Beamer Confident '24 was Just the Start for South Carolina

ATLANTA — South Carolina stunned many pundits when they went 9-3 last season and were a serious candidate for the College Football Playoff. Now coach Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks have to figure out how to repeat that feat with a lot of new faces.

“We got to replace the interior of our offensive line and a lot of playmakers at the running back and tight end position,” he said at SEC Media Days Monday. “We played great defense last season, but we’ve lost a lot of production, particularly right up the middle of our defensive at defensive tackle, linebacker, and safety. And then in special teams, this will be my 26th year in coaching coming up. I don’t believe I’ve ever been a part of a team that has to replace literally every key part of their special teams units like we do this season. We’ll have a new punter, new placekicker, new kickoff guy, new holder, new snapper, new punt returner, and new kickoff returner.”

One area where Beamer can turn to a veteran is at quarterback, where LaNorris Sellers exploded onto the scene during the second half of the 2024 season and is now viewed as one of the conference’s top signal callers. Even though the Gamecocks lost Rocket Sanders to the NFL, Beamer believes South Carolina will have more than enough weapons to help Sellers this season. In an effort to restock the offense, the Gamecocks added running back Rahsul Faison, who ran for 1,109 yards last season at Utah State (but is waiting on an eligibility waiver), tight end Jordan Dingle from Kentucky and wide receiver Jared Brown from Costal Carolina. 

“I think we’re going to be better around LaNorris as well on the offense, more depth and competition at pretty much every position I feel like,” Beamer said. “That’s going to help him. He doesn’t have to be Superman for us. Just continue to be the person he is, the leader that he is, and the player that he is, and watch him continue to take the next step.”

The Gamecocks will have a new offensive coordinator this season in Mike Shula, who was on the South Carolina staff last season. Beamer said Shula brings a unique viewpoint to the program, as he’s been two of the biggest roles in the game during his football career.

“That was an easy decision for me to promote Mike to be the coordinator. He was a part ever our program last year. He’s literally been in the shoes that LaNorris is in as he was a starting quarterback in this conference, and he’s been in the shoes I’m in as a head football coach in this conference as well,” Beamer said.

Defensively, the Gamecocks have taken some major hits as standout safety Nick Emmanwori, All-SEC defensive end Kyle Kennard and defensive tackles TJ Sanders and Tonka Hemingway were all taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. Even though he noted the losses, Beamer remains confident defensive coordinator Clayton White will assemble a capable group in 2025.

“The group we returned is very athletic and really excited about the potential of the next group of guys to make their impact on our defense,” he said.

With the Gamecocks losing a number of key players to the NFL, it could be easy to dismiss South Carolina’s 2024 success as a one-off. Beamer cautioned against that.

“(There are) a lot of expectations for 2025, and there should be. We’re built for years to come and are going to continue to be good at South Carolina,” he said. “We are not going anywhere. There is a lot of young talent and there is more coming.”

South Carolina 2025 football schedule

Aug. 31: Virginia Tech (in Atlanta)

Sept. 6: South Carolina State

Sept. 13: Vanderbilt

Sept. 20: @Missouri

Sept. 27: Kentucky

Oct. 11: @LSU

Oct. 18: Oklahoma

Oct. 25: Alabama

Nov. 1: @Ole Miss

Nov. 15: @TEXAS A&M

Nov. 22: Coastal Carolina

Nov. 29: Clemson

Projected lineup

QB: #16, LaNorris Sellers (RS-So.)

RB: #1, Rahsul Faison (Gr.-TR.)

TE: #5, Jordan Dingle (RS-Sr.-TR.)

WR (X): #8, Nyck Harbor (Jr.)

WR (Z): #14, Jared Brown (RS-Sr.-TR.)

WR (SLOT): #3, Mazeo Bennett (So.)

LT: #74, Josiah Thompson (So.)

LG: #51, Tree Babalade (RS-So.)

C: #50, Boaz Stanley (RS-Jr.-TR.)

RG: #78, Trovon Baugh (Jr.)

RT: #75, Cason Henry (RS-Jr.)

DE: #46, Bryan Thomas Jr. (Sr.)

DT: #99, Gabe Dindy (RS-Jr.-TR.)

DT: #44, Monkell Goodwine (RS-Sr.-TR.)

DE: #6, Dylan Stewart (So.)

LB: #7, Shawn Murphy (RS-Jr.-TR.)

LB: #0, Fred Johnson (So.)

CB: #15, Brandon Cisse (Jr.-TR.)

SS: #31, Peyton Williams (RS-Jr.)

FS: #1, DQ Smith (Sr.)

CB: #20, Judge Collier (Jr.)

NICKEL: #24, Jalon Kilgore (Jr.)