One month in, Shane Beamer ‘running on adrenaline’ while revamping Gamecocks program
Shane Beamer has been on the job as South Carolina football’s head coach for just over a month now. So what’s it been like for the long-time assistant in his first stint as the man in the charge?
“I feel like I’ve had a phone attached to my ear for a month,” Beamer told reporters. “Whether it be recruiting, talking to the players on my current roster, recruiting guys outside the roster, trying to hire coaches. It’s been a lot, but it’s a challenge and certainly running on adrenaline.”
At this point, Beamer added, he’s looking forward to just getting on the field and being able to coach the Gamecocks. He hasn’t presided over a practice yet. And before he can do that, he’ll have to keep his phone to his ear a little longer.
He still has to complete hires for the on-field coaching staff. February’s national signing day is a few weeks away. And there’s always the looming worry that current players will decide to leave the program and cause more roster headaches.
“Every single day, when my phone rings it’s, ‘Is it someone calling me to tell me they’re thinking about entering the portal? Or is it someone calling me to tell me they’re wanting to come to South Carolina?’ I mean, there’s a lot of emotions, just to be totally honest ... that I feel from the time I wake up each morning to the time I go to bed,” Beamer said.
Some of that is just part and parcel with being a college football coach — players transfer from every program in the country every offseason. But the Gamecocks have had quite a few in recent weeks, with 10 players entering the portal. That’s fourth-most in the SEC, behind Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
“When I got hired, I didn’t want to lose anyone, but I knew it was part of it. I mean, the University of Oklahoma, they just won their fifth or sixth straight Big 12 championship and they got guys jumping in the portal,” Beamer said. “It’s just part of it, you know? It’s college football nowadays, and guys are looking for better opportunities. And I understand that.
“The guys that have left here, they did not come to South Carolina to play for me, they came to play for another coach, and I knew when I got hired that that was going to be a possibility.”
It’s been a busy two days for news that impacts the roster. All-SEC first team defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare (six sacks, three forced fumbles in 2020) announced Monday that he’ll be back with the Gamecocks in 2021. On Tuesday, Class of 2022 five-star quarterback commit Gunner Stockton broke his USC commitment.
When asked directly Monday about two potential departures, wide receivers Randrecous Davis and OrTre Smith, Beamer declined to say whether they were still with the team, instead saying an updated roster would be released in the coming weeks.
And it’s not just players who can up and leave. Beamer got a reminder of that last week when offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, retained from coach Will Muschamp’s staff and extended another year, and newly hired offensive line coach Will Friend both took jobs at Auburn.
Although Beamer was able to find a replacement for Bobo quickly, hiring Carolina Panthers assistant Marcus Satterfield within a day, he still has to hire someone to take Friend’s spot. When he spoke to reporters Monday, he also hadn’t hired a final defensive assistant, but he did drop a hint as to who it might be.
“Our defensive coaching staff right now for, if we need some more bodies on the field, there’s probably not a more talented defensive coaching staff in the country,” Beamer said of three men currently on staff, all of whom played professionally. “And I don’t think we’re done yet either with the last assistant coach that we’re in the process of trying to work something out with, he brings immense physical abilities as well.”
Sure enough, multiple outlets reported Monday evening that the job was going to former Florida secondary coach Torrian Gray — and he played NFL football, in addition to playing college ball with Beamer at Virginia Tech.
Beamer had said he hoped news on the last few hires would come soon, but he also acknowledged some angst from fans over how long assembling his staff has taken.
“I said this when I got hired, I mean, I could have gone out and hired 10 name head coaches 24 hours after getting the job at South Carolina and had the staff done with,” Beamer said. “And I didn’t, and that’s because I wanted to make sure I had this thing right, get the right 10 guys in here.”
