Shane Beamer draws praise from Clemson football player for classy pregame gesture
In the wake of Saturday’s season-ending loss to Clemson, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer is drawing praise from a rival player for a classy gesture.
Clemson wide receiver Blackmon Huckabee Jr., who made headlines two weeks ago when he sang the national anthem in full uniform prior to Clemson’s Military Appreciation Day game against Georgia Tech, took to X (formerly Twitter) late Saturday to thank Beamer for going out of his way pregame to walk over and “personally congratulate me on my performance of the National Anthem.”
Beamer’s gesture came before the Tigers’ 16-7 win over the Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium, which deprived South Carolina of a bowl game.
Before singing the national anthem at the Nov. 11 Clemson-Georgia Tech game, Huckabee, a redshirt junior walk-on receiver and aspiring singer/songwriter, had previously gone viral over the summer for singing Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” during a team meeting and heard from “American Idol” afterwards.
According to a video of the exchange, captured by WSPA’s Todd Summers, Beamer made a point to walk over to the Clemson sideline to tell Huckabee his national anthem was “awesome” and that he had “a hell of a voice.”
“A ton of class from a great coach for a program with a bright future,” Huckabee wrote. “Thank you, Coach!”
Clemson fans shared Huckabee’s sentiments in the comments on both posts:
- “That was awesome on his part. Lot of respect for Coach Beamer.”
- “Two class acts!”
- “Some things are bigger than a rivalry.”
- “Good guy, rivalry aside.”
The Clemson-South Carolina rivalry has been fierce but respectful during the joint tenures of Tigers coach Dabo Swinney and Beamer. The coaches are often complimentary of each other’s programs in public, a major pivot from the war of words Swinney and former USC coach Steve Spurrier often engaged in.
With Saturday’s win, Clemson (8-4) won a fourth straight game and also deprived South Carolina (5-7) of a sixth win and bowl eligibility.
Clemson has won eight of the last nine games in the Palmetto Bowl series after falling at home to the Gamecocks last season and has also won five straight road games against South Carolina for the first time since 1989-99.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Shane Beamer draws praise from Clemson football player for classy pregame gesture."
