Beamer completing staff with OL coach hire

Shane Beamer is filling his final vacancy for the Gamecock football on-field coaching staff by hiring veteran offensive line coach Greg Adkins, GamecockCentral.com has learned.

Adkins was first mentioned as a candidate for the position by GamecockCentral.com last Thursday and profiled once again as being heavily in the mix earlier on Wednesday.

Sources tell GamecockCentral.com that Adkins' contract is expected to be approved during a scheduled university Board of Trustees meeting on Friday morning, along with one for previously-announced defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey.

A 30-year veteran of the coaching industry, Adkins was most recently at his alma mater, Marshall, this past season. During the 2020 season, Adkins' offensive line surrendered just 12 sacks in 10 games, and Cain Madden posted the nation's third-best PFF grade for an offensive lineman.

Adkins' other coaching stops in college have come at Georgia, Troy, Tennessee, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, and Charlotte, plus a stint in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. At Tennessee, he had staff carryover with head coach Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield as both were graduate assistants in Knoxville in 2003. At Marshall, Adkins was part of a staff that included new Gamecock strength and conditioning coach Luke Day.

“One of my mantras that I use in coaching the offensive line is I believe in developing the person before developing the player,” Adkins said in a previous bio from Charlotte. “I believe the line is built with trust and relationships. The O-Line is a unique part of a football team -- you need to get five guys to buy into what you’re teaching -- and supplying them with one voice so the kids can play at a fast level with physicality is as important a job as I have.”