player watchlist for the Walter Camp Award, as well as the 35-player watchlist for the Davey O'Brien Award.

"A little is ... let me be correct here ... yeah, I do," Beamer said Tuesday. "Frankly it's pretty disappointing to see the lack of respect on the outside, but we worry about what we can control. Spencer doesn't need any of that to motivate him, but as his head coach and someone that thinks the world of the kid, it's surprising to see."

Rattler, once the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the class of 2019 and a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, fell out of the spotlight after he was benched at Oklahoma in 2021 in favor of then-freshman Caleb Williams. Williams, who followed former Sooners coach Lincoln Riley to Southern California, is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and is universally projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

While he won't have a chance to test himself against his former backup, Rattler gets a shot at the next best thing in North Carolina's Drake Maye, who is widely considered the No. 2 quarterback in next year's draft class. Rattler doesn't necessarily need to outperform Maye on Saturday, but he'll remain a non-factor in the national conversation if he doesn't show immediate improvement from his first season at South Carolina in the head-to-head battle.

Dakereon Joyner, running back

Joyner set a high bar for himself in the Gamecocks' last matchup with North Carolina in the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl. Though Beamer named Zeb Noland the starter, Joyner — who was recruited as a quarterback before transitioning to wide receiver — took the vast majority of snaps under center. He went 9-of-9 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 64 yards to lead South Carolina to victory.

"That was definitely the statement ... that solidified a lot for myself," Joyner said. "Since then, my life really took off in all aspects, so I've been truly blessed. That game was really a milestone for me to take the next step in my career."

Now Joyner faces the Tar Heels again in an unfamiliar position, this time as the starting running back. The sixth-year senior initially made the transition from receiver during spring practice to provide depth, but the onus is now on him to elevate a South Carolina run game that finished 2022 third-to-last in the SEC in rushing offense. The team averaged just 123 yards per game despite having a top-10 running back in the conference in Marshawn Lloyd, who transferred to Southern Cal in January.

Dowell Loggains, offensive coordinator

Loggains was a controversial hire for South Carolina after offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield left for Nebraska. Despite 16 years in the NFL, Loggains has never called plays at the college level and spent just two years at Arkansas as tight ends coach before making the jump to coordinator. His NFL record didn't inspire much confidence either: His offenses finished bottom three in the league in total yards in four of seven seasons as a coordinator.

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The feedback about Loggains from players has been overwhelmingly positive during preseason, and Rattler is emphatic about his increased confidence in this year's offense compared to Satterfield's. However, Loggains still faces the monumental task of translating chatter into on-field results against a Power Five opponent, a task made even more challenging because of his inexperience in college football.

"There's just a lot of moving part on game day that you try to simulate as much as you can in a practice, but until you do it for real when there's crowd noise and all that, it's tough," Beamer said. "It'll be the first time he's ever been on the headphones with me and everyone in an environment like that, but thankfully it's not his first time calling plays. He's called plays at the highest level ... but it will be new in a lot of ways."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What Spencer Rattler, South Carolina football have to prove vs UNC