The key reason Shane Beamer still plans on having a spring game
It appears South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer has no designs of following the growing trend of schools canceling their spring games.
The Gamecocks’ fifth-year head coach spoke to Heather Dinich for an article ESPN published on the current popular discussion about whether or not spring games are even worth it.
Sparked by Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule’s decision to cancel the Cornhusker’s spring game, 19 Power 4 programs have canceled their spring games this year, according to the article.
And while Beamer told Dinich he understands why some coaches want to cancel the annual tradition, South Carolina’s game is currently still on for Friday, April 18, and Beamer didn’t give any indication that he wants to end it in the future.
“We don’t get preseason games in college football,” he said. “I’ve got an opportunity with all of these freshmen — the last game they played in was in high school — and I’ve got an opportunity to let them play a game in front of tens of thousands of people. They get a chance to perform in front of a big crowd as opposed to the first time they’re playing a game in front of a crowd is the first game of the season over in Atlanta against Virginia Tech.”
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Beamer has long been a proponent of college teams being able to play a preseason game against an outside opponent.
The topic has come up periodically throughout Beamer’s tenure in Columbia and he has almost always pointed to the fact that college football is the only sport — and only level of football — that doesn’t have preseason games or even joint practices.
Getting those reps in Williams-Brice Stadium with a crowd and the TV cameras rolling will be especially important for newcomers on a South Carolina team that will potentially have double-digit players drafted from last year’s squad.
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The Gamecocks will be looking to replace award-winning defenders Nick Emmanwori and Kyle Kennard, veteran cornerback O’Donnell Fortune, and both starters at both defensive tackle and linebacker.
On offense, South Carolina will be breaking in a new starting running back, all three interior line spots, and will likely play at least two or three of its highly recruited freshmen in the receiver rotation.
As for the original reason Rhule gave for canceling Nebraska’s game — tampering — Beamer did not seem concerned.
“They don’t need to watch a spring game to figure out who’s on our team if they are trying to tamper with them and get them,” Beamer told Dinich.
Beamer and the Gamecocks kick off spring ball on March 19. The spring game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on April 18.
