There’s a family connection tied into Saturday afternoon’s Southeastern Conference opener between South Carolina and Mississippi State in Columbia, S.C.
Gamecocks offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is the brother-in-law of Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby, who is married to Briles’ sister. Briles and Lebby once worked together on Baylor’s coaching staff.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was asked Sunday if that connection will serve as any type of advantage in the clash between two 2-0 teams.
“Obviously, they are family. There is that aspect of it. I think sometimes that can be overrated,” Beamer said. “And yes, Kendal may have some ideas and things on Coach Lebby, and how they do things, but the same is true for Coach Lebby and Kendal and how we do things.
“It’s something we certainly talked about in the summertime when we spent time back in June talking as a staff about all 12 of our opponents and working on our summer scouting reports,” Beamer added. “And it’s something we’ll lean into this week, but I’m sure Mississippi State’s defensive staff is doing the same thing.”
Lebby said this week that he doesn’t enjoy having to face a family member, but he said he and Briles talk football often.
“Being able to talk ball and talk shop through the offseason, grow together in this profession, has been a ton of fun,” Lebby said.
He also noted that there are some similarities between the Gamecocks and Bulldogs.
“There’s familiarity obviously just from a play-style standpoint,” Lebby said. “I think play design, (there’s) some differences. But attacking and running the football and playing with tempo, changing the tempos, those are all things that our defense is able to see every single day, and their defense (sees) it every single day.”
Behind Matt Fuller’s team-leading 199 yards rushing, South Carolina’s offense averages 341.5 yards per game on the ground and adds 232.0 per game through the air. Mississippi State has allowed only 75.5 rushing yards and 209.5 passing yards.
Defensively, the Gamecocks are giving up 191.0 yards per game while the Bulldogs are averaging 620.5 yards per outing on offense.
