Shane Beamer’s low-staff signing day, next steps there and one name left
Shane Beamer has spent a lot of time on the phone lately, so much so his athletic director, Ray Tanner, put the number at 88 calls Tuesday in a radio interview Wednesday afternoon.
That’s a lot for any day, let alone one where the South Carolina football coach had to get in a practice and meetings with his old team, Oklahoma. Even in the busy time, the day before the recruiting early signing period, it was a lot. Usually the load is shared on that front.
But usually a coach isn’t playing catch-up less than two weeks from getting hired, with no assistants publicly locked in.
The first step of South Carolina’s 2021 recruiting class came with eight signees Wednesday. Seven names were in by Beamer’s afternoon news conference. The coach seemed to have convinced one more recruit by the evening.
And this was all with a recruiting infrastructure that was anything but settled with a coaching staff in limbo, though he shouted out a few key names.
“Jessica Jackson, who handles a lot of the stuff of on-campus recruiting for us and deals with so many of the parents of these prospects handles a lot of the (National Letters of Intent) and all the paperwork, has been great,” Beamer said. “And then a huge, huge thank you to Drew Hughes, director of player personnel, for his help, impact, influence on me over the last couple weeks.”
The pair have been two of the highest-profile faces former coach Will Muschamp brought in to run things on that side, and they could well continue on. The State also learned running backs coach Des Kitchings, whose name has been mentioned on many of the new offer tweets, has been working on the class like a coach who could stick around with the next staff.
That leads to a question Beamer didn’t deal with directly Wednesday, even though the day was in itself a barrier in potentially bringing a new staff on board.
Beamer noted, as he did earlier in the week, that all of his top choices to hire at every assistant spot are still in play. It’s almost assured he’ll keep a few of the coaches already on staff. Muschamp kept one when he was hired. Steve Spurrier kept three.
The new Gamecocks coach kept things vague Wednesday. He aims to have a staff that will be a selling point to recruits going forward. After his opening news conference he spoke with each coach and told them he wasn’t closing the door on anything. Recruiting came first, and he understood that and the deliberate pace kept some of them in a tight spot.
And there was one other factor that slowed him from possibly telling a current staffer he’s locked in.
“A lot of that is going to depend on coordinator hires and potential guys that those coordinators may want to bring with them,” Beamer said. “A lot of that is going to depend on, that I’ve told them I may be talking to other guys at your position and not necessarily that I’m going to offer them the job but just kind of seeing how this thing goes.”
Some reports have floated Garrett Riley, bother of Beamer’s former boss Lincoln, as an offensive coordinator option. Others have suggested current offensive coordinator and interim head coach Mike Bobo could be an option. Football Scoop also threw out North Carolina’s Jay Bateman as an option at defensive coordinator.
Those picks will be key, as Beamer hasn’t called an offense or a defense, though he’s worked on both sides of the ball.
On radio earlier in the day, Beamer’s boss, Tanner, said the athletic department aims to give Beamer the resources he needs to assemble the staff he’d like. Tanner also said he’s available to talk to candidates if needed.
The signing period is important because coaches often stay on until right after and depart for other jobs. The Gamecocks saw two positions open up after last February’s signing day, when Thomas Brown and John Scott Jr. both moved on. Some coaches finished their regular seasons last week, while others wrap this Saturday on championship weekend.
That could point to at least a few names signing on sooner rather than later, though in Muschamp’s first staff, the last member didn’t arrive until late January.
“I’m trying to handle it the best way that I can,” Beamer said of the current process. “There’s no easy way. There’s no right way. But I’m just trying to be honest and real and genuine and keep them abreast and communicate with them.”
The assistants at least will coach through a bowl game. One report, from AL.com, put credence to a long-simmering rumor that Gamecocks offensive line coach Eric Wolford will move on to Kentucky.
Any new coaches will help with the next steps of the recruiting process. The team still has 13 spots to divvy up among junior college players, high school prospects and transfers who should be able to play right away.
One of those high school players projects to be T.J. Sanders, the lone public commit who has yet to sign. The athletic and versatile lineman has 59 tackles and six sacks this season. Plus, the team could still sign more players though Friday.
“There’s some guys out there that we’re still recruiting that I am optimistic that will sign with us during this signing period,” Beamer said.
