What Shane Beamer said about USC’s 5 transfer portal additions
MarShawn Lloyd’s main duty for the South Carolina football team is running the ball, but he provided new coach Shane Beamer with a recruiting assist over the last month.
Lloyd, who missed the 2020 season with an ACL injury, told Beamer that he should take a look at linebacker Darryl “Debo” Williams film. Lloyd and Williams knew each other from their high school days in Delaware, and the tailback thought the defender would be a good fit for the Gamecocks.
Williams signed with Delaware in December 2019 but never played a game there because the Blue Hens didn’t play in the fall during the COVID-19 pandemic. He committed to the Gamecocks on Jan. 7.
“We told MarShawn he is one-for-one as a recruiter,” Beamer said. “...You turn on his video and you are like, ‘Oh my gosh, how did he not get recruited by ACC, SEC, Big Ten schools?’ Really impressive video and high school career. He is a guy that is all business.”
Beamer said Williams and Lloyd were the first ones in the weight room at 5:45 a.m. one day last week. It also doesn’t hurt to have the name “Debo” and play at USC. Deebo Samuel was a standout receiver with the Gamecocks who is now in the NFL with San Francisco 49ers.
“To get another Debo in the building is a no-brainer, especially one that plays linebacker,” Beamer said. “You almost have to take that guy. He has lived up to the name Debo in the two weeks I have been around him.”
Beamer talked about Williams and South Carolina’s other transfers publicly for the first time Tuesday. Nebraska’s Keem Green, Georgia State’s Jordan Strachan, Georgia Tech’s Ahmarean Brown and Georgia Southern’s David Spaulding are transfers who are all now with the Gamecocks program.
Beamer, on Keem Green
Green, 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, was a Gamecock commit in junior college before ending up at Nebraska. Now, he has a chance to finish his college career in South Carolina.
Beamer said Green’s girth and veteran presence will help the Gamecocks on the defensive line.
“He is a disrupter,” the new USC coach said of Green. “Everyone is looking for defensive linemen across the country. To have a guy that has that size, athleticism, is an older guy and he has a story that has hardened him along the way at different stops he has had. … We know what this place means to people from South Carolina. And to have a guy that has always wanted to be at Carolina but had to take a different avenue to get here is impressive.”
Beamer, on Jordan Strachan
The 6-foot-4 Strachan (pronounced STRAHN) is a redshirt junior and also should be a big asset for the Gamecocks defense. The former walk-on had a school-record 10.5 sacks, tied for most in FBS, and had a school record 14.5 tackles for loss as part of his 41 tackles.
Strachan was part of a Georgia State defense that had a school-record 35 sacks.
“You talk about a phenomenal story. Senior who walks on at Georgia State and leads the nation in sacks,” Beamer said of Strachan. “He went into the transfer portal and we jumped on him immediately. Awesome conversation with his mom and dad. Great family and very appreciative of the opportunity here.”
Beamer, on Ahmarean Brown
Brown, a Tampa native, caught 33 passes for 619 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons with the Yellow Jackets. He was the team’s top pass catcher in 2019, averaging 18.9 yards per catch and reaching the end zone seven times to tie the program’s freshman record set by Calvin Johnson.
“When I got here, we talked about what were some immediate positions of need. Receiver was one of them,” Beamer said. “Had some great conversations with him and his family over Zoom and he will help us immediately at the receiver position. He brings speed and big-play ability that we need on the perimeter.”
Beamer, on David Spaulding
At USC, Spaulding will reunite with one of his high school teammates, running back Kevin Harris. Both attended the Bradwell Institute in Georgia. He recorded seven tackles, a pass breakup and an interception in that time, taking that pick for a touchdown against Appalachian State.
Spaulding possesses good length at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds.
“David gives us some length at the defensive back position. Really impressive when you look at his size and his length,” Beamer said. “Everyone in America is looking for defensive backs with some size, speed and length. He has all that. He will help us at another position of need. We are thin on numbers in the secondary for different reasons, so that is a big get for us. We are continuing to look to add more guys down the stretch at the defensive back position.”
