Shane Beamer shares early impressions of 2024 Gamecocks
It’s been three weeks since the majority of South Carolina’s 2024 squad returned to campus. While that’s not a long time, Shane Beamer is already liking what he’s seeing.
A veteran group, Beamer specifically mentioned how pleased he’s been with how the nearly 20 new additions via the transfer portal have been meshing with the returning players on the roster.
“Love them. Love them, and (I’m) not just saying that,” said Beamer. “They’ve made us better. There’s a maturity about this group that you can tell already. Not that we were immature last year but it’s a very mature (and) a very hungry group.”
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As of this story, the Gamecocks are currently ranked No.5 in On3’s portal rankings.
“I think it’s soon but I don’t see anything yet at this point that makes me think we didn’t (find the right players). They’ve been awesome in the weight room. I ask Luke Day that every week. ‘Is there anyone that we’re concerned about (or) had a bad week,’ and there’s not a single one. We’ll know more as we get into it. We’re on the road recruiting one more week and then we’ll be able to get even more involved with them from a football standpoint. So far, no concerns.”
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But it’s not just the transfers who Beamer has been happy with. With over 30 seniors on this years roster, more than half of those players were with South Carolina last season.
“We do game captains during the season. The coaches decide on who the captains are gonna be each week and then at the end of the season we let the players vote on who the permanent captains are. Of our top 12 vote getters off of last year’s team, I think seven of them are returning. When you’re talking about Debo Williams, Boogie, and so many of those guys. So, we have a lot of leadership coming back and with these new transfers there’s a maturity and hunger about them that has already made our team better in workouts and on and off the field.”
