For transfer tight end Austin Stogner, the decision to join the South Carolina football program primarily came down to two things: Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks' need at Stogner's position.
Stogner, who played for Beamer when the current Carolina head coach was an assistant coach at Oklahoma, entered the transfer portal at the end of November before announcing a commitment to South Carolina in mid-December.
Stogner discussed the decision to play for the Gamecocks and a host of other topics this week in an exclusive interview with GamecockCentral.com, presented by The Garnet Trust.
"Coming as a grad transfer, I've kind of got just really one shot at this thing, so it's got to work, so you go just off of straight needs and at South Carolina there's a need for a tight end in this offense" Stogner explained. "And then you go somewhere where you trust the people there and there's no one I trust more in this industry than Coach Beamer, so those two (things) led up to the decision and it's kind of the perfect fit for me."
"Me and Coach Beamer, we were real tight at OU and he's my favorite coach I've ever had," Stogner continued. "He gets me and he knows how to get the best out of me. I trust him. He's got an awesome family and I trust him. He's why I chose South Carolina."
As soon as Stogner entered the transfer portal, he received a whirlwind of interest from schools around the country, including from Beamer and the Gamecocks.
Within an hour of entering the portal on a Tuesday, Stogner already had plans to be in Columbia early Thursday morning for a visit, his first ever to the school and state.
"Just to start the visit off -- this kind of shows you what kind of guy Coach Beamer is and he wasn't doing this just because he was recruiting me, it's just the guy he is -- so I land at the airport at like 12:45 a.m. and the guy there picking me up is Coach Beamer, so that was pretty cool, just the type of guy he is, you wouldn't expect anything less from him," Stogner explained.
After the late arrival overnight, Stogner was up early the next morning for the full visit experience. He toured the new football ops building, had lunch, saw the campus and academic support opportunities and then had dinner with the coaches.
"My favorite part about South Carolina is just the people in it and the culture that Coach Beamer has built," Stogner said. "Those guys love Coach Beamer, love working there, love being there. They always talk about just going up there, watching extra film, like enjoying that and enjoying working with each other, so that was just a big part of me enjoying the positive environment that I was walking into."
A former second-team All-Big 12 performer, Stogner is looking for somewhere he can have a positive experience while also making an immediate impact.
A 6-foot-6, 251-pounder, Stogner has caught 47 passes for 654 yards and eight touchdowns in his Oklahoma career.
Considered a dual-threat tight end, with the size to set the edge and the ball skills and athleticism to make plays in the passing game, Stogner should slide into Nick Muse's role at the position, where he'll play for tight ends coach Erik Kimrey.
"I met Coach Kimrey at dinner that night, actually; he had been out recruiting and he came in for dinner," Stogner said. "He seems like a really, really great guy. He's kind of like a South Carolina legend, I guess. He was like if you need anything around South Carolina, you let me know, I've been here forever.
"Coaching style, he was like, I understand this is football but it's also bigger than that. He's going to teach you about life lessons. He always talks to guys about some quotes he likes to use, so he's a football coach but he understands that this is bigger than football and football is a game of life, so he teaches you life lessons as well, so that's really big and just kind of shows you the type of guy he is and what he stands for."
Following Stogner's visit to South Carolina, he took trips to Iowa State and Ohio State, "just to make sure" he was making the right decision.
But he says South Carolina - and the opportunity to play for Beamer - was always on his mind. Last Monday, he and teammate Spencer Rattler announced their plans to play for the Gamecocks, sending the Carolina fanbase into a frenzy.
It was an early glimpse at the fans he'll play for in the fall for Stogner, who will enroll at South Carolina in March after graduating from Oklahoma.
"Gamecock fans are crazy in a good way," Stogner said. "They're blowing up Twitter and everything, so they're a very passionate fanbase and you're getting a just as passionate player who loves to play the game and is competitive as hell and loves to be out there."
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