Shane Beamer assesses latest portal cycle and why South Carolina didn't add any receivers

This was always going to be the case. When many of South Carolina’s older players made plans to return for 2024, most in their last year of eligibility, Shane Beamer was going to have plenty of work to do in the offseason to come.

After a disappointing 5-7 season in 2023, the Gamecocks reaped the rewards of bringing back their starters and finished 9-4. But now comes the hard part: replacing those starters — five on offense and seven on defense to be exact.

Beamer and his staff filled as many holes as they could to replace those starters. They earned 13 commitments from the transfer portal, many of which will address top needs.

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How those players will end up doing at South Carolina is a topic for another day. But at least for now, Beamer sees this latest portal cycle as a mission accomplished.

“I think we did a good job of it. We were very targeted as far as what we were going to try and do,” Beamer said. “We lost our top four defensive tackles, if you throw (DeAndre) Jules in that. We lost our center; we lost both guards.

“We have great confidence in the young men that are in our program. But that’s the heart of your offense and defense that left, so we knew that we needed to increase the depth at all those positions.”

Among the positions that received the most attention, offensive and defensive line were at the top of the pecking order. South Carolina landed three offensive linemen in hopes of replacing its previous starting center and two guards. Then on the defensive line, the team picked up two tackles and one edge rusher.

Some of the other positions where the Gamecocks brought in new talent with starters leaving came at tight end, linebacker and defensive back. They even added another quarterback to prepare for the long-term future after current starter LaNorris Sellers moves on.

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When it came to the evaluation process, Beamer, of course, focused on positions where South Carolina needed to attack the portal the most. But par for the course, he wanted players who were the right fit for the program.

“I think we brought in guys that have upside, guys that love football,” he said. “We were willing to walk away from some guys that I don’t think quite fit what we were going to be about, and we figured that out during the process of trying to recruit them. But I like where we are.”

Even if it meant passing up on specific players, they were willing to do what was best for the team. Overall, they seemed to have no trouble adding players at the main positions. But they noticeably didn’t land a wide receiver.

To be fair, it’s not like receiver was a position lacking depth. South Carolina will return two of its top three pass catchers, along with three more receivers. Plus, there are six receivers joining the program from the latest high school signing class. But that didn’t mean Beamer didn’t at least explore some external possibilities.

“Every receiver that went the portal, my first question to (wide receivers coach) Mike Furrey was, ‘Do you feel like this guy is going to be better than the freshman we have, or better by the end of the season than the guys we have in our program?’ And if the answer was, ‘No, I don’t think he will be,’ then we didn’t even pursue them,” Beamer said.

“We have a lot of excitement, a lot of belief in the young freshmen that we have that fueled our decisions when it comes to the portal in a lot of ways.”

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With spring practice set to begin in a little under two months, Beamer likes where the current roster is at. He believes South Carolina is currently at 84 scholarships, which puts it one below the maximum amount. The next portal cycle window opens on April 16 and closes on April 25.

“A lot of the decisions that we made in regards to the portal in the last month were, ‘Let’s give these guys on our team an opportunity here in spring practice, see where we are,'” Beamer said. “And then, we have a better idea with some flexibility at the end of spring practice as far as what we do next.”

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