South Carolina football: coaches note similarities between Shane Beamer, Dabo Swinney

Has South Carolina football found its leader for the future?

South Carolina football’s new head coach is making a ton of noise on the recruiting trail this offseason, reeling in 15 new commitments for his 2022 class, and positioning the group among the nation’s top 15 classes so far this cycle. Beamer’s approach has been to not only focus on the state of South Carolina, but to find talent up and down the East Coast.

Beamer has held recruiting positions at nearly every college stop he’s had, which has helped him build relationships with high school coaches around the country. He’s had a hand in finding talent as a part of staffs at Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, and with the Gamecocks. Those relationships are paying major dividends for the program, who’s now landed pledges from prospects out of the Palmetto State, as well as Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Delaware.

Earlier this week, The Athletic asked high school coaches around the state about the differences that they’ve seen between the new South Carolina coaching staff and the previous group led by Will Muschamp. What they said should sit well with the Gamecock fanbase.

Of the 12 coaches from around the state, a number said that they preferred Beamer’s emphasis on building relationships within the South Carolina borders. They note that the previous staff dropped the ball in terms of in-state recruiting, as coach Muschamp focused mainly on the Atlanta area and some parts of Florida.

Beamer’s outgoing personality and ability to connect with players and coaches actually linked him to the Gamecocks’ longtime arch-nemesis, Dabo Swinney.

“Carolina has hired a version of Dabo Swinney,” said one unnamed coach, while another went on to say, “he reminds me a lot like a Dabo Swinney when he was younger.”

Those are major compliments considering what coach Swinney has been able to do with the team in the upstate. And both come from similar backgrounds, too, with neither having been a coordinator prior to landing their head coaching gigs. Both worked their ways up as young assistants, and have now been placed in what would be considered “dream situations.”

Obviously, Beamer inherits a tougher role with the Gamecocks playing in the SEC, and the program having won just six games since 2018, but the similarities are noticeable.

All coaches spoke on Beamer’s excitement for his new role, and his emphasis on reconnecting with the high school programs around the state. Surprisingly, all coaches were asked about how both South Carolina and Clemson pitch their universities to prospective student-athletes, and nearly every single answer noted that neither school negatively recruits against its rival.

"“I have never heard one school say a negative thing about the other school or one school say a positive thing about the other school. It’s like they don’t exist.”"

Another coach had this to say:

"“I’ve never heard one trash talk the other. I really haven’t. The classier programs, they don’t do that. That kind of turns kids off, really.”"

Shane Beamer will begin his inaugural season in Columbia this September, as the Gamecocks open with a meeting versus Eastern Illinois. Could it be the start to something great? Gamecock fans will hope that these comparisons result in a similar rise to the top of college football for the South Carolina program.