South Carolina football: Shane Beamer receives top grade of 1st year coaches

The South Carolina football program entered the 2021 season with uncertainty. The Gamecocks were breaking in a new quarterback, a new staff, and a new head coach. In the two years prior to its new hire, South Carolina had gone just 6-16, missing out on the postseason in back-to-back years.

Due to this uncertainty, most were not high on the Gamecocks. Oddsmakers set South Carolina’s projected win total at just 3.5 games. The media predicted a sixth-place finish in the SEC East standings. Many questioned Shane Beamer as the coach to lead the Gamecocks to a turnaround.

Those doubters had plenty of reason to question the decision. Beamer, though a long-time assistant and son of a Hall of Fame coach, had never even been a coordinator at the collegiate level, let alone a head coach. Now, he was taking over a program that had fallen to the cellar of the SEC and had little to build around in terms of quality depth and talent.

Not the ideal situation for someone trying to make a name for himself.

CBS Sports was one of those doubters, naming Beamer as the worst first-year hire in all of college football. Journalist Dennis Dodd rated the Gamecocks’ new leader with a C-, slapping him with the lowest grade on the list.  Here’s what Dodd had to say prior to the season’s start.

"“Frank Beamer’s son is one of the most talented and likeable guys on his way up the ladder. But Shane has never even been a coordinator. There were defections galore upon his hiring. Two defenders transferred to Florida State. Leading tackler Ernest Jones declared for the draft…The top two quarterbacks departed. For a program that is losing traction in the SEC — 6-16 in the last two seasons — Beamer can’t afford any more slippage.”"

Fast forward to year’s end, and the CBS Sports site is singing a much different tune.

South Carolina football team exceeds expectations

CBS Sports contributor Barrett Sallee re-ranked the first-year head coaches after the season’s conclusion. Shane Beamer was rated the highest on the list, receiving an A grade. Sallee had the following to say about Beamer after the Gamecocks’ surprising campaign.

"“The Gamecocks destroyed Florida, handled Auburn and made a bowl game in a season that began with Beamer bringing graduate assistant coach Zeb Noland back onto the roster to start at quarterback. It was a tremendous debut for the first-time head coach.”"

South Carolina exceeded everyone’s expectations under Shane Beamer’s leadership. The team won six games to reach the postseason. They finished above Florida and Vanderbilt in a tie for fourth place in the SEC East. They easily eclipsed the 3.5-win total set by Vegas.

This season was going to be considered a massive success if the Gamecocks were able to reach a bowl game.

Of course, that was before South Carolina’s starting signal caller went down with a preseason foot injury. With Luke Doty sidelined for the majority of the year, Beamer was forced to turn to FCS transfer Jason Brown and grad-assistant-turned-quarterback Zeb Noland.

The Gamecocks still won six games and will look for a seventh in the bowl game versus North Carolina.

It truly was a great year with all things considered. Coach Beamer is now using that momentum on the recruiting trail, where just signed a top 20 class. He also completely flipped the quarterback room, bringing in the most highly touted group in the history of the program to ensure that the Gamecocks don’t run into the same issues as last season.

With the positive results both on the field and in recruiting, expectations will continue to rise. Coach Beamer will be sure to embrace those expectations as he looks to lead the Gamecocks back to the top of the SEC standings.

We’ll see how he does in his second season in Columbia next Fall. You can be sure that most of the doubters will have changed their tune by then.