South Carolina’s offense has a new problem for 2022. It’s a good one to have

South Carolina’s offense wasn’t up to snuff in 2021.

Head coach Shane Beamer knows that. So, too, does offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. Heck, they’ll be the first to tell you.

But thanks to a roster oozing with talented transfers — a group led by Oklahoma import Spencer Rattler — the Gamecocks feel poised for a step forward on a side of the ball that held them back all too often in Year 1 of the Beamer era as fall camp gets underway next week.

“At the end of the day, we want to get our best players on the field and the guys that are gonna produce,” Beamer said Thursday at his annual media golf tournament. “Certainly, there’s some really, really competitive battles going on across that offense right now.”

South Carolina offseason fodder has been abnormally cheery for a program whose overall record hovers just above .500 in nearly 120 years of competition. That has plenty to do with an offense that a year ago was figuring out who could play — versus 2022, where the dilemma is how to get everyone on the field.

That’s a subtle shift in thinking, but a distinct one.

Think back a season ago, before Beamer was dunked in mayonnaise after a bowl win, or prior to Rattler’s arrival. The Gamecocks were reeling from seasons of four and two wins to end Will Muschamp’s tenure. The transfer portal and early NFL departures depleted the roster. The rebuilding project seemed steep.

South Carolina’s offense had more than its share of issues. The Gamecocks finished 10th or worse in the Southeastern Conference in total offense in four of Muschamp’s five seasons as head coach.

The best finish? Seventh in 2018.

“Do (people) think that you’re just going to show up, play three different quarterbacks — you haven’t really been an elite offense in a long time — (and) just cause you want it, you’re going to be (averaging) 500 yards per game, 45 points per game, no turnovers, no mess-ups, no (missed assignments)?” Satterfield told The State on Thursday. “It’s not realistic. You have to go through this stuff.”

Whether Beamer, Satterfield or anyone else within the program will publicly state as such, Rattler figures to be the linchpin for a unit that desperately needs stability at quarterback.

The former Sooner is as talented a quarterback as South Carolina has had on paper perhaps ever. He’s a former five-star recruit. He’s also just one middling season removed from being in the Heisman Trophy discussion.

Rattler might not quite be the No. 1 overall-type draft pick he was once billed as, but USC’s new rocket-armed signal-caller provides ample reason for optimism.

“It’s certainly gone the way we want it to go to this point,” Beamer said of his quarterback.

Rattler, though, is far from the only piece for the Gamecocks to try and figure out how to best utilize this season.

Do-it-all tight end/running back/athlete Jaheim Bell is an otherworldly talent and a matchup nightmare for defensive backs. He looked the part of a game-breaking receiver during the USC’s throttling of North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, notching 159 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns. His speed and size at 6-foot-3, 232 pounds also make him a weapon out of the backfield.

Throw in newcomers in Austin Stogner (Oklahoma), running back Christian Beal-Smith (Wake Forest) and receivers Antwane “Juice” Wells (James Madison) and Corey Rucker Jr. (Arkansas State), along with returners Josh Vann and MarShawn Lloyd, and the pieces are there for a significant step forward.

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun to have four tight ends, to have three or four backs that can touch it, to have seven wideouts who can do things with a quarterback that can spin the ball,” Satterfield said. “I think all that stuff’s gonna be a lot of fun to do.”

Beamer has been upbeat throughout the offseason — and, really, why not? The Gamecocks were expected to finish at or near the bottom of the SEC East a season ago. Six wins were a surprise. A seventh in the bowl game was a cherry on top.

There were low moments, sure. Getting run off the field by Texas A&M, Tennessee and Clemson caused headaches around Columbia. Yet, with the bulk of the defense back and an offense that suddenly feels deeper than it has been in years, Beamer, Satterfield and the rest of the staff are bullish on what might come when the season kicks off in a month’s time.

Now comes turning that oozing talent into win-column success.