Shane Beamer opens up about his relationship with Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier was one of the most legendary coaches in college football history. He accomplished things as a player and as a coach in the game of football, that people truly dream of. Winning the Heisman Trophy as a player and winning a national championship as a head coach at Florida, there are few people in the game of football that have a resume with a shine quite like his. Spurrier also went on to accomplish amazing things during his time as the headman of the South Carolina Gamecocks as well. Current Gamecocks’ head coach Shane Beamer got to spend some time on Spurrier’s staff during his tenure there.

On Wednesday evening on The Andy Staples Show, Beamer opened up about his relationship with the ‘Ol Ball Coach and what he learned from him.

“A lot. There were reasons I wanted to take this job at South Carolina when I left Mississippi State from a personal standpoint. But just from a professional standpoint, the opportunity to come in here and learn from a guy like Steve Spurrier, won an ACC Championship at Duke and won what…seven SEC Championships I think at Florida,” Beamer began.

Andy Staples then corrected Beamer on the number of SEC Championships, saying that Spurrier counted the 1990 SEC Championship, even though his team was technically ineligible to win it due to lingering NCAA sanctions.

“Sorry, Coach Spurrier, eight. So, it was a great experience as a young coach to learn to get that opportunity. A couple of things stand out. One, I really saw how a team will take on the personality of their coach. The way the swagger, confidence, whatever you want to call it that Coach Spurrier carried himself with. To me, a lot of our players and our team kind of took on that mentality in a lot of ways,” Beamer continued.

“And then probably the other thing is just…it was good for me as a young coach just to see that work-life balance that he had, ” Beamer said. “That, at the end of the day, you’d better have good players, coach ’em up, as he likes to say. But yeah, you’d better have good players. Get good players in here, coach ’em up, develop ’em. But you don’t have to be up here from 5 AM until midnight sleeping in the office. I haven’t, but I saw him during spring practice play golf three, four times a week in the months of March and April during spring ball where you’ve got that good balance.

“And today, you, your assistant coaches, you need that. Because this profession is a grind. So, those are probably the two biggest things. Just the personality that he had. How that resonates with the players. That confidence. And then it was good for me to see that work-life balance that he had.”

Shane Beamer is a rising star in the college football head coaching ranks for a number of reasons, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have some of the best mentors in the history of the game. South Carolina has reeled in some impressive talent during his time there. Last year, the Gamecocks reeled in 11 four-star prospects and one-five star, Nyckoles Harbor, one of the most high-profile recruits in South Carolina football history.

South Carolina opens up their 2023 campaign against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Kick-off for that one is slated for Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. EST.