‘Like they already knew me.’ Transfers feel at home with Beamer’s Gamecocks
Sophomore defensive back transfer David Spaulding didn’t need much of a sales pitch to come to South Carolina.
All Spaulding needed was to see the way his former high school teammate, running back Kevin Harris, blossom into one of the top talents at his position in the Southeastern Conference. The duo played together at Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, Georgia, and Spaulding started his college career at Georgia Southern.
Now, they’re reunited in garnet and black.
Spaulding wanted an opportunity to grow in the same way as Harris, to develop his craft. And as he learned more about new head coach Shane Beamer and the program he was building, Spaulding decided Columbia was where he needed to go.
“I talked with my family, and then when we looked over it ... everything is here that you need as far as football-wise and school-wise,” Spaulding said. “And (the coaches) all care about you, family-oriented, Beamer is a down-to-earth person. You can’t ask for nothing more.”
There’s plenty of opportunity in Columbia, too, especially on the defensive side. As often happens with coaching changes, the departure of head coach Will Muschamp led to significant roster turnover, and the Gamecocks will have little choice but to lean on transfers like Spaulding, linebacker Debo Williams and versatile linebacker/defensive end Jordan Strachan. All three players addressed the media for the first time this spring on Wednesday.
A common theme among them was the idea of starting fresh, not just as new faces on the roster but as an entire program. Because of the coaching change, the transfers said they feel as though they’re on a level playing field with everyone else as they learn defensive coordinator Clayton White’s 4-2-5 defense.
“(There’s a) new coaching staff, so it’s been new to everybody,” Williams said. “We’ve just been coming together. I tell you what — I got here, and it was like they already knew me, like I had already been here two, three years the way I was treated. It was just all I love. I never felt like I was lagging behind or I wasn’t able to lead.
“I came here, and coach Beamer was like, ‘I know you’re new, I know you’re young, but you got a leader mindset, man. Lead the way.’”
Through early spring practices, Williams has drawn consistent praise from his new teammates and coaches for his work ethic and physicality. And Beamer also praised Spaulding and fellow defensive back transfer Marcellas Dial for their adjustment to the new system.
“Yeah, excited about those new guys, Marcellas, David. They’re working hard, doing a good job and flashing,” Beamer said last week. “... We’re super thin at linebacker and super thin in the secondary right now. It is what it is. It’s not like it’s changed, and so we just got to continue to make sure we develop enough guys that can help us at those positions, and that’s the main thing. I like the way they’re working, the energy has been good and there hasn’t been a day where I walked off and just said, ‘That was a bad practice.’”
Strachan, a redshirt senior from Georgia State, is the most experienced of the transfers and is likely ticketed for a key role in White’s defense. He’s listed as an edge on the team’s official roster. Initially, Strachan (pronounced STRAHN) walked on to Georgia State as a safety before gaining weight and moving to outside linebacker.
He battled injuries late in his high school career and early in his college career, tearing his ACL in the first game of his sophomore season. But Strachan rebounded in a big way his junior season, tying for the FBS lead in sacks with 10.5.
The first time Beamer talked about Strachan, he couldn’t help but rave about that sack total and said he was surprised the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder didn’t receive more interest. On Wednesday, Strachan said he’s grateful his journey led him to Columbia.
“I felt like God was really trying to show something in my life, show something that I was missing, and I was able to put all the pieces together last year,” Strachan said. “And to be able to do what I did, it was a fun thing to watch.
“... To be here now, man, it’s a blessing, playing in the SEC, the biggest stage, against the best talent. We have some of the best teams in the country there’s to offer, so it’s a blessing.”
USC’s transfer portal additions
X-denotes player as being a graduate transfer
Jason Brown — QB (St. Francis)
EJ Jenkins — WR (St. Francis)
Ahmarean Brown — WR (Georgia Tech)
David Spaulding — DB (Georgia Southern)
X-Carlins Platel — DB (Assumption)
Darryl “Debo” Williams — LB (Delaware)
X-Jordan Strachan — DL (Georgia State)
Keem Green — DL (Nebraska)
