Why is USC winning in 2024? It starts with coaches trusting their portal evaluations
The December calendar is changing and Shane Beamer is thrilled.
Last year, the calendar’s final month was chaos for college football programs. The transfer portal officially opened on Dec. 4 and the early-signing period — when high-school recruits are able to sign their National Letter of Intent — began on Dec. 20. Coaches had to fret over bringing players in from the portal before worrying about finishing their high-school signing class.
And imagine you’re a college football coach, juggling all these things.
First, you’re figuring out who from your team is going to enter the portal — Is there a chance they stay? Are they better off leaving? Then you’ve got to decide who to pursue in the transfer portal. And that leads to evaluation, hosting visits and calling other coaches about the kid. Simultaneously, you’re shoring up your high school recruiting class. Making in-home visits. Checking in with prospects. Ensuring there’s no last-second flips. Then closing the deal.
Oh, and if your team is preparing for a bowl game, you still have to coach.
“There’s a lot that happens in December,” Beamer said. “I mean, every freshman who’s on our team now, I think I was in their house or their high school over a two-week span in December last year.”
This year, though, it’s all flipped. The early-signing period begins on Dec. 4 with the transfer portal open from Dec. 9-28. and coaches aren’t allowed on the road to recruit the entire month — meaning any visit will be strictly on campus.
“The biggest thing with the early signing period was to so those high school kids don’t get passed over, lost in the shuffle or whatever from a portal standpoint,” Beamer said. “So you sign your high school class. They’re signed. And then the portal opens after that as well, which I think is great.”
To hear Beamer’s excitement about the change is so interesting because the calendar last season felt like mayhem. And yet, amid the madness, South Carolina thrived.
Think about it: Almost half of the Gamecocks’ starters weren’t on the team last year.
There are the three true freshmen: edge Dylan Stewart, OL Josiah Thompson and WR Mazeo Bennett Jr.
Then the seven super-impactful transfers: EDGE Kyle Kennard (Georgia Tech), LB Demetrius Knight (Charlotte), RB Rocket Sanders (Arkansas), WR Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina), WR Gage Larvadain (Miami Ohio), OL Torricelli Simpkins III (N.C. Central) and OL Kamaar Bell (FAU).
None of those transfers, aside from Sanders, was billed as a superstar. None, aside from Sanders, had SEC experience. None, aside from Sanders, was thought of as a no-doubt starter.
Well, Kennard might leave South Carolina with the program record for sacks in a season, (He’s 3.5 sacks behind Jadeveon Clowney for the title.) Knight, who has transformed into a vocal leader, is the Gamecocks’ highest-rated defender, according to Pro Football Focus. Simpkins has been, without a doubt, USC’s best offensive lineman this year.
Now, South Carolina was not perfect in the portal. It brought in 22 guys and a pair — WR Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and LB Bangally Kamara — already left for new schools.
Still, seven of the 22 (32%) are starters. Plus, about a half-dozen more are regular contributors, guys like TE Brady Hunt, RB Oscar Adaway and WR Vandrevius Jacobs.
So how did Beamer and his staff pull that off during an insane December?
First — and just about every program will say this — “bring in good people, for sure, who love football,” Beamer said.
After that, though, is where things get interesting.
Look again at those seven transfers who are starting for South Carolina this season. Not one comes from a major program. Only two even come from a Power 4 program. And just Sanders had SEC experience.
“I think for a lot of schools, it’s easy,” Beamer said, offering an example: “Oooo, Jordan from Ohio State just popped in the portal. Let’s go get that guy. That would be a great pickup for us.”
Beamer and his staff did the opposite. Rather than care about perception or rankings or whatever, they trusted their eyes. They trusted their evaluations. The result: South Carolina went after the guys it wanted and, well, those guys were usually available.
There wasn’t a ton of competition for Simpkins out of North Carolina Central. Ditto for Knight from Charlotte. And both of those guys are probably going to the NFL soon.
“You trust your evaluation,” Beamer said, “and don’t worry about the push back that, ‘Man, their signing class — excuse my language — sucks because they signed this guy from North Carolina Central and Charlotte. What are we doing.’”
“Well,” Beamer added, “maybe because Power 4 guys aren’t as good of players as these guys from the Group of 5 and we evaluated them and think that guy is better.”
