Burch never thought of leaving after USC coaching change. Now his trust is in Beamer
Jordan Burch was the highest-ranked prospect to sign with the South Carolina football program since Jadeveon Clowney a decade ago.
And for the first time since he arrived in June, Burch spoke Monday with members of the media. Former coach Will Muschamp didn’t allow freshmen to talk with reporters, and Burch opted to not do many interviews since his sophomore season playing at Hammond in Columbia.
During his 10-minute session Monday, the former five-star recruit opened up about the recruiting process, the transition from Muschamp to Beamer and having his old high school coach Erik Kimrey on staff with the Gamecocks among other things.
“I was going back and forth trying to decide where I wanted to go. It came down to it with South Carolina — I’m already here,” Burch said of picking USC at a nationally-televised ceremony in December of 2019. “I wanted to get on the field and play as soon as possible, and everything I needed was right here in this state. I’m a big family guy, so I wanted to be able to have my family watch me play every game. So far, that’s what’s happened.”
Burch and Muschamp had a strong relationship even before the three-year recruiting process. Burch was teammates with Muschamp’s son Jackson at Hammond, so their relationship went just beyond in football.
When Muschamp was fired in November, Burch said he didn’t entertain thoughts of leaving the program.
“It’s been a wild ride. With Muschamp leaving, that was my guy. But having coach Beamer come in and take over the program, it’s been a pretty smooth ride so far,” Burch said. “Coach Kimrey on staff is good, too, having him around. It’s been pretty fun so far.”
Burch said the biggest differences between Beamer and Muschamp have been Beamer’s energy and the push for competition, especially in the weight room in offseason workouts. There also have been team competitive drills at night that have been documented on social media over the past few weeks.
“I know he wants us to be better in everything we do. Having him around, it pumps everybody up because he’s always excited and ready for us to do better,” Burch said of Beamer. “When we first had our meeting with him, everything he told us and promised us has been happening — that he’d develop us in the weight room, we’ll get stronger, we’ll be faster. And everything is playing out so far. We trust him as a coach so far.”
Burch appeared in eight of the Gamecocks’ 10 games last season and finished with 19 tackles. He had a tackle on his second college play against Tennessee and had a pair of five-tackle games against Vanderbilt and LSU, one of the schools he strongly considered out of high school.
Burch, who was with the second-team defense during Saturday’s media viewing portion of practice, said he put on five pounds in the offseason and is getting an understanding on how to better utilize his body, strength and speed.
The Gamecocks are switching to a 4-2-5 scheme this year under Beamer and new defensive coordinator Clayton White. But Burch said his role won’t change much in the new scheme: His main priority will be to get after the quarterback, something lacking with the Gamecocks defense last year.
South Carolina had just 14 sacks last year in the COVID-shortened season.
“I think the scheme will be a little different as far as getting after the quarterback,” Burch said. “Things will change. Stunts, different pass rush plays we have going in. I think this year will be a little bit better.
“I would say it’s more aggressive, the approach. It’s more dedicated to sacking the quarterback.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 1:51 PM.
