Gamecocks, Shane Beamer signed a small 2021 class. Here’s why, and what’s next
It’s only been four years since the NCAA implemented an early signing period for college football recruiting. The December window has already become so ingrained, so important to the sport, that when Wednesday came and went with South Carolina signing eight players, it felt ... quiet.
In the previous three years, the Gamecocks had never inked fewer than 17 players in the early signing period, reaching as many as 20 for the class of 2018. That’s led to this year’s class ranking outside the top 100 nationally at the moment, according to 247Sports, the program’s lowest ranking in the recruiting service era.
Of course, the reduced numbers for USC can be linked in large part to the program’s recent coaching change. New head coach Shane Beamer remarked Wednesday that he felt he was compressing two years of work into 10 days as he scrambled to form relationships with commits and find some prospects still on the market.
“I’d love to be on this call right now talking about 20 guys that we signed and it’s a top-10 recruiting class,” Beamer told reporters Wednesday. “And hopefully that’ll be next year and each year from there on out. But when you’ve only been on the job for a week and a half, there’s not a whole lot that you can get done in a week and a half. And we certainly exhausted every opportunity and resource that we could to to add some guys to this class and I’m confident that we still will.”
As Beamer indicated, the seven players South Carolina did sign as of Wednesday afternoon won’t be the only newcomers come the fall of 2021. Another, JonDarius Morgan signed later Wednesday night, leaving one other commitment — defensive lineman TJ Sanders — set to sign in February on the “regular” signing day. And beyond that, Beamer and the Gamecocks can recruit any unsigned high-schoolers as well as scour the JUCO ranks and the transfer market.
Beamer didn’t tip his hand as to whether he would focus more on recruits or transfers with the remaining 14 spots the Gamecocks have available, simply saying he would pursue the best players who are a good fit. But he did say he liked how many spots he has to work with.
“I don’t know what other scholarship situations are across the country with other colleges, but I can’t imagine there’s anyone out there that has a better situation as far as scholarships available, initial scholarships available, to use over the next month going in February, where we can really improve our team,” Beamer said.
Helping his cause is the fact that the NCAA approved a one-time transfer waiver rule, allowing any player to go to a new school and be immediately eligible to play there once in their career. The idea of instant help from players with college experience makes the transfer portal an attractive option.
But that also requires patience. Unlike recruits, who almost always either sign during the early signing period or at the start of the regular signing period, transfers can happen at any time. And that means Beamer won’t rush to fill the available scholarships too quickly.
“It’s not just, ‘OK, how many scholarships do we still have available in January?’” Beamer said. “If we don’t use all of those in January, it’s OK because things are gonna happen after spring practice. Some guys every year, they decide to leave programs after the spring for different reasons and things like that, so I think you always want to have some initial scholarships available if you need them.”
On top of that, the number of spots available can shift, as evidenced Wednesday when Beamer said several seniors who had previously decided to move on had told him they had changed their minds and intended to take advantage of an NCAA waiver allowing them to return for one more season because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on this season.
Beamer declined to say just who or how many seniors are now set to come back, but between that and transfers out of the program, “a lot of roster management has to take place,” he acknowledged.
Still, with the right infusion of talent over the coming few months, Beamer also said he believes the Gamecocks can compete right away.
“We’re really, really close, in my opinion,” Beamer said. “And I’m excited about the young talent and excitement and energy in the program right now, excited about spring practice for us, offseason workouts for us, going forward and if we have a way to improve our roster through recruiting and potential transfers, then we’re gonna do that also.”
USC 2021 signing class
OFFENSE
Caleb McDowell — RB, Leesburg, Georgia
Colten Gauthier — QB, Bethlehem, Georgia
O’Mega Blake — WR/ATH, Rock Hill
Jordan Davis — OL, Fairburn, Georgia
JonDarius Morgan — OL, Birmingham, Alabama
Sam Reynolds — WR, Alabaster, Alabama
DEFENSE
Marcellas Dial — DB, Woodruff
Nicholas Barrett — DL, Goldsboro, North Carolina
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
