BOXTOROW Conversations: University of South Carolina Head Football Coach Shane Beamer

Opening Statement let's continue here on Box Row we're joined by a gentleman as a matter of fact in his fourth season as the head football coach at South Carolina last year the game Cox five and seven opened this season on August the 31st at home hosting ODU we are joined by Shane Beamer coach Beamer welcome to box toone thank you it's an honor to be on with you thanks for having me absolutely the pleasure is ours I want to start here Camp how how is going to this point it's been great uh you know as we do this we uh uh today's an off day for us we had our first scrimmage a couple days ago and uh great opportunity today to uh get caught up on some learning and get ready for what will be a big week here coming up and we're I guess 19 days away from the first game but it's been really good knock on W we've been able to stay healthy love the way our guys are working it's a carryover from from everything this team has been about since January the hard work that you got to have and fortitude and our guys have shown that since January and have continued to show it here through preseason practice so far what what did you what are some of the takeaways from your scrimmage uh you know we got uh one we've got some mental toughness we it was it was hot out there the other day we went out there at 12:00 noon and it was uh it was hot and we uh we were rolling I mean counting special teams plays we got about 130 plays of football in in in a short period of time on Saturday and we didn't have guys dropping out we didn't have guys falling out because of heat and things like that or injuries so I think we're very tough mentally and physically so that was really good to see to have that many plays and it's hot out um I think a weak-minded team would have a lot of penalties and false starts and things like that we didn't have that we were very clean and very efficient now having said that we got to execute better and we didn't do a good enough job of that but you know as the head coach there things that you're excited about with the offense that makes you disappointed with the defense like and there's some things that you really fire you up about the defense but on the other hand as the head coach you cons you have there's concerns about the offense and that's always in a scrimmage but uh like I told our team I told him at the beginning of preseason I really like this group thought we had a chance to have a really good team and after the scrimmage on Saturday nothing has changed in my mind you know I look at your first couple of years a lot of success last year was tough however you ended the season Last Season winning three of your last four games obviously you have to replace a guy like a Spencer Rattler your quarterback which we'll talk a little bit more uh about but can you speak to last season and then maybe the momentum towards the end of the season that you can carry into 2024 yeah uh disappointed obviously overall with the record from uh last season nobody came to South Carolina to to to be five and seven and and it was a disappointment but you also you look back and you and you really analyze okay why did that happen and what what contributed to us uh having that record at the end of the season and you make the tweaks and adjustments that you need to and as I did that we we did that but then I also realize that you know it's you know this it's a really thin line between winning and losing and and we were so close to the narrative being completely different and and having a different record last season but you would have could have should all you'd want we didn't and at the end of the day you know the old say your record you are who what your record says you are we've got to be better but it has given us motivation one it says a lot to me about the people in this program and our culture we were sitting there at two and six at one point last season and we won three out of four and didn't just win them I mean they were some tough uh games that we found a way to win in the fourth quarter and if you don't have the right people in your program you're not going to do that and disappointed we weren't able to win the last one at the end of the season uh as well to finish with six wins and get to a bowl game but there's been a great hunger with our team with one the momentum like you said winning three out of four but even more so than that just the the hunger and the resilience that our team has to come back this season because of the way that you know let last season left a bad taste in our mouths Shane Bieber again in his fourth season as the head SEC football coach at South Carolina he joins us here on boots to ro let me switch gears a little bit coach Beamer your thoughts the SEC is so so tough by the way you you only you lost I say only and I know what you're saying but a 10-point loss to Georgia a two-point loss to I mean you had some really really close games as you mentioned with the SEC and its toughness now you add Texas now you add Oklahoma uh to this conference your thoughts on the additions of these two teams and then I also want to get your thoughts on the expansion of the college football playoff yeah uh it's a great statement about the SEC that you have two amazing programs like Oklahoma and Texas that wanted to that could have gone anywhere and they wanted to be a part of this league it one like the SEC was the only one that wanted those two schools this is already the toughest was already the toughest conference in America it's even more so now I love it you know competition is a core value of our program and if you don't want to compete against the best players and coaches and this is not the place for you this isn't the conference for you uh you look around the NFL draft each year there's a reason that uh more team more players from the SEC have been selected than any other conference over the last 19 years I think you look at the college football playoff there's a reason that the SEC is a staple in the college football playoff what was a four playoff so I love it um you know the best continue to get better and that's what the SEC is and uh we want to recruit players that want to compete against the best and be a part of this league and then the playoff I love the fact that it's expanding I mean I like the 14 playoff don't get me wrong it's been very good for our conference uh but with the 12 team playoff it gives more teams opportunities and um I I love it and you look at South Carolina's history over the last you know 10 15 years there's multiple years where South Carolina would have been in the 12 team playoff uh as well because of the way that we finished and you look at the SEC there's multiple deserving teams year after year in the SEC and uh now it gives teams in this conference an opportunity uh to get in and show what we can do so I love it you know you you did receive a a first place vote I know you were picked to finish 13th but but QB Situation boy I mean tough I I see you guys coming right but you received a first place vote in the media poll um I know you you gotta try to figure out how to I don't know replace I don't know if that's the correct word but a Spencer Rattler who's doing well by the way as you know uh with the Saints right now how what's the quarterback situation how's that battle coming along yeah it's been good we uh obviously lose a great player great person in Spencer excited for him and what he's doing in New Orleans I've heard great things about him I was texting with him on Friday and before his preseason game uh against Arizona and I know he was really excited about the opportunity to get out there and play and then as far as our situation goes uh it's a brand new room I mean you look around our quarterback room there's no one in our quarterback room that was here in our program program last season um we have Lenor sers who I take that back Lenor sers was a freshman last season uh in there but he red shirted last season as a quarterback he's back uh we named him the starter coming out of the spring knowing that the competition was going to be ongoing going into the season which is what it is right now Len Norris has done a really good job athletic big can run can throw excited about his future Robbie Ashford uh transferred in from Auburn love Robbie big strong athletic can run but also has experiened starting SEC games we brought in Davis bevel uh who transferred from the University of Oklahoma he has started games at Oklahoma as well so he has experience and then we have a true freshman Dante Reno that we just signed in this year's recruiting class so we're we're very inexperienced when it comes to playing football games at the University of South Carolina but we do have experience in that room having started power I guess it's power four games uh over the last few seasons at other schools couple of more Thoughts with Shane Beamer the head football coach at South Carolina we appreciate the time 15 Roster starters returning now I get it rocket Sanders was a you know he was injured he transferred to you as a first team all SEC guy at Arkansas going back a couple of years ago speak to some of the Personnel again 15 starters returning Sanders is back Debo Williams it was a all SEC second team guy at the line linebacker position and then Tonka Hemingway also defensively on the defensive line you you I mean just those three guys are very talented but again you've got some other guys that that should be key for you this year as well no we do uh when I look at our roster there's no question in my mind that we are deeper from a depth standpoint better and more athletic at at every single position now the one you could argue is obviously we lose a high draft pick or we lose an NFL draft pick in Spencer but we have more dep in that room and we have talent we'll be fine at the quarterback position just inexperienced and then we lost a first round draft pick in Xavier liette but if you look at the overall wide receiver room there is more depth in competition from top to bottom than there was last season in that room so I'm excited because I feel like we're I know we're we're better and more athletic at each position across the board and we do bring back we bring back uh it's close to 30 players that have been a part of this program since 2021 that are still in our team and that's a great statement to me about what this program is about the players believe in this program that they've been here not just one year with me this will be four years with me as their head coach so they're very invested into this program and what this program uh is about and you add some of the talent or you talk about the talent that we've added there's no question about it we've got all conference performers in my mind at all three levels of the defense you know you didn't even mention our two safeties Nicki man war and Q Smith I think they're two of the best safeties in the SEC um and we're freshman All-American type guys a couple years ago and on our offensive line we bring back you know two guys that have started multiple games for us and jakai Moore and Bashon Lee and and uh there's just a lot of you know a lot of experience and people that are invested into South Carolina football and are eager to get out there and compete uh here on August 31st two Playing for Dad last thoughts playing for Dad right the Virginia Tech Frank the legend built Virginia Tech out really out of nothing big a lot of success in the Big East lot of success in the ACC um just what do you remember most about playing for Dad the legend there at Virginia Tech yeah great question uh it was a great experience it was something when I was in high school uh I was a good high school football player wasn't great I wasn't getting recruited by a lot of big schools there were some smaller schools that were recruiting me some FCS schools and division three schools and for me it came down to I knew I wanted to coach um do I want to try and play football at a higher level and if I do that meant that I was probably going to play for my dad and and thought a lot about it because it's not easy when your dad is the head coach and you're playing for him um so I went back and forth on it and ended up making that decision and then it was a great experience just being able to one uh learn from him me being an aspiring coach play for him and learn from him uh the friendships I made but then just being able to share so many awesome experiences with your dad and be a able to catch up on moments that you made me missed in high school because he wasn't able to see all of my games in high school because he was traveling with his team and things like that as well so great experience and lot of awesome memories and and won a lot of football games three conference championships we won uh when I was a player there and and U very blessed for the for the five years I had at Virginia Tech playing and then lastly coach Beamer it took you 11 years to to be on his staff right like did you want to kind of go go it go at Advice from Dad it on your own uh so to speak because you know you then you spent what four years on his staff and then ultimately has led to this job and then what does he what kind of advice does he give you these days also yeah no it's a great Point uh that's exactly what I wanted to do um you know nothing against any son of a coach that immediately goes and works for his dad more power to him that's great I didn't um I didn't want anyone to ever say uh Shane is in coaching because his dad's the head coach at reginia Tech or the only reason that Shane got a break was because his dad's the head coach at Virginia Tech now I'm not naive I know my name has opened doors for me to get opportunities but when you're a young coach when you get that opportunity you better take advantage of it or if you're not any good it doesn't matter what your last name is you're not going to be able to hang around so that's exactly what I did I didn't want to go work for him I wanted to get out I wanted to learn from other people I've I'd been around my dad's program at that point for 22 years I knew how he did things things I wanted to go learn from others and see how other programs do things and when I did it it was one of those okay I'll probably go ga or work for another program for two three four years and then I'll just come back to Virginia Tech and it was 11 like you said and I was very blessed to be around some great places during that time Georgia Tech Tennessee got an opportunity to work for Sylvester kroom at Mississippi State then Steve Spurrier hired me here at South Carolina wife was happy we had had kids they were born here in Colombia so it was one of those the farther I the longer I was gone from Virginia Tech I don't want to say the less of a desire I had to go back but we were we had had a pretty good thing going another places as well and and and whatnot so that's exactly you know what it was uh went back and spent five years with him before he retired and I'm so thankful that I was able to have those five years with him before he retired and be able to be a part of the last five years especially the last season he had as the coach at Virginia Tech is something I'm so blessed and grateful to have been able to experience and then advice it's not so much football and ex's and O's and stuff it's more um you know just understanding um what this role entails this chair that I sit in it's a lonely position you know unless you've actually sat in the chair as the head coach or a leader of an organization you maybe don't realize it and he's been in that chair so it's been able it's been good for him to kind of understand that for him it's more you know after he don't say much usually it's after a win it's hey they they played well you guys played hard keep them going and usually after a loss it's you guys played hard bounc back and uh you know what to do uh so it's not much but it's very impactful what he does say Shane Beamer again in his fourth season as the head football coach at South Carolina the Gamecocks open the season at home on August 31st hosting ODU coach Beamer we really appreciate the time good luck to you and the game Cops you got it appreciate you having me on hope to do it again soon