Marquel Blackwell out as South Carolina’s running backs coach
Shane Beamer has fired another offensive assistant coach.
South Carolina running backs coach Marquel Blackwell was let go Thursday, The State confirmed, further cementing the fact that Beamer wants an offensive overhaul for the 2026 season. TheBigSpur was the first to report the news.
Blackwell is the fourth assistant coach Beamer has technically fired since taking over in 2021. The first was Blackwell’s predecessor, Montario Hardesty, after the 2023 season.
The other two happened this season, and those jobs remain unfilled.
Beamer fired offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley after a dud performance against LSU, then followed that up a month later canning first-year offensive coordinator Mike Shula.
The fact that Beamer also felt the need to move on from Blackwell shouldn’t be too surprising.
For starters, South Carolina had the second-worst rushing attack in the SEC. Its most-productive tailback was Rahsul Faison, who racked up 470 ground yards (T-22 in the SEC).
There are the sheer numbers, but there is also less-tangible factors. Such as the fact that the guy projected as the best running back all offseason (Oscar Adaway) finished the season as maybe the fourth-string running back.
Or the fact that, on multiple instances in 2025, Blackwell took the hot running back out of the game and seemingly forget about them on the bench. Most memorably, Matthew Fuller ran for a 72-yard touchdown against LSU and didn’t touch the ball for the rest of the half.
“He needed to be back out there,” Beamer said after the game. “I told the coaches at halftime, give the freaking ball to Matt Fuller in the second half and let’s get him back in the game.”
And, lastly, Blackwell hasn’t proven to be a valuable recruiter. South Carolina didn’t sign a high school running back in Blackwell’s first cycle (Class of 2025) and the Gamecocks don’t have a tailback signed for the 2026 season either.
Before coming to Columbia, Blackwell was the running backs coach at Toldeo (‘10-’11), West Virginia (‘18), Houston (‘19-’21, coached QBs in ‘19), Ole Miss (‘22) and Texas A&M (‘23).
It would make sense that Beamer would wait to fill any offensive coaching vacancies until he hires an offensive coordinator. Everything else will be affected by that domino.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 8:47 AM.
