Twenty years is a long time to wait, but not if you are working to make your dream come true.
That’s how Shane Beamer sees this when he enters his first spring as head coach of South Carolina.
Perhaps the 43-year-old former Oklahoma assistant could have gotten this job – or another head coach job at a Power 5 school – much earlier if he had chosen an easier path in 2000, but spiteful whispers left him tired and worried shaped his vision.
The son of the legendary Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer he was fully aware of his surroundings, particularly the perception that he was the boy with the silver spoon in Blacksburg. Everything he achieved was apparently in the shadow of his father. The family name served as a notation for his own success as a baseball and football player at Blacksburg High.
“The only reason is because his father is the city’s football coach.”
The whispers grew louder when the snapper and receiver chose to play for their father at the height of “Beamerball” in the late 1990s. He played the national championship for what would be the final game of his career in 1999 and, at the height of notoriety of the Beamer family, the eldest son had many options after college. Should he stay in Blacksburg and start his coaching career as his father’s graduate assistant, or pack his belongings and leave his hometown for a less stable future?
Beamer chose the path out of town, although his father’s reputation helped him start his career as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech and Tennessee before he was hired by Sylvester Croom in 2003 as an assistant coach in the state of Mississippi. Even so, he learned from others and showed himself out of his father’s shadow.
“Your surname is not going to keep you in business if you are not good, so I just worked hard to overcome any perception of it,” Beamer told 247Sports. “I was gone 11 years before I went back to Virginia Tech to train with my dad, but now to this day, whether it’s real or not, I wear that chip on my shoulder.”
In the early days of South Carolina’s research to replace Will Muschamp in December, Beamer’s name appeared frequently among Columbia agitators. He was no longer a promising coach. He was ready to be the head coach, somewhere big and soon. The senior associate coach in Oklahoma was a hot name in coaching circles, and his connections with Gamecocks were already deep. He left a memorable mark on Steve Spurrierfor four years in the late 2000s – especially on the recruiting trail – during the program’s rise to prominence, which included three seasons of 11 consecutive wins built on the basis of two recruiting classes guaranteed during Beamer’s passing as a recruiting coordinator in 2009 and 2010.
These same players campaigned for Beamer’s candidacy almost a decade later. They called energy brokers and bowed the ears of managers. Forty-eight hours into Carolina’s search, Beamer got a phone interview.
All these years later, however, too many familiar whispers followed. Frank Beamer’s son? He never called the shots, why is he ready to be the head coach? Is he able to direct a program, especially one of the most competitive conference in the country?
“Sometimes having a surname like Beamer opens doors,” offensive coordinator from South Carolina Marcus Satterfield told the Post and Courier recently. “But Shane works very, very hard to prove that he has achieved everything he has achieved, not because his last name is Beamer, but because he is a great football coach and a constant football coach who works hard at everything he does.”
Even the South Carolina athletics director was looking for a way to convince himself that Beamer was not the right candidate.
“It wasn’t just a quick dunk,” said Beamer.
Ten days after the telephone interview, Beamer was invited for a personal interview. He blew up the doors of the room with his presentation, which presented a detailed plan for recruiting, staffing and staffing. His clear certainty erased the doubt. He had answers and alternative plans for alternative plans. He looked and spoke like a veteran coach, who was hungry and, more importantly, understood and embraced what South Carolina could accomplish – pessimists and all.
“We have a lot of competitors on this team who believe in this place,” said Beamer. “And I really feel like there’s no reason why we can’t win and win a lot here at Carolina.”
There are general challenges (notably Clemson) and day-to-day problems that require immediate attention. Mentor Bob Stoops he was not lying when he told Beamer that the first two months on the job would be the most difficult of his career.
- Five defensive defenders from last season are gone, including All-SEC players Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu.
- The high school recruiting class (13 players) was small and didn’t do much to fill in the gaps in the list. To do this, Gamecocks had to enter the transfer portal heavily, landing eight newcomers, many of whom we will count immediately.
- Three South Carolina technical assistants were hired by Auburn, although defensive line coach Tracy Rocker ended up being transferred to the Philadelphia Eagles team in January. A separate Power 5 program attempted to rob the defensive coordinator Clayton White less than 48 hours at work in Columbia.
- South Carolina was in dire need of improvement among players in the weight room when Beamer arrived in December. The coronavirus pandemic provided only a small window of face-to-face exercises under a newly hired strength trainer in 2020, and the introduction of a third strength trainer (Luke Day) in so many years was a challenge. “We just needed to get into the weight room and live in it,” said Beamer.
- Oh, and Clemson is competing in national championships every year in the same state. “Our rival on the road is running at a very good level, to say the least,” said Beamer. “There are many challenges, but as a competitor you want this.”
The key to solving all the problems in a college football program can be found on the recruiting trail. The guideline for South Carolina’s rise during the Spurrier era was to attract high-profile recruits within the state. Beamer deserves some credit as a recruiting coordinator for two of the most prolific years (2010 and 2011) on the trail.
“We recruited our way out,” said Beamer.
In a span of four years, Gamecocks have ranked three times among the top 15 in the 247Sports Compound. They got 5 star recruits as a defensive edge Jadeveon Clowney, one of only five players nationally since 2000 to earn a perfect ranking in 247Sports’ Composite, and running back Marcus Lattimore. Four star receivers Alshon Jeffery and Stephon Gilmore embarked in 2009.
All four South Carolina natives were all Americans during their careers in South Carolina. Three of them paved the way for the program’s first appearance at the SEC Championship in 2010.
His decisions to stay in the state and play for Gamecocks resulted in big wins and contributed to building a much-needed $ 50 million football facility in 2019.
“I am excited because the resources available here are now much better than they were ten years ago when I was here,” said Beamer. “It certainly gives you a starting point.”