COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gator Bowl practice kicked off Thursday for South Carolina and the Gamecocks had a special visitor who was intently watching the offense go through his drills.
One day after he was formally introduced as the Gamecocks' new offensive coordinator, Dowell Loggains showed up to practice and spent most of his time in the early stages observing with the occasional quick chat with quarterback Spencer Rattler.
Loggains will not be calling plays in the Gator Bowl so that will give the longtime NFL assistant time to implement his schemes and terminology with the goal of not overwhelming the offense with complicated play calls.
"The biggest thing I've learned from college football is the space and pace of the game and the ability to communicate through signals and as few words as possible," Loggains said.
"What I've been impressed with is how fast these kids learn a signal as opposed to words. It just hits their brain where you give a signal and everyone knows what to do."
Loggains spent 16 years in the NFL but his last two years were spent on Sam Pittman's staff at Arkansas.