Shane Beamer’s message to current Gamecocks: It’s a fresh start for everyone
Shane Beamer has plenty of recruiting to do over the next few months. That started Sunday with the South Carolina football team.
Shortly after arriving in Columbia, the new Gamecocks football coach held his first team meeting with all the current players who were still in town. He will talk to other players in the coming weeks and see who will be sticking around for his first season with the Gamecocks.
Beamer’s message to the current players included his core values and what he expected of those in the program, both on and off the field. He also told the players that his hire offered a clean slate for them and the 2-8 season they just finished.
“I got a pretty good idea what is in here right now,” Beamer said Monday at his introductory press conference. “Being able to get it is a fresh start; 2021 is a new football season. Really don’t care what has been done in the past or on the field. We are moving forward. It is a fresh start with all the guys.
“We are going to have the right guys that want to be a part of that culture and be a part of the program. The response I got from those guys that I visited has been great. We will have the right guys to be here for sure.”
Beamer is familiar with some players on the Gamecocks roster, including Hammond’s Jordan Burch and Alex Huntley. He recruited both while he was at Oklahoma, and Huntley posted a picture to social media of him and Beamer from his recruiting visit.
Beamer will have a lot on his hands to try and remake the Gamecocks roster with the players who are on the team now and those committed for the recruiting classes of 2021 and 2022.
Israel Mukuamu, Jaycee Horn and Ernest Jones already announced they will be declaring for the NFL Draft, in addition to seniors Shi Smith and Sadarius Hutcherson confirming their intentions to turn pro. Jones, a junior, made his announcement Tuesday.
An expected NCAA rule change will allow for a one-time transfer with no penalty, a move that will impact rosters in all of college football. Freshman defender Makius Scott left the program and announced Monday he will transfer to Georgia Tech.
There will likely be more attrition in the coming weeks, as is common with a coaching change. Beamer acknowledged that to his players during the meeting.
“They didn’t come to play football here at South Carolina for me. They came to play for coach Will Muschamp and his staff,” Beamer said. “What I told those guys is, I was always going to be truthful with them, always going to be honest, always going to be real and always going to be genuine. I will work to earn their trust each and every day.”
Beamer also will try to gain the trust of current commitments and add to the current class.. The Gamecocks have 10 commitments for the 2021 class. The early signing period begins Dec. 16. He is in the process of contacting them and identifying new possible targets as he returns to Oklahoma and helps the Sooners finish their final two games.
“I think it is a great hire. High energy, been around some great head coaches and programs,” Gamecocks’ 2021 quarterback commit Colten Gauthier told The State “Absolutely been around one of the best, his dad Frank Beamer. He is passionate and loyal about South Carolina football, which is a perfect fit because Carolina fans are the most loyal and passionate in the country.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Shane Beamer’s message to current Gamecocks: It’s a fresh start for everyone."
