Shane Beamer opens up on how he has found a home at South Carolina

Shane Beamer’s coaching career started as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech in 2000, fast forward 20 years and he’s being announced as South Carolina‘s head football coach, the first head coaching job of his career. Beamer is now in year two at the helm for the Gamecocks and was asked if South Carolina has already become home for him after developing such a strong passion for the area.

“Yeah I feel that way, I mean I felt very much that way before I came back as well just because of the ties here personally when I got hired and being born in Charleston and two of Emily and I’s three children being born here when we were here before as an assistant coach,” Beamer said.

Beamer was an assistant for four seasons on South Carolina’s coaching staff between 2007 and 2010 before returning in 2021 to become the head football coach. Beamer made stops at Virginia Tech, Georgia, and Oklahoma before his return to Columbia, a place he always wanted to have a homecoming with.

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“So this is where we really felt was home in our minds and where we always wanted to get back to when we were coaching at other places and certainly being able to come back and strengthen relationships with people we already have relationships with from our time here before,” Beamer said.

Beamer has now led the Gamecocks to a 5-2 start in his second season as well as a recent appearance on the AP Poll for the first time since 2018. The Gamecocks just snuck in with a No. 25 ranking following their win over Texas A&M, as they look to continue to climb in the rankings behind a coach that very clearly loves where he’s at.

“But then to be able to develop relationships and develop great friendships with new people that we’ve gotten to know here in the program and outside the program also, it absolutely does,” Beamer concluded.

Shane Beamer: South Carolina still writing this year’s story after entering Top 25

Shane Beamer has South Carolina rolling as they extended their win streak to four games this past weekend with a 30-24 win over Texas A&M. Their win over the Aggies moved the Gamecocks to the AP Poll for the first time since 2018, as they’re now ranked No. 25. Beamer was asked if he noticed a difference in his team this week, and if they needed to be “knocked down a few pegs” for being satisfied with their new ranking.

“Not yet, they’ve been really good,” Beamer said. “Sunday obviously a lot of energy and excitement here in the building on Sunday, but they’re motivated to get back to work. Yesterday was their off day but I saw Stone Blanton and Tanner Bailey up here last night at probably 9:30 or so just trying to get some extra work in and watching video on their off day. And then this morning, we had a really good practice this morning, and we talked about it.”

It seems like it’s business as usual for South Carolina this week, as Beamer and his team are still aware that there’s plenty of football left to be played.

“I mean obviously we’re excited about where we are but the only ranking that matters is the end of the season and we’ve got a lot more in front of us. And we talked about it, we’re writing the story still of this 2022 football team, and I would certainly hate for the high mark and the high point to be the last two weeks,” Beamer said.

The past two weeks have been great for the Gamecocks, as they’ve defeated two SEC opponents in a row for the first time since 2020, which were their only two wins of that season. South Carolina was not favored in either of their last two wins, and are showing no signs of resting on the laurels of their newfound recent success.

“We’ve got to continue to get better and that’s what we’re really focusing on now is getting better as a team. But no, I haven’t seen any signs and I thought today was a really productive practice,” Beamer said.