Could Lonnie Teasley departure impact USC’s O-line recruiting? Beamer weighs in
Shane Beamer made a round of phone calls before the news of Lonnie Teasley’s firing went public.
One call was to South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati. Some of the other phone calls went to recruits, their families and their high school coaches.
South Carolina on Sunday afternoon confirmed that Teasley, who was in his third season as the Gamecocks’ offensive line coach, had been dismissed. Beamer met with current players and coaches to share the news with them.
USC’s head coach was asked Sunday evening about any potential ripple effects the in-season move could have on recruiting.
The topic — “certainly a concern,” Beamer said — was something he discussed with the USC AD of his decision early Sunday morning.
“The truth is, my responsibility is for the South Carolina football team right now, this 2025 football team, and not doing something because of a handful of recruits is not the right decision,” he said. “The right decision is to do what’s best for the current football team and this team going forward. And that’s what I did.”
Beamer revealed that he did take the time Sunday to call two recruits, their parents and their high school coaches to break the news of the firing before it went public and to explain his decision.
“ I wanted them to hear it from me,” Beamer said. “I’ve talked to a parent of theirs, if not both parents, and I’ve talked to their high school coaches, and just explained where I was coming from and why I made the decision that I did.”
While Beamer isn’t allowed to mention a recruit by name, it’s likely one of those recruits who heard from USC’s coach on Sunday was Darius Gray, the highest-ranked member of the team’s 2026 class.
A five-star recruit out of Richmond, Virginia, Gray committed to the Gamecocks in August over Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Tennessee. The No. 30 overall recruit and No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the class of 2026 remained committed to USC as of Sunday evening.
Gray is the lone 5-star recruit of the class. USC has commitments from two other offensive linemen, both in-state prospects: Zyon Guiles (Carvers Bay, 4-star); and Anthony Baxter (South Pointe, 3-star).
Beamer remained confident in the draw USC has in recruiting regardless of the position coach.
“People choose schools for reasons, and certainly the position coach is an aspect of that,” Beamer said. “But there’s a lot of other reasons that people chose the University of South Carolina, or are considering the University of South Carolina, beyond who the position coach is.”
