To be clear, Beamer has aspirations beyond 7-6 seasons in Columbia. Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler’s arrival, among a handful of other impressive imports, will bring legitimate expectations next fall. But this 7-6 season was something out of a fairy tale. Let’s recap, shall we? South Carolina fired Will Muschamp in the middle of the COVID-19 riddled 2020 season. It resulted in mass transfers and a 2-8 finish. Beamer who had never been an offensive or defensive coordinator was hired to mixed responses.
His team was picked near the bottom of almost every preseason SEC projection. Combine four different quarterbacks, wins over Florida and Auburn, and throttling of North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, and, suddenly, South Carolina football is cool again. “I had a chance to be in South Carolina early in the season to see it firsthand,” longtime SEC pundit Paul Finebaum said in December. “I realize that was early, but what I saw was incredible. I saw a fan base, especially students, who are enamored with Shane Beamer, who love what he says. He has an infectious personality. I think he won some big games, and the recruiting is proof of that.” I quipped with colleagues preseason Beamer ought to earn consideration for SEC Coach of the Year if he guided the 2021 roster to a bowl game. That, of course, went to his former boss in Georgia’s Kirby Smart, but Beamer didn’t end the season short on hardware.
Tuesday, The Old Ball Coach presented Beamer with the Steve Spurrier Award honoring the best first-year head coach in college football. Technically Beamer shared the honor with Tennessee’s Josh Huepel, but that’s neither here nor there. Spurrier has remained a beloved figure in South Carolina, though he works as an ambassador for the Florida athletic department given his storied history in Gainesville. Nights like Tuesday make it feel as though Beamer is on his way to finding a spot alongside his former boss on USC’s mantle of decorated coaches if and that’s a big “if” the current program trajectory holds. “A lot of coaches come in with all the excuses, ‘Man we’re in disarray.
This is going to take two or three years,’” Spurrier said during his spiel at Colonial Life Arena. “But that’s not what Coach Beamer came in and said.” Stepping toward the spot Spurrier gave his sermon at halftime of the USC-Kentucky men’s basketball game, Beamer clasped the microphone his former boss handed him. The Cockpit roared once more, chanting his name in a familiar tune: “Beamer! Beamer! Beamer!” South Carolina’s 36th head football coach quickly noted any award presented his way was a reflection of the players and coaches he works with daily. He assured fans Year 1 was the start, not the pinnacle, of what he hopes to achieve during his time in Columbia.
His team was picked near the bottom of almost every preseason SEC projection. Combine four different quarterbacks, wins over Florida and Auburn, and throttling of North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, and, suddenly, South Carolina football is cool again. “I had a chance to be in South Carolina early in the season to see it firsthand,” longtime SEC pundit Paul Finebaum said in December. “I realize that was early, but what I saw was incredible. I saw a fan base, especially students, who are enamored with Shane Beamer, who love what he says. He has an infectious personality. I think he won some big games, and the recruiting is proof of that.” I quipped with colleagues preseason Beamer ought to earn consideration for SEC Coach of the Year if he guided the 2021 roster to a bowl game. That, of course, went to his former boss in Georgia’s Kirby Smart, but Beamer didn’t end the season short on hardware.
Tuesday, The Old Ball Coach presented Beamer with the Steve Spurrier Award honoring the best first-year head coach in college football. Technically Beamer shared the honor with Tennessee’s Josh Huepel, but that’s neither here nor there. Spurrier has remained a beloved figure in South Carolina, though he works as an ambassador for the Florida athletic department given his storied history in Gainesville. Nights like Tuesday make it feel as though Beamer is on his way to finding a spot alongside his former boss on USC’s mantle of decorated coaches if and that’s a big “if” the current program trajectory holds. “A lot of coaches come in with all the excuses, ‘Man we’re in disarray.
This is going to take two or three years,’” Spurrier said during his spiel at Colonial Life Arena. “But that’s not what Coach Beamer came in and said.” Stepping toward the spot Spurrier gave his sermon at halftime of the USC-Kentucky men’s basketball game, Beamer clasped the microphone his former boss handed him. The Cockpit roared once more, chanting his name in a familiar tune: “Beamer! Beamer! Beamer!” South Carolina’s 36th head football coach quickly noted any award presented his way was a reflection of the players and coaches he works with daily. He assured fans Year 1 was the start, not the pinnacle, of what he hopes to achieve during his time in Columbia.
