Former UGA assistant Shane Beamer looks at not-so-distant history for Gamecocks potential

HOOVER, Ala. — Shane Beamer left the SEC after serving as an assistant coach on a 2017 Georgia football team that won a conference championship, a Rose Bowl thriller and lost on the last play in the national title game.

He spent the past three seasons at another elite program, Oklahoma, were he was assistant head coach/tight ends coach before returning to the league to take over a South Carolina program that is on the other extreme.

It has seen its win total dip each of the last three seasons including going 4-8 and 2-8 the last two years.

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Beamer, the son of former longtime Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, has his first head coaching job at the age of 44.

He was ready for a moment like Monday when he made his SEC Media Days debut, an event he watched as he climbed the coaching ladder.

“I'm very honored, very grateful, and, frankly, it’s really, really cool to be up here in front of all of you and representing our program today,” Beamer told reporters in a ballroom at the Wynfrey Hotel.

His wife Emily beat him to SEC Media Days years ago when she was a student at Mississippi State and worked in media relations.

“She actually was here in this room as one of the persons back in the day who would pass the microphone around to reporters to ask questions,” he said.

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Shane Beamer talked at first Monday of a a day-by-day approach with the Gamecocks.

“We’re right now trying to do the very best we can do on Monday,” he said. “Let's move this program forward today and let's try to get better each and every week and be the best we can be at the end of the season and take our head out of the water and see where we are at that point.”

Then he spoke of big ambitions he has for the job.

“I’m not talking about something that hasn't been done before at South Carolina,” he said. “In the last ten years, or my last year at South Carolina, we played for the SEC Championship. We beat Alabama when they were No. 1 in the country at Williams-Brice Stadium. We beat Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and our in-state rival all in the same season. Within the last ten years, we've been in the midst of consecutive 11-win seasons. Within the last ten years, we were in the midst of beating our in-state rival (Clemson) five years ago. We're not talking about something that was 40 years ago.”

Beamer, who replaced Will Muschamp who now is an analyst at Georgia, is renovating a house he and his wife bought but are living in a condo in the meantime, he said. It's 100 yards from his office.

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Beamer is the youngest head coach at South Carolina since Brad Scott was hired in 1993.

He knows the league from coaching stints at Mississippi State and Georgia and as a grad assistant at Tennessee.

The Gamecocks return 7 offensive starters led by 2020 SEC leading rusher Kevin Harris.

Sophomore Luke Doty is the starting quarterback.

“We’ve got a lot to prove,” Beamer said of a unit that ranked 10th in the SEC in total and scoring offense.

Beamer brought in Marcus Satterfield as offensive coordinator from the NFL Panthers who will employ some schemes Beamer ran at Oklahoma.

On the other side, Beamer bragged on what he called a deep and talented defensive line.

“There's not a lot of positions at South Carolina that I was familiar with personnel-wise when I got hired,” Beamer said. “The defensive line was one of them because we recruited a bunch of those guys when I was at Georgia and didn't get them, and we recruited a bunch of them when I was at Oklahoma.” 

Beamer and South Carolina have 12 commitments since June 1 and he seemed to be speaking to a certain other recruit—coveted four-star West Forsyth tight end Oscar Delp who South Carolina is battling Georgia to land.

“We are going to throw to the tight end,” said Beamer, who coached that position and was special teams coordinator for two seasons at Georgia under Kirby Smart. “We want the premier tight ends in America, and that's the way we're recruiting now as well, to go get those guys as well.”

The Gamecocks open Sept. 4 at home against Eastern Illinois and play at East Carolina before a Sept. 18 game at Georgia in the SEC opener.

The personable Beamer has brought “positive reinforcement,” edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare said.

“The team definitely bought in,” he said. “We’re definitely committed to what they have to offer. We’re definitely excited for this change and ready for Sept. 4.