South Carolina football’s Shane Beamer has a reputation on the recruiting trail.
Earlier in the offseason, we wrote about Shane Beamer’s ability to expand the Gamecocks’ recruiting footprint during his short time thus far on the South Carolina campus. The previous staff focused mainly on recruiting Georgia, Florida, and the Palmetto State under Will Muschamp, though they were able to pull the occasional pledge out of the northeast or southwest.
With Beamer now leading the show, though, South Carolina has already been able to land commitments from prospects out of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Texas, to go along with players in the southeast. How has he been able to do it so quickly?
Relationships.
Coach Beamer has had a hand in recruiting at every college stop he’s had. That includes time at Oklahoma, Georgia, and Virginia Tech. He’s set up connections with high school programs up and down the East Coast, and buoyed that into success on the recruiting trail with multiple staffs. The Gamecocks have become the latest beneficiary.
Beamer’s familiarity with the DMV area (Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia) should come as no surprise. His dad, Frank, was the head coach at Virginia Tech for nearly three decades, and the father-son duo teamed up to coach the Hokies between 2011-2015. While there, Beamer helped recruit the Carolinas, so it shouldn’t be too shocking to hear high school coaches list Virginia Tech as being the out-of-state program that best recruits the Palmetto State, historically.
Something that may surprise you, though, is the fact that Beamer’s also been considered one of the top recruiters of the state of Texas. Here’s what one anonymous high school coach had to say of the South Carolina head man when asked about which out-of-state programs best recruit the area. This was done as part of an interview with The Athletic.
"“Shane Beamer, I know he’s at (South Carolina) now, but he was a hell of a recruiter here in Texas.”"
This obviously ties back to his last stint with Oklahoma, but Beamer’s connections in the Longhorn State are paying dividends for the Gamecocks, too. South Carolina has already landed two commitments from Texas high school products in All-American wide receiver Landon Samson and defensive back Peyton Williams.
The Gamecocks don’t figure to make a living in the state of Texas, as there’s plenty of talent closer in the southeast, but it’s good to know the staff has some southwest flare. Both Beamer and wideout coach Justin Stepp (previously with Arkansas) have connections to the area, which is consistently rich with talented players. Being able to nab one or two a cycle could be a huge benefit in the rebuilding of South Carolina football.