Monkell Goodwine's connection with Shane Beamer comes full circle at South Carolina
In 2020, both Monkell Goodwine and Shane Beamer were in much different positions than they are today.
Goodwine was in the midst of his senior season at Rock Creek Christian Academy in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. At the time, Goodwine was a consensus four-star prospect and one of the nation’s top recruits — No. 69, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, to be exact — in the class of 2021.
Meanwhile, Beamer was preparing for what would be his final season as an associate head coach and tight ends coach at Oklahoma. He would take the head coaching job at South Carolina at the turn of the new year.
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
Goodwine listed Oklahoma amongst his top five schools in March 2020. But he ultimately decided to attend and play football at the University of Alabama.
At one point in his recruiting process, though, he did take a visit to South Carolina. Looking back on the visit, Goodwine said he did not give the Gamecock football program the look it deserved.
“When I was a recruit, I came to South Carolina. I loved it, but I just didn’t give them a chance,” Goodwine told GamecockCentral. “Coach Beamer, when he was at a different school, he was recruiting me at the time. When I was being recruited with him, I had a good relationship with him, but I never got one.”
Now, that same Gamecock football program — albeit with a new look under Beamer — has provided an opportunity for the two to reconnect. Goodwine committed to the Gamecocks within days of his entrance into the transfer portal and listed Beamer as one of the reasons he joined the team.
“Seeing Coach Beamer was the head coach at South Carolina, and I was like, ‘Why not?,'” Goodwine said. “South Carolina’s close to home. I saw that they could use some depth in the defensive room, so I was like, ‘Let’s do it.'”
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Rich Rodriguez
WVU expected to hire former HC
- 2New
Belichick contract
Details out on UNC deal
- 3
Garrett Nussmeier
LSU QB announces 2025 return
- 4
Bill Belichick
UNC finalizing deal with legend
- 5Trending
Flag planting felony
Ohio politicians get involved
Beamer is not the only South Carolina coach Goodwine has developed a strong connection with during his brief time in Columbia, though. He has also gotten close to defensive line coach Travian Robertson, who oversees Goodwine’s positional group.
[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]
Goodwine said Robertson’s knowledge of the program and selflessness have helped him acclimate to South Carolina.
“I feel like with Coach T-Rob, being the coach that he’s being, he used to be a defensive lineman here. He sees how all that goes, so I feel like he’s going to be reeling everyone in at a time to get their shine in. So, everybody’s definitely going to be rotating, for a fact,” Goodwine said.
“He keeps it real with you. Bad or good, it doesn’t matter. He’s always going to be himself, so that’s one thing I like about Coach T-Rob. He’s an extraordinary guy that goes out of his way to do extraordinary things for his guys.”
From a time-specific standpoint, Goodwine’s relationship with Beamer is more established. The pair’s ties back to Goodwine’s recruiting days played a pivotal role in his decision to play under Beamer at South Carolina.
Goodwine said he hopes that relationship continues to grow as the season moves along.
“It’s amazing,” Goodwine said. “I love Coach Beamer, and Coach Beamer loves me. That’s all I got to say about it.”
