To walk, or not to walk: How Shane Beamer, South Carolina navigate eligibility through senior day festivities
Senior day in college football was much simpler to organize just a few years ago.
Save a few players who earned a redshirt, whether it be due to a lack of playing time or a medical injury, most seniors played for four seasons and that was it. In the sport’s modern era, though, the criteria for being honored on senior day have become much more ambiguous.
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Head coach Shane Beamer said discussions about this topic began while South Carolina was in the midst of its offseason. For some players, it was fairly obvious that their eligibility would run out at the end of the season. But Beamer admitted that it was harder to determine that for others.
“You have a general idea of, ‘Hey, man. This could be your last year.’ Or that, you know, ‘You’ve got another year after this as well,’ and so that’s my knowledge,” Beamer said. “I mean, there’s some guys that have another year after this and I didn’t even realize. I’m like, ‘Holy smokes, this guy’s got another year of eligibility?’ And he does.”
These conversations about eligibility carried into this past week. On Thursday, Beamer and his staff prepared determined which players would be honored during the Gamecocks’ senior day ceremony, which is set to take place before South Carolina and Wofford kick off at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.
Beamer carried some of the conversations, while his position coaches lead others.
“We gave the coaches a list of all the players that are seniors that are going to participate in senior night ceremonies this week because it is their last home game ever. They can’t come back,” Beamer said. “And then, (we have) the list of guys that are seniors and have another year of eligibility.”
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Beamer recognizes that a players’ decision to receive senior day recognition does not equate their eventual departure from the program.
“They don’t have to tell us like 100% right now – they can make decisions,” Beamer said. “Dakereon Joyner – I think he went through senior night in 2022 and 2023 because he wasn’t really sure. And that’s fine.”
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He does understand, however, that many players who elect to walk may not come back for the 2025 season.
There are numerous players who don’t have any eligibility remaining after this year: Debo Williams, Juju McDowell, O’Donnell Fortune, Kyle Kennard, Raheim Sanders, Joshua Simon, Gage Larvadain, Davis Beville, Dalevon Campbell, Demetrius Knight Jr., Bam Martin-Scott, David Spaulding, Hunter Rogers, Kai Kroeger, Alex Herrera, Kamaar Bell, Vershon Lee, Gilber Edmond, Torricelli Simpkins III, Tonka Hemingway, Alex Huntley, and DeAndre Jules.
Because of this, South Carolina’s senior day preparations serve as a helpful exercise for the program. Not only does it identify who might leave at the end of the campaign, but also who is looking to stay in Columbia for the time being.
“I got an updated list today of guys that have another year that are planning to come back, and I think that’s great. I’d welcome all those guys back that want to come back,” Beamer said. “I think it’s a testament to what we’re doing in this program that so many of these guys want to come back for another year, that have availability left.”
