Shane Beamer analyzes culture, fit with new faces on staff, roster

It was an offseason of change at South Carolina, both on the field and on the sidelines. Shane Beamer welcomed an impressive group of transfers to Columbia while also adding some new faces to the coaching staff.

The Gamecocks lost special teams coordinator Pete Lembo to Buffalo and tight ends coach Jody Wright to Murray State. That led Beamer to hire former NFL assistant Joe DeCamillis and Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott to the respective roles, along with some other staff additions.

When it came time to make new hires, Beamer said it came down to fit within the culture. In fact, he’s already seeing a close bond within his revamped staff.

“Just how we can be better,” Beamer told J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count. “You know this from being around the profession, every time you have an opening, it’s always a different fit maybe what you’re looking for each and every time. And what I was looking for at one position last year or two years ago, maybe isn’t what I was looking for this year. Just trying to find guys at the end of the day that can make us better on and off the field. Areas where maybe we weren’t good enough at last year, bringing in guys that can help more and whatnot. I feel like we have.

“I like the group that we that we have right now. It’s a group of guys that want to be here. I was telling my wife, just the staff dynamic, staff chemistry – we have been together a short period of time, but I can already tell there’s a difference. Not that it was bad last year, but just a difference and a more of a connection than what we had. Excited about the hires. They’re excited about being here and eager to get to work with them.

Shane Beamer: Transfer prospects had to ‘fit what we’re doing here as a program, culture-wise’

South Carolina was active in the transfer portal this offseason, landing 19 players from the portal. The Gamecocks currently hold the No. 5-ranked class in the On3 Team Transfer Portal Index, headlined by former Arkansas running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders.

To Shane Beamer, there were a few qualities he was looking for in transfers. The biggest, though, was how they fit what he’s building.

“There’s a lot of talented guys that were in the portal that we looked at and evaluated,” Beamer said. “But they’ve got to be a fit for what we’re about and they got to be about the right stuff to fit what we’re doing here as a program, culture-wise. There were some guys that we brought in on visits that, at the end, just I didn’t feel like they were a fit for what we wanted and needed. But we’ve really increased the leadership and culture in that locker room. And again, I don’t think it was bad last year.

“But the guys that we brought in, we haven’t had a snap a of a spring practice, but already they’ve made us better – whether it be the physical attributes like their athleticism or whether it be just their leadership and the kind of people they are.”

It was a similar approach to the one Beamer took last season, which landed him center Nick Gargiulo from Yale. He quickly made an impression on his teammates, and emerged as a leader. Beamer thinks some of this year’s newcomers can have a similar impact.

“We brought in a transfer last year that was on the 2023 team, Nick Gargiulo, from Yale. He’s at the NFL Combine right now. … He was our center for us last year, and was voted a team captain,” Beamer said. “He spent less than a year here, but was voted a permanent captain by his teammates. And I think we’ve got a few guys like that that we’ve brought in that will certainly be leaders on this year’s team and have shown that already.”