‘This guy can help us win.’ Beamer dishes on why USC pursued local star Zavier Short
Shane Beamer just couldn’t pass on Zavier Short.
Short, who set records as a wide receiver at nearby Chapin High School, had been committed to play football at Appalachian State since last June. He didn’t receive an offer from South Carolina until Dec. 1, but Beamer had been hearing about him from area coaches throughout his senior year.
Beamer said he fielded weekly messages from high school coaches who had played against Short, telling Beamer he’s “completely lost” if the Gamecocks don’t recruit Short.
“Every single Friday, around 11 p.m., I would get a text message from the head coach of the team that just played Chapin telling me what an idiot I am that we haven’t offered Zavier Short,” Beamer said in a signing day press conference Wednesday. “Like literally every single Friday, I get my phone, there’s coach so-and-so, basically (saying) ‘What are y’all thinking? ... I don’t know what you’re doing but y’all are basically idiots if you don’t sign this kid.’”
Short, a 6-foot-2, 208-pound three-star according to the 247Sports Composite, caught 217 passes for 3,391 yards in his career at Chapin, becoming the school’s all-time leading receiver. He was selected for both the Shrine Bowl, which wasn’t played this season due to COVID-19, and the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl held in Myrtle Beach.
Short remained loyal to his App State commitment until the day the early signing period began Wednesday, announcing his flip to South Carolina on Tuesday evening. He told The State in December he had been solid with the Mountaineers — still, the Gamecocks were his dream.
“The (USC offer) made it a little more difficult because I was kind of locked in to App State already,” Short said. “USC has always been a dream school, but I was already going into App. But things change, so I have to re-evaluate my situation and see what is best for me.”
Beamer said Short, a top 200 wide receiver and No. 22 prospect out of South Carolina, the showed his competitiveness in a camp over the summer, but struggles with finding a scholarship spot for Short kept the Gamecocks from extending an offer.
“Honestly, as it it got to the end of the season, I just said, ‘You know what? Forget about it. This guy can help us win,’ ” Beamer said. “I’ll get him here, and we’ll figure it out. He’s a winner. He’s a competitor. He’s a really good football player, and he’s the kind of guy that we want in this program, that four years from now you’re going to look up, and you’re going to be glad that we signed him today.”
Short was listed as an athlete when he signed with South Carolina on Wednesday, and Beamer said Short could work with receivers, tight ends or even carry the ball. The Gamecocks have yet to sign a tight end in their 2022 class.
“I think he’s just he’s a really good player, period,” Beamer said. “We’ll find a way for him to help us for sure.”
South Carolina’s class ended the early signing period ranked 21st in the country and 10th in the SEC, capped off Saturday with its top-rated signee under Beamer, four-star quarterback Tanner Bailey out of Gordo High School (Alabama).
South Carolina signing class, by position
OFFENSE (8)
- Quarterback (2): Braden Davis, Tanner Bailey
- Wide Receiver (2): Kylic Horton, Landon Samson
- Athlete (1): Zavier Short
- Offensive Line (3): Ryan Brubaker, Cason Henry, Grayson Mains
DEFENSE (13)
- Defensive Line (4): Felix Hixon, D’Andre Martin, Demetrius Watson, Jamaal Whyce
- Edge (2): Bryan Thomas Jr., Donovan Westmoreland
- Linebacker (1): Stone Blanton
- Athlete (1): Nick Emmanwori
- Defensive Back (5): Emory Floyd Jr., Keenan Nelson Jr., Kajuan Banks, Anthony Rose, Peyton Williams
