Beamer shuts down VT speculation: South Carolina 'is home for me'

With the decision by Virginia Tech to fire head football coach Justin Fuente Tuesday morning, pundits have naturally mentioned South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer as a potential candidate for that opening.

The first-year head coach's father, Frank Beamer, of course, served as the program's head coach for 29 years.

Shane Beamer himself played for the Hokies, graduated from the school, and later was on staff as an assistant coach under his father.

So, the connections are obvious and apparent.

But Gamecock Central's Chris Clark reported earlier today that there was no expected interest from the younger Beamer in taking over at his alma mater.

And then, speaking during his usual Tuesday afternoon press conference, Beamer shut down any additional speculation.

Here are Shane Beamer's comments in their entirety:

Certainly, you hate to ever see anyone lose their job. So tough from that standpoint. Obviously, I love Virginia Tech. I moved there when I was 10-years-old, I went to high school there, I went to college there, I coached there, my parents still live there. So I have special memories of my time in Blacksburg and that'll always be, special to me.

But this is where I want to be. When I said this was my dream job, I wasn't just saying that to make it sound cool in a press conference or to get the job. This is where my wife and I and my family want to be. We didn't put that sign up over there at Williams-Brice Stadium to say 'Welcome Home' just because it was trendy or a slogan. This is home for me and I want to be the head football coach here at South Carolina.

I love working for Ray Tanner and Chance Miller. They are fantastic. And we have an amazing relationship.

I love this state. I want to live in this state. I love this city. I want to live in the city. I told our team a couple weeks ago, my son Hunter he's in second grade and I want him to graduate high school from here in Columbia. And this is where I want to be.

We're just getting started. Recruiting is going amazingly well. There's a lot of energy about this program right now. There's a lot of excitement about this program right now. My goal is to bring an SEC championship here to Columbia and we're just in the beginning stages of it.

So no, I'm the head coach at South Carolina. I want to be the head coach at South Carolina. And then, you know probably beyond any of that is, we use the word 'love' around here a lot and I love coaching these kids and couldn't imagine not coaching these guys and love what they're about and love being their head football coach.

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