Gamecocks entering pivotal month of December
A big four-week stretch for South Carolina football starts today.
The Gamecocks, fresh off a loss in the regular season finale, Shane Beamer and a host of assistant coaches are back on the road recruiting to try and put the finishing touches on a 2022 recruiting class.
It’s a big class for Beamer and his staff—really his first full class since he’s taken the Gamecock job—as he balances the high school recruiting and then the transfer portal.
“The transfer portal is kind of ongoing. There are guys in the portal right now we’re interested in and we’re recruiting. Then there will be guys who pop into it as the rest of the year goes on and even after January,” Beamer said. “You’re constantly trying to balance your 85 scholarships but that’s something that’s already at work and will continue to be moving forward along with high school recruiting.”
South Carolina, from a preseason Vegas win-loss standpoint overachieved, hitting six wins and securing a bowl bid, something the Gamecock coaching staff will certainly bring up this week during in-home visits.
The early signing period starts two weeks from Wednesday on Dec. 15.
Along with recruiting, the bowl itself is a big piece of the Gamecocks’ December and could be a building block as well.
South Carolina is projected a bevy of different places, but one of the key pieces for the Gamecocks will be getting what Beamer called essentially a second spring practice with more reps for younger players.
“The bowl is going to be huge for us to get our team better and improve the roster we have. It’s great when you’re able to go to a bowl game because it’s basically an extra spring practice,” Beamer said. “We have a lot of young guys out there playing tonight who are going to be key players for us next year and some players we’re redshirting that have to continue to get better.”
It’s the Gamecocks’ first bowl game since 2018 and a win would mean the first winning season since then and the third time in the last five years they’ve ended with more wins than losses.
Beamer becomes the third straight coach to take the Gamecocks to a bowl game in year one of his tenure and would be the first to win that game; Steve Spurrier lost in the Independence Bowl and Will Muschamp lost in Birmingham.
“It’s good for the program. We took a big step, especially not going to a bowl game the past two years,” Jaylan Foster. “I think we took a big step and think coach Beamer has this program heading in the right direction and can’t wait to see what these guys do.”
Bowl practice will start after Dec. 5 when the Gamecocks find out their destination and it’ll be the continuation of one of the bigger months of Beamer’s tenure between the bowl and recruiting.
“Don’t let this determine the season. We did a lot of good things this season. Obviously it hurts but don’t let this overshadow or make up what the season was.”
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