South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer places walk-on tight end on scholarship

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer has put several walk-on players on scholarship over the last month. As a former walk-on himself (Beamer played for his father Frank with the Virginia Tech Hokies), he is not afraid to play guys who are not on scholarship, but he also likes to reward them for their hard work.

Joining players like Ronnie Porter, Davis Beville, and Bradley Dunn (all of whom were granted scholarships recently), Gamecock tight end Maurice Brown was put on scholarship on Tuesday, according to a report from GamecockScoop.com's Alan Cole.

Moe Brown, as he is known around the South Carolina football team, joined the program last year as one of several freshmen from the Washington DC area. A high school teammate of Gamecock EDGE Desmond Umeozulu (who was also part of the class of 2023), Brown became an immediate special teams contributor as a true freshman, and during his 14 games with the program, Brown has played on every special teams unit.

Based on Brown's work this offseason, it appears as if he has passed a couple of scholarship tight ends on the depth chart. Josh Simon, Brady Hunt, and Michael Smith all have played significant roles for Dowell Loggains' offense through two games, and Brown seems to be the "next man up" at the position for the Gamecocks. In fact, even before being put on scholarship, he was listed among the top-4 players at the position on the team's official depth chart.

Brown is fast and strong, and at 6'3" and 252 pounds, he has the ability to help out the tight end room as a blocker and as a pass-catcher. He hauled in a touchdown reception with a nice run-after-catch during the Garnet and Black Spring Game this year, and he is one of the stronger tight ends on the roster, meaning he could play a role as a h-back type of blocker if needed.

Brown and the Gamecocks will take the field again on Saturday against the LSU Tigers at Noon ET. The game will be broadcast on ABC and streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.