How new coach Shane Beamer will benefit from Gamecocks’ bowl practices
The question looms with any new coach, and in this case it’s South Carolina’s Shane Beamer. Why exactly can’t they roll in after getting hired and coach a team in a bowl game?
Beamer has led players on the field. He’ll lead the Gamecocks in less than a year’s time. The coaches who sometimes step in for bowl games come from many different parts of a staff.
Interim head coach Mike Bobo will lead the team through a short bowl prep, a week of practice that includes heading to Tampa on Thursday for the Gasparilla Bowl against UAB. The game is Saturday. Beamer flew into town Sunday afternoon, and he’ll be doing something important the next few days.
“Coach Beamer is meeting with the kids individually, on an individual basis, and have one-on-one conversations with each guy,” Bobo said.
One has to remember that Beamer only met these USC players a few weeks ago. He’s talked to many. He knew some from their recruiting days. But he also spent the past two weeks trying to help Oklahoma to the Big 12 title that it won this past weekend.
In a single week, a new coach isn’t going to teach a team a new set of drills or a new offense. And the chances of a coach learning the old scheme in seven days, just to start changing it right after, is low at best.
Beamer said in a radio interview Monday that this is still the 2020 team. In some ways it’s still his team, but in others it’s not yet (though he’ll help if he can and if he’s asked).
No, this week is about Beamer figuring out the soft skills side of thing, while the remaining staff manages the game aspects.
That means meeting with everyone, getting to know players. With the coming of more loose transfer rules, he’ll need a good rapport with a lot of key faces. It also means being around practice, being a presence and seeing what players do and how they go about their business.
“Myself and the staff, our responsibility is to get the team ready to play for the bowl game,” Bobo said. “He’s going to be handling duties outside of the bowl game. We’re going to see him at practice and watch practice and be around the guys.
“He’s working on the future of South Carolina.”
Beamer noted that without a bowl, the players wouldn’t even be in the building this time of year.
“I love being able to just get out there and watch those guys,” Beamer said, “get around these players and kind of see them work on the field from a football standpoint. It’s a great benefit for me.”
The coach met with seven players on Monday morning and had planned to meet with at least seven more in the afternoon.
There’s a certain advantage in how the timing fell for the Gamecocks. Some bowls bring with them extended layoffs, which could mean focus issues for a team that has been put through the wringer between COVID-19 protocols, losing Will Muschamp and a tough 2-8 season.
USC just has to pull off a sprint. Race through a week, do what they need to, get to a game and then move on to the next era of the program.
“I’m glad that we’re playing early,” Bobo said. “I’m glad that the guys are here. They don’t have to practice a couple days and send them home. I’ve talked about, on several occasions, how long this season has been for those players, not just physically but mentally. And I think it’s good that we’re gonna play a game this Saturday.”
Gasparilla Bowl
Who: South Carolina (2-8) vs. UAB (6-3)
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida
TV: ABC
Line: UAB by 5
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 12:45 PM.
