Shane Beamer shares key to transfer quarterbacks adjusting to new school

In 2019, when Shane Beamer was the tight ends coach at Oklahoma, the Sooners landed Jalen Hurts out of the transfer portal. He watched how the former SEC Freshman of the Year integrated himself into the program after four years at Alabama.

That was also Spencer Rattler’s freshman year, and he watched as Hurts put up career numbers en route to Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors. It served as a preview of sorts for what was to come in Rattler’s career.

Of course, Rattler and Beamer would join forces again at South Carolina in 2022. That meant Rattler had to learn a new system and adjust to a new program, just as Hurts did three years earlier. Beamer pointed out how Rattler learned from Hurts and the way he handled himself off the field after transferring.

“To me, it’s beyond the football part,” Beamer said at SEC Media Days. “It’s just showing your teammates, in my opinion, that you’re a guy that they want to follow. That you’re a leader, that you’re about the right stuff. Spencer showed that when he came in last season. I think it was really good for Spencer because Spencer was at Oklahoma when Jalen Hurts transferred there. We were all there together. So Spencer had a chance to kind of watch Jalen, how he handled that transition coming in.

“Jalen Hurts came into Norman, Oklahoma and I don’t want to say kept his mouth shut, but just went right to work and earned the respect of his teammates with how he worked. Spencer did the same. He came in, he went right to work, earned the respect of his teammates. He was voted a captain last season after the year by his teammates. To me, there’s no greater honor as a student-athlete.”

Of course, there also can be some pressure when a quarterback transfers. Beamer noted how common it is for them to start right away rather than take the development route, and getting comfortable with the scheme is just as essential as winning over the locker room.

“I would say the other thing from a football standpoint is just getting acclimated and learning a system,” Beamer said. “When you bring in a transfer quarterback, it’s not like a freshman that you’re bringing in to maybe sit around a couple years and develop. You’re bringing in a transfer quarterback to play right away. So you have to really get comfortable with what your particular program is doing from a schematic standpoint quickly, also.”

Rattler adjusted quickly, throwing for 3,026 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first year at South Carolina. He’ll look to build on that this season, which starts Sept. 2 against North Carolina.