Shane Beamer comments on Xzavier McLeod dismissal
News broke early Wednesday afternoon that South Carolina freshman defensive tackle Xzavier Mcleod, a former four-star prospect from Camden, was no longer with the football team.
On Thursday, speaking on his weekly radio call-in show, head coach Shane Beamer spoke publicly on the McLeod situation for the first time.
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Here are his comments in full:
“I would say that there is an expectation level of what it means to be a football player at the University of South Carolina. And I take a lot of pride in all of these young men and care for all the young men in our program. And don’t take the responsibility that their families have put on me lightly, and wanna work with all of our guys to try and help them through any situation they’re in. But ultimately, I’m always responsible to do what’s best for the University of South Carolina football team. Whether it be coaching decisions, personnel decisions, whatever it might be. So I met with Xzavier yesterday and visited with him and made the decision to dismiss him from the football team. But that was what was best for our program. And hate it for him, he’s a good young man from a good family. And it’s not a fun phone call when you call someone’s mom and dad and have to tell them that, like I did yesterday. But like I said, I’ve got a responsibility to 118 other football players on the team and coaches and staff, and always got to do what’s best for our program. And that was kind of what this situation is, and wish him well. He’s a really good player, and wanna help him in any way that I can going forward. It just won’t be here at Carolina.”
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The former four-star prospect from Camden (S.C.) has played in four games this season but did not travel to Missouri this past week due to what Beamer at the time called a “coach’s decision.”
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McLeod has collected one tackle and an interception on a tipped ball. McLeod has essentially been the team’s fifth defensive tackle, behind veterans like Tonka Hemingway, Boogie Huntley, T.J. Sanders, and Nick Barrett.
The 6-foot-5, 284-pounder was rated a four-star prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average of the four major recruiting media sites. McLeod was considered the No. 196 overall prospect in the country as well as the No. 22 defensive lineman and No. 3 prospect in the state.
South Carolina travels to Texas A&M this weekend to take on the Aggies at noon on the SEC Network.
