Everything Shane Beamer said on the opening day of spring practice

South Carolina football took the field for day one of spring practice on Tuesday. Head coach Shane Beamer then took the podium for an opening day press conference with the media.

Following is a GamecockCentral.com edited transcription of Beamer’s remarks:

[GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]

On the South Carolina men’s and women’s basketball programs in the NCAA Tournament…

“Best of luck to Lamont up in Pittsburgh and Dawn and her team here in Columbia starting this week. It’s awesome, the seasons that both those guys have had. Proud to call them colleagues and love watching both their teams. So, wish them well.

And then I also know that we have our swimming and diving team. They have their NCAA championships coming up. I think women this weekend and men next weekend as well. So, best of luck to our squads there.

On the retirement of Gene Sapakoff (Post & Courier columnist)…

“Also, before I get into football, I meant to mention this last time, I know I put something out on X when he announced his retirement, but wanted to wish Gene Sapakoff best of luck in his next chapter as well. I appreciate the class he’s shown in covering our program.

“I was down in Charleston, or Low Country, the last two Sunday mornings. And I’m still a newspaper guy, so I’ll still buy newspapers when I’m out places. And it’s weird buying a Charleston Post and Courier and not seeing his column in there on a Sunday as well. But appreciate him and what he’s done for South Carolina in sports and much respect for the career that he had and the years that he spent in this industry as well. So, wish you well, Gene, and hope to see you soon also.”

On the first day of spring practice for South Carolina…

“It was great being back out on the field this morning. First of all, I want to give credit to our players and Luke Day and our strength and conditioning staff for the progress that our team has made since we came back in January. They’ve had a great winter in the weight room. Physically, we’ve gotten stronger and faster and bigger, and it’s a testament to the work we’ve put in in our off-season program. So, excited about that and the way we got better as a team.

“And then it was great to be able to be on the field this morning as well. Obviously, if you were out there as a bunch of recruits that are here right now, February is a dead period in college football, so no one can visit our campus. But then once March hits, you’re able to visit again. So, we had a bunch of guys that were here last week just visiting before we started practice and obviously some fantastic players that were out there today and that will still be here this afternoon and more coming the rest of the week as well. So, excited about that, that we’ve got so many prospects that are visiting our campus here in March and April, starting today with practice as well with the guys that were there also.

[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]

On the depth chart (or lack thereof)…

“I’ll tell you what we told our team this morning. I know when we do all the team periods and you see 11 guys out there on defense, offense and defense, you’re trying to figure out what the depth chart is and who the first team guy is here, the first team guy there is there. We don’t have a depth chart right now, guys, and that’s what I told the team right now. We may have 11 guys that went out there with a group today.

“The next time you all come back to practice and you have an open period where you’re able to watch stuff, it’ll probably be different who’s out there as well. We want to give everybody opportunities to work with different groups and told our team this morning that I don’t care what you did last season, I don’t care what you did last year. If it was your senior year in high school or you were at a different school, we’re all starting fresh today and we all have something to prove as well. We’re all about competition in this program, and everybody’s going to get an opportunity to compete and earn a role as well.

“Regardless of what you did here, if you were at South Carolina, you’ve got to prove it and you’ve got to continue to get better. That’s what we said spring practice is. It’s continuous improvement over 15 practices, get better each day and doing it in a highly competitive environment. And that’s what it was out there on the field today, a highly competitive environment, and we’re trying to get better as well.”

On freshmen and transfers…

And it is a competitive environment because of the new additions that we have here. I really like our young freshmen. They’re all here except for three guys. The guys that are a part of our signing class, they fit right in today and they’re freshmen. It was their first college football practice ever, but they didn’t look lost. Our transfers that came in as well have made us better. They’re athletic and really, really excited about that group all across the board.

“And then our returning players. We obviously bring back a lot of players that have played a lot of football here for us here at Carolina, and they have taken another step as well and are better. So I like the group that we have. They’re a fun group to be around. They’re fun to work with. Like I said, they’ve had a great off season so far in winter or excuse me, in January and February in the winter conditioning program. And then now it’s essentially like phase two or second quarter, however you want to refer to it, as we go into spring practice.

“And got a lot of work to do, but today was a good start and eager to watch the tape from today and correct and get guys in here tomorrow and learn from it and then be back out on the practice field on Thursday.”

On the Gamecocks quarterbacks and what Beamer saw…

” A lot of newness. You know, you think about it, Luke (Doty) was working at receiver, but primarily, but a little bit of quarterback. So when you think about it from that standpoint, LaNorris was the most experienced guy as far as taking quarterback reps at a Carolina practice. You know, Robbie Ashford never had. Davis Beville never has. Dante Reno never has. So there was a little bit of trying to, you know, figure out what they’re doing and nerves.

“But, you know, when they did know what they were doing and could execute, they performed well. I think they’re athletic. We’ve got some bigger guys out there. Robbie’s a big kid, and LaNorris is obviously is a big guy as well. Davis has size, so the size jumps out at you. And then, you know, they’re athletic and they can make throws. So it was rusty out there today, for sure, with it being practice number one. But a lot of upside in that group, and they’ll continue to get better.

“And it was good competition. You know, last year in that room, everyone knew that Spencer was the guy. And now it’s a very competitive room as well, where they’re all competing and trying to make each other better, but they’re all trying to be the guy as well. So that’s been fun to watch also.”

On what he wants to see from Sellers and the rest of the South Carolina QBs…

“Yeah, as far as the quarterbacks, just being able to operate and execute the offense and be efficient, you know, when we’re huddling, can you get in and out of the huddle? When we’re not huddling, can you communicate at the line of scrimmage? And then obviously all the accuracy and the toughness and the playmaking ability that you want to see. So I don’t know if there’s a certain metric, it’s just, we’re going to give all those guys opportunities and equal opportunities to get out there and compete and the scrimmages will be good.

“And I remember last year, that’s really where you first started to notice LaNorris. We’re in scrimmage situations where we made the quarterbacks live and he was able to break tackles and run around and you kind of saw what makes him unique also. So we’ll be able to tell a lot more as the spring goes on with all those guys and from that standpoint.

“And then LaNorris, probably just the willingness to speak up and try and show some leadership. You know, last year at this time, he was the new guy and even during the season, Spencer was the quarterback and LaNorris wasn’t really a vocal guy where he was going to speak up and try and lead the group. He’s taken on more of a role where he’s has spoken up more, whether it be in team meetings or outside on the field or trying to organize the offense to throw and things like that on their own. He’s taken more of a leadership role from that standpoint. And that’s probably the biggest thing.

“But LaNorris is a guy you don’t notice him, but you notice him if that makes sense. He’s just, he’s the same guy day in, day out. He works really, really hard. I was in the weight room this morning at 6:20 and we didn’t have anything until 7:30 as a team, but he was in the weight room just trying to get some extra work in this morning before practice even started, just stretching and stuff like that. And that’s just who he is.”

On Beamer’s excitement level to start practice and his involvement on the field…

“Yeah, it’s a focal point. Tere’s a lot of things that this job entails. Wgen you’re a head coach in the SEC, there’s a lot of things that take you away from being on the field coaching football. So when you get the opportunity to go out there for two or two plus hours, that’s like the highlight of the job in so many ways. So certainly love being out there, love coaching, but then with this particular group, because it is a fun group to be around.

“We’re very young. You know, there’s a lot of guys that just went through their first practice ever as a South Carolina football player. So there’s coaches as well. So there’s a lot of newness also, and love that aspect of it. And then I’m a guy that, you know, I just met with a recruit in my office and I said, what stood out to you about practice? And he just said, the energy. And everybody says that when they come to our practices, when they come from other schools, where they watched other colleges practice, and they come to our place, they always comment on that, which I take that as a compliment. We want our practices to be highly competitive, highly energetic, and we’re flying around, and guys are having a good time out there, competing, trying to make each other better. And it’s the same thing as coaches. The coaches get competitive out there, competing against one another. And we all love to be on the field with our guys.

“Just excited, just because there is so much newness. You know, we’d seen these guys in the weight room and we’ve seen them in the meeting room, but it was the first time that we were able to actually get out on the field and have a real practice competing against one another. We’ve been able to do some stuff out on the field within the rules for the last month or so, but as far as being able to go out there and compete against one another, offense versus defense, do special teams work, it was really the first time we were able to do that. And spring’s awesome, just because you’re not getting ready for a game. It’s 15 days of just, you’re worried about yourself and not an upcoming opponent.

On Nyck Harbor’s plans for spring and injury report…

“First of all, with Nyck, his primary focus right now is track and trying to win championships for our track team. And then there’s also the summer Olympics coming up as well, which I do believe is a very real possibility for him, potentially. We’ll see how outdoor track goes. So football-wise, track is the priority, but he will be with football when it doesn’t interfere with track and when it doesn’t interfere with his class schedule.

“And so what does that look like? That means class schedule-wise, Tuesdays and Thursdays, not to give you Nyck’s entire academic calendar here for the spring semester, but Tuesdays and Thursdays, he has class, but he’s able to be with us most of the morning. So he was out there today. He was in meetings this morning at 7.30 and he’ll be able to be with us on his own when it doesn’t interfere with track. So he was out there today, for the most part, watching. During a lot of the practice parts, he was standing next to me, getting the signal from the sideline or listening to the play call in the huddle, and then telling me what his assignment would be on that play and all that.

“And then also on the Monday, Wednesday, Friday days, the days that we don’t practice, it’s kind of the same thing. He’s got a little bit more of a heavy class load on those days, or he may be traveling with track on those days. So when he can be with us, we want him over here when he’s going to plan to be here and when it doesn’t interfere with track or class, but we won’t have him out there necessarily practicing and getting hit where it prevents him from running in a track meet on Saturday. We don’t want that.

“But like I told him today on the field, when we were talking, I want him to be able to be the greatest track student athlete he can be this spring and win championships without, but I also want him to get better as a football player without it taking away from track. So I think we have a good plan. We’ve communicated with the track staff. We met back in November, back in December, about Nyck’s schedule in the spring and whatnot.

“Injuries, yes. The only guys that weren’t able to do anything at all today were CJ Adams, he had a little bit of a spring break injury, which is unfortunate. So CJ will be out for the entire spring. It’s a finger, nothing crazy long-term, but it’ll keep him out of the spring.

“Mo Kaba was not able to do anything today. He would most likely will not do anything this spring, but fully expecting to be ready for the season. And then Rocket did not do anything today. Very unlikely that he’ll be able to do anything this spring. He’s making progress. He’s getting better, but coming off that shoulder, he’s not where he needs to be right now. So he’s, when I say not doing anything, he’s doing some of the rehab stuff at practice, but as far as throwing him in there into live action, he will likely not do any of that this spring. Those three guys will most likely be out for the whole spring.

“Chase Sweigert, offensive lineman, he didn’t do anything today. And Jaxson Hughes, the offensive tackle, didn’t do anything today, but we’re hopeful in the next two weeks that Jaxsonand Chase will be back and able to get going again. And then everyone else was able to do a little something today. May have been limited, may have not been able to do all the team periods against the defense, but they at least did the bulk of the practice, everyone else on the team. So we’re in a pretty decent shape other than those three long-term guys.”

[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]

On the freshmen offensive linemen from the state of South Carolina…

“As you guys have heard me say before, we want to keep the best players in South Carolina coming here to Columbia. And when you talk about those guys from South Carolina that are here right now, it’s a pretty impressive group of South Carolina guys. And Markee (Anderson) last year, without a doubt, but then you add Blake Franks, Josiah Thompson, Kam Pringle.

“There’s certainly a bond just because, so much of the recruiting process, they were taking visits together and they got to know each other and not just those offensive linemen, but that whole signing class that they just got really, really close. And that’s why they all committed early. They stayed committed and they all signed their papers so early on signing day was because of that bond. But certainly there’s a bond with those guys and that whole group. You add Mazeo Bennett to it, where he and Blake Franks were high school teammates. And it was cool for them to go through their first practice today where their heads are swimming, I’m sure mentally, and they’re trying to figure out where to go and what to do and all that, but they all looked like they belong.

“And I think that those three freshmen have a chance to be really, really good players. you know, in all of our testing, if you will, feel like the height, weight, arm length, wingspan, all those things that we test with our players, those three offensive linemen were the most physically, like, measurable-wise, the most impressive offensive linemen as far as wingspan, top three, arm length, top three. And there’s a reason they were all so highly recruited.

“So eager for them to continue to attack the weight room and develop, but they’re going to have a chance to be really good players for us. And they’re great young men as well. We’re really excited about that whole freshman class.

On having the personnel to mix and match personnel-wise…

“I think even more so than last year, I really do, just because of the athleticism that we’ve added at linebacker. A couple of things. One, we’re a little bit deeper right now on the defensive line. Essentially, last year, we had a three-man rotation at defensive tackle with Tonka Hemingway, Boogie Huntley, and TJ Sanders. And then Nick Barrett was kind of that fourth guy. Well, all those guys returned, plus we’ve added, you know, DeAndre Jules to that, and Monkell Goodwine. So we’ve got some more depth there.

“At the edge position, you know, last year it was Jordan Strachan and Bryan Thomas, and then JT Geer got in a little bit in there. He got healthier. And Desmond, you know, all those guys, essentially Tyreek, all those guys returned for the most part, but now we’ve added Dylan Stewart, we’ve added Kyle Kennard and whatnot. So we have some more depth and athleticism, I think, up front. B

“But then particularly at linebacker, with Debo obviously returning. At the linebacker position, really, really like our two freshmen, Wendell Gregory and Fred “JayR” Johnson. And then the two linebackers that we brought in, Bengally Kamara and Demetrius Knight. Alll four of those guys, they’re long, they’re athletic, they can run, and they have a lot of position flexibility. So I do believe that, whether we’re, you know, a 4-2-5 type group or a 3-3 type group, we have the ability to do both because of the increased athleticism, in my mind, up front on the D-line and at linebacker.”

On other coaches at South Carolina having success and how that impacts Beamer’s team conversations…

“It’s great for me, personally, just to have so many fantastic coaches on our campus that I can pick their brains, and whether it’s going to watch Dawn’s team practice, which I’ve done in the past, or go and watch Lamont’s team practice, or sit in on film sessions with both their teams, which I’ve done just to kind of learn from them.

“But then you talk about all the other sports as well that have won at a high level and have, you know, Hall of Fame legendary type coaches as well. So it’s great and really cool for me, personally, as just a coach, to have those guys as colleagues as well. Our players love it, and I tell recruits that all the time. Like, we have a high expectation level here at South Carolina when you talk about what our women’s basketball team is doing and has done, and the fact that we’ve won national championships in baseball and whatnot, that there’s high expectations and it’s a college town.

“And it’s such a recruiting tool for us, too, because so many of these young men, they’ve, I think I talked about it maybe previously in a press conference, after we beat Kentucky in basketball, back in, what was that, January? So many high school recruits, I was in high schools the next day and they had watched the game the night before, or they watch Coach Staley’s team and are fans of them. The young man that I just had in my office, I talked about that very thing, and I mentioned women’s basketball, and immediately they light up and start talking about Coach Staley and our team. So it’s great, they’re so supportive of us.

“You know, I mean, one of my favorite moments from last year is when, against Mississippi State, when Xavier Legette catches the little underneath route and takes it in for a touchdown, and there’s Coach Staley on the sideline, wearing our Alshon Jeffrey jersey, waving him into the end zone as well. I mean, it’s just, it’s a family atmosphere here. We support one another. They’re so supportive of our program, and we’re supportive of all of the programs here at Carolina. It’s one thing I love about being on a college campus, and it’s great for me personally, and then for our teams too, just to see the success that those other sports are having. And if anything, it motivates us to be in that mix as well, competing for championships like our teams, other teams have.”

On the new faces at wide receiver…

“Yeah, there’s a lot of new ones. I mean, it really is a new coach, new players, freshmen transfers, doing well. They all had their moments today without a doubt, but it’s a learning process, because Coach Furrey’s getting in here, and he’s trying to learn the offense and learn who he’s coaching and what they’re about, and then do for those guys also. But it’s an athletic group, without a doubt. They all run well. We saw that in our off season. They run well, and they’re all athletic. They all catch the ball well. And I’m really excited to see how that group kind of develops over the next 14 practices now, the rest of spring, essentially who separates themselves and who becomes guys.

“The production they’re bringing into our program, the transfers coming in from other schools, they were very productive where they came from. And then the freshmen that are coming in, talking about Debron and Mazeo, they were very productive where they came from and came from good programs. So they’ve done a good job and very young, and it’s a very unproven group in a lot of ways. And then there’s some guys in there that are good young players that have been in our program here for a few years too, that it’s time for them to maybe take another step and show that they can be in that group also. So there’s a lot of really good competition all across the board, but receivers are right there at the top.”

Thoughts on new coaches on the practice field day one…

“They all have their own personalities and it was great having them out there. Coach Blackwell, Coach Furrey, Joe D and then Shawn, all those guys, it was cool, their first practice being out there as well. And I know they were excited also, but probably that’s the biggest thing.

“Joe D, you hear him, you see him, he’s everywhere, he’s high energy, flying around on the practice field like we all are. His meetings are the same way. We’re maybe not doing movie quotes and history lessons like we have in the past, but it’s very, very, very, very high energy. There’s no dozing off and there’s no losing focus and that meaning his special teams meetings, that’s for sure. So he coaches that way in the meetings, he coaches that way on the field. Same thing with Shawn, he’s just what you thought, intense and in the huddle with the offense today, getting those guys going.

“I’m really talking about the young players and I’m excited about, I’m really, really excited about this coaching staff that we’ve put together and things kind of roundabout way of getting there. But at the end of the day, I’m convinced that it all worked out the way that it was supposed to work out and really like the group, they’re great guys and great teachers and they love being on the field with the players and they showed that today.”

On expectations for competition at running back…

“Yeah, kind of the same thing with the receivers. JuJu and guys like Bradley Dunn that have been around the program for a while. But then you’re adding Oscar Adaway and you’re adding Jawarn Howell to it and all those guys flashed today, kind of the same thing.

“They were very productive. Jawarn had one really, really, really productive season at South Carolina State and Oscar was very productive at North Texas as well. So they’re not coming in here unproven as college football players. They have a great confidence about themselves. You noticed Oscar today early with a couple of the runs that he had. Jawarn is a big body that can really run. I’m really excited about him just from a size standpoint as well. So it’s an opportunity, Rocket’s out there taking mental reps and learning and it’s an opportunity for that whole group to really kind of show what they’re about.

“And you’ll learn more once you get into the put pads on and you’re into the pass protection and things like that, the other things that come along with being a running back. But today I thought it was a good start. And Dejay Braswell, I forgot about Braswell. You know, he’s did a great job in our off season, one of the fastest players, if not the fastest player on the team in all of our testing. So, excited for Dejay and year two. And as he showed last year, I mean, it’s running the ball but it’s catching the ball, it’s pass protection like he did in the touchdown pass against Kentucky to win the game. That Spencer throw to Xavier, that was a great blitz pickup by Dejay Braswell, a true freshman. So being able to do all those things in addition to running the ball.

How the kicker competition looks…

“We’re going to compete and everything. We haven’t anointed Alex (Herrera). Daniel Lester took some kicks in there today as well. So Daniel’s a guy that’s been around the program. Alex is going into the spring as the starter based on what he’s done here. But again, like I told him, when we put him on scholarship, we expect you to continue to come along and earn this job. And we’re always looking to increase the competition around him.

On Luke Doty and his role…

“Yeah, he likes that athlete title. Steve (Fink, the Sports Information Director) asked me what to list him as. So I called Luke and I asked him and he said athlete. That’s exactly what he is. He’s just a really good football player. And I think he’ll have an even more active role on special teams for us this season. We used him last year on our punt pressure team, like punt return. We used him on that, but not much else.

“II think he was on the kickoff team before I got here in 2020, but he’ll have more of an active role on special teams. He looked good as a receiver today and he’s really improved as a quarterback. He really has, and he’s made progress there. So he is certainly an athlete that makes our football team better. He’s a leader on this football team and we want to get our best guys on the field. And Luke’s certainly one of our better players and I’m eager to see kind of how this spring goes for him from a receiver standpoint, quarterback standpoint, special team standpoint. He loves Carolina and he’s bought into everything right now.”

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!