Shane Beamer Confirms that Nobody Believes in South Carolina
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is a real piece of work. Oftentimes a lack of self-awareness is a serious character flaw. Beamer’s character flaw is being too self-aware.
Fresh off a 5-7 campaign, Beamer enters his fourth season in Columbia with plenty of questions to answer. Despite the 2023 backslide, he believes in his team, even though he knows very few others do.
“I really, really, really like our football team going into 2024. I know most of you don’t. That’s okay,” Beamer said. “When you do your picks, we’ll be picked 14th, 15th, or 16th I’m sure. But I’m excited about this group.”
“Most of you.” That’s me.
There are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t believe in South Carolina. The head coaching riding a mechanical bull is not among them.
If you couldn’t tell by the 157 offseason podcast appearances he’s made, Beamer loves the sound of his own voice. His opening statement is typically the longest of SEC Media Days. He promised to keep it short this go-around, yet still spoke for 17 minutes. He name-dropped Dawn Staley and Mike Tomlin, and he bragged about the highest GPA in program history. Here’s what else the South Carolina coach talked about in Dallas.
Rocket Science with Rocket Sanders
One reason why South Carolina posted a losing record for the first time of the Beamer era was the Gamecocks’ inability to run the football. South Carolina ranked dead last in the SEC in rushing (85.1 ypg.) thanks to a combination of preseason injuries to the offensive line and recruiting misses at running back.
Beamer addressed it by spending big in the portal. Former Arkansas tailback Rocket Sanders was one of the most coveted runners available in free agency, but he brought some baggage after an underwhelming, injury-riddled 2023 campaign. Beamer believes Sanders is on track to return to the form we saw when he rushed for 1,400+ yards in 2022 and he said it in the nerdiest way possible.
“What we’ve been doing with Rocket since January is rocket science,” Beamer chuckled.
If you’re wondering why the KSR crew can’t stand this guy, it should be pretty clear by now.
Let Me Say A Nice Thing About Shane Beamer
The South Carolina coach has a knack of striking a chord in all of the wrong ways, but he hit one note right on the money today. Motivational quotes can go in one ear and right out the other, but one that he uses with his team is something we can all apply in our lives.
“It’s hard to outwork passionate people.”
Love what you do and do it at 100 miles per hour, unless you’re a Georgia football player behind the wheel.
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