Shane Beamer explains allowing Gilber Edmond to return to South Carolina

Gilber Edmond spent three seasons in South Carolina before transferring to Florida State for his senior season. However, only after one year with the Seminoles, Edmond opted to re-enter the portal. Ultimately, he ended up back where he started: South Carolina.

It’s rare for a player to return to the team they previously transferred from. It’s even rarer to see the coach allow the player to return to the program. On Friday, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer pulled back the curtain on the decision to allow Edmond to return to the Gamecocks.

“That was one that I didn’t anticipate having a decision to make on,” Beamer said. “I got word, a week ago Friday or two weeks ago Friday that Gilber had interest in coming back into this program. I think every situation is different.

“I’m never going to let this be a situation where, ‘Hey, you guys leave and if it doesn’t work out where you are, come on back.’ It’s not like that at all, and I told our team that. I’m not going to let this become a precedent where you try your hand somewhere else and you come on back if it doesn’t work out.”

Edmond appeared in 14 games for Florida State this past season, totaling 23 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in that time. In his three years at South Carolina, the defensive lineman amassed 44 tackles and two sacks.

The vast majority of Edmond’s production came in 2022 when he exploded 39 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. In his four collegiate campaigns, Edmond has 67 tackles to go with 11.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.

Gilber Edmond never burned bridges

During the press conference, Beamer reflected on Edmond’s initial decision to leave the program.

“It goes back to why he left our program to begin with. He handled it the right way when he left. Was I ticked off when he left? Yes. Was I disappointed when he left? Yes. Was I happy? Not at all. But he handled it the right way and I understood the reasons why.”

Of course, Beamer didn’t make the decision by himself. Before welcoming Edmond back with open arms, Beamer conferred with his players and staff.

“I talked to some of the staff members that would have a dog in that fight to kind of see what their thoughts were on things. I thought a lot about it and went back and forth. In the end, my job is to always do what I think is best for the football team.”

Now, Edmond will provide South Carolina with additional size on the defensive front next season. The Gamecocks have added three other defensive linemen in the transfer portal.