Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
South Carolina

Shane Beamer recalls meeting of South Carolina leaders after Alabama loss

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•12/29/24•

ChandlerVessels

shane beamer (3)
Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Things were trending in the wrong direction for South Carolina at the halfway point of this college football season. Coming off of a loss against Alabama, the Gamecocks found themselves sitting at 3-3 on the year with hope for a postseason run dwindling.

He went to meet with his team leaders the following Wednesday, something he does every week to discuss their biggest concerns. They told him the only option moving forward was to win the remaining six games.

“I just remember the frustration after the Alabama game and I meet with a group of our leaders at each position every Wednesday after practice,” Beamer said. “Talk about things that are on my mind and talk about things that are on their mind. I usually start each meeting off with, ‘what’s on y’all’s minds?’ and they didn’t say a word other than ‘win out, there’s no other option.’

“I think it was Debo (Williams) and Tonka (Hemingway) sitting down there on the far end of the table with (Alex Huntley). Once one of them said it, they all agreed. Win out. I said, ‘OK, that’s great to say, but there’s some things that we have to perform better. We have to coach better and play better than what we’ve been doing in some areas for that to happen.’ They committed to it and they’ve been on a mission since than as well to not just say it, but be about it.”

It was a big ask, especially considering the way the season began, but South Carolina was able to pull it off. The Gamecocks went out and handed Oklahoma a 35-9 loss the following week to begin a six-game winning streak to close out the year.

With victories against Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson along the way, South Carolina even started to enter the conversation as a potential College Football Playoff team. They ended the regular season at No. 15 in the rankings, narrowly missing out on the 12-team field.

Although they still didn’t reach their ultimate goal, the Gamecocks ended the year as one of the hottest teams in college football. Their 9-3 record is also the best in Beamer’s four seasons as the coach, and they’ll have a chance to make it 10 when they face Illinois in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve.