Shane Beamer drops a big hint to a major recruit
Shane Beamer isn’t allowed to publicly mention recruits by name. NCAA rules prevent that. It doesn’t mean South Carolina’s head football coach can’t drop hints.
He did just that Monday while speaking at SEC Media Days in the main room of The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama.
“We are going to pass to the tight end,” Beamer said in running through updates on each position. “We want the premier tight ends in America and that’s the way that we’re recruiting right now.”
It’s not a stretch to assume Beamer was sending a message to Oscar Delp a four-star tight end from Cumming, Georgia and one of the most sought-after prospects in the 2022 recruiting cycle. His offer list includes programs like Florida, Michigan, Alabama and South Carolina. He was in Columbia last month for an official college visit.
And it appears Delp heard the message.
“It was super cool hearing that and him (Coach Beamer) talk about that,” Tuscaloosa News correspondent Brett Greenberg quoted Delp as saying in a Tweet. “I definitely want to be at a school that utilizes that position and I’m really feeling the love from the whole South Carolina fan base.”
Delp has a unique connection to the Columbia area in that he has family there who own a historic property outside of the city.
He’s had a top 13 list he’s not trimmed, but he has said USC, Clemson, Michigan and Alabama are standing out the most to him.
Delp this week told SportsTalkSC that communication with the staffs of Clemson and USC remains hot.
“They’ve just been calling me and checking in on me and just being in my ear and letting me know that I’m the guy they want, and they are going to give me all the time I need,” Delp said of the Tigers.
About the Gamecocks, Delp said: “I’ve been talking to their coaches all the time. Their fans are crazy. They really want me to come over there. Waiting for the next step, which is to get out for some games.”
Delp had planned to visit Clemson and USC next week. Now, he might not see either.
Delp said Sunday night the Clemson cookout event is still a possibility for him, though he’s not sure he will make it. As for a USC cookout July 31, Delp said Georgia is having a gathering of top prospects the same day — and since both are high on his list, he feels it’s unfair to go to one and not the other, so he won’t go to either.
In June, Delp also took official visits to Georgia, Florida and Michigan, and unofficial visit to Alabama.
Because he wants to take in some games this fall before making a decision, Delp doesn’t plan to finalize anything until sometime in September. That could happen on his mom’s birthday, Sept. 30, or it could come earlier in the month. He has not yet decided which games he’ll attend in the opening month of the season.
— Phil Kornblut contributed
This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 5:00 PM.