Beamer: Excitement from 2021 season 'has not subsided'

Shane Beamer, like most in college football, watched the national championship Monday night.

There he watched his former boss, Kirby Smart, and a handful of players he helped recruit win a title and kept thinking he wants to see the Gamecocks there in his tenure.

It’s something Beamer has mentioned is feasible in Columbia—even saying so after a bowl win in late December—and the first way to get there is bringing in elite talent.

“To me it obviously starts with recruiting and being able to recruit great players,” Beamer said. “You have to get in there and continue to recruit and push your program forward on and off the field and develop your player sand try to make this the very best program you can day in and day out.”

This is not saying the Gamecocks are going to be betting favorites to win a national title next season, but recruiting has gotten a little bit easier with a train of positive momentum heading into the offseason.

Not only did they win a bowl game to hit 7-6 this year—doubling bettors’ win totals in the preseason—but had a string of wave-making transfer portal commitments to help build steam.

The Gamecocks now enter a pivotal stretch to continue building their roster with the contact period going on for the next few weeks.

Things haven't slowed either with a rousing ovation at halftime of a men's basketball game and Beamer earning the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach of the Year Award presented by the FWAA and Chris Doering Mortgage.

“Since the Duke’s Mayo Bowl we don’t feel like we’ve slowed down at all. The excitement from that win has not subsided and only increased,” Beamer said. “There’s a ton of energy and excitement around South Carolina football right now and it’s great to capitalize on the season we had winning seven games and winning the Duke’s mayo bowl as we lead into 2022.”

Beamer hasn’t shied away from saying the goal in Columbia isn’t just to get to bowl games but compete for SEC, and subsequently, national titles.

He was on staff for South Carolina’s only SEC East crown and said the situation in terms of resources is even better now.

“It’s ultimately the goal here. It’s something we can certainly do. I tell recruits here all the time we went to an SEC championship in 2010,” he said. “We have more resources here now than we did at that point and we were pretty dang good then and played for an SEC championship. We have more resources now.”

While the staff is out trying to add pieces during a critical time in the offseason calendar, the players on the current roster are going through an integral part of their development as well with winter conditioning.

Almost all of their time in the building until spring practice will be spent with Luke Day and the rest of the strength and conditioning staff to take the next steps in their development.

“Pretty much the next five weeks is all the weight room. Any of the allotted time the NCAA gives us with any of the stuff Luke and his staff don’t use we’ll steal for some football meetings,” Beamer said. “But this is a critical time. We have to get stronger and get faster and continue to develop our players. We have a lot of guys who need to take major steps this winter program.”

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