Shane Beamer, South Carolina make one decision about kicker position
South Carolina’s is not on the hunt for a kicker.
And that’s a bit of a surprise coming out of spring practices, when coach Shane Beamer didn’t seem over the moon with his kickers.
After the spring game, Beamer was asked about punter Mason Love possibly also being the starting kicker after a spring in which he was solid in both roles.
“I kind of wish you had one kicker, one punter,” Beamer said. “But we’ll always be looking to see how we can, if there are other ways too. You want other guys to continue to come along, too. So that competition in that room is stiff, and they’re still competing as we come out of spring.”
It seemed like an indication that the Gamecocks would look to the transfer portal in search of a kicker who could add competition to the room. On Monday, however, Beamer said the Gamecocks have opened and shut the door on bringing in a kicker via the portal.
Beamer noted that he and special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis sat down after spring practice, evaluated the group of kickers in the transfer portal and didn’t feel any were better than what South Carolina already has.
“And I didn’t want to bring in somebody just to muddy the waters just because they were an older guy,” Beamer said before the latest Welcome Home Tour event.
Which means South Carolina will likely head into fall practice with a four-person kicking competition.
The candidates: Love, a redshirt freshman who seems to be the favorite to be the starting punter and kicker; true freshman Max Kelley, who won’t enroll until the summer; and William Joyce and Peyton Argent — both walk-ons.
The most-glaring concern: None have ever attempted a college kick.
“They’re unproven,” Beamer said. “That’s certainly concerning as you go into a season with a kicker and a punter who have never kicked in a big game like that.”
This news that South Carolina is staying put with its kicker comes a year after doing the same. Rather than look to the portal to replace Mitch Jeter — who transferred to Notre Dame — South Carolina kept the competition in-house.
Redshirt senior Alex Herrera won the job and made 15 of 21 field goals (71%) on the season, but missed a potential game winner against LSU and a possible go-ahead kick at Alabama.
“That’s our job as coaches: We’ve got to develop these guys and get them (to) a mental and physical standpoint where they can go out there and perform.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 8:37 PM.
