South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer spoke to the media on Tuesday to recap the Gamecocks' second and final scrimmage of fall camp while also previewing what's ahead as the season opener draws near. Here is everything Beamer had to say.
Opening Thoughts
Beamer opened the press conference by offering prayers to the family of State Trooper Dennis Ricks, who was killed in the line of duty last week, and sending well wishes to the Irmo Little League team competing in Wiliamsport earlier today. He also wished success to the high school football programs across the state and welcomed South Carolina's record-setting freshman class to campus.
“Nothing like high school football on a Friday night,” Beamer said. “Largest freshman class in the history of Carolina… they made an amazing choice coming to South Carolina.”
Final Scrimmage Takeaways
The Gamecocks' scrimmage on Saturday was forced indoors after storms rolled through Columbia. Beamer praised the team for embracing the sudden change and still putting in a productive session.
“I think an average, weak-minded team would’ve lost focus sitting in a weather delay for over an hour,” Beamer said. “Not these guys. They were fired up. We got better, got to see what we wanted to see, and had a physical day.”
Beamer added that the scrimmage simulated actual game-day operations, from pregame warmups to halftime adjustments, giving some of the younger players a full experience before the real season begins.
The specialists stood out during the scrimmage, with improved performances from punters, snappers, and kickers. Offensively, Beamer noted more explosive plays, while the defense managed a pick-six from Gerald Kilgore off Air Noland.
Injury and Eligibility Updates
Beamer said that South Carolina is still awaiting word from the NCAA on running back Rahsul Faison. Beamer reiterated that all requested information has been submitted from the university.
“I think we’re just in line,” Beamer said. “We’ve given them everything they’ve asked. Unless they call for more clarity, I think it’s just waiting.”
On the injury front, edge rusher George Wilson is expected to miss significant playing time. Beamer said the team remains hopeful that Wilson will return this season but added that if that is not the case, the staff is already preparing him to be back at full strength in 2026.
Position Battles and Depth
The running back room drew plenty of praise, with Beamer calling it a stronger and deeper than last year. “I believe we’re better in that running back room than what we were last year,” he said. “We have more depth in that room this year, and they’re all really supportive of one another.”
Beamer stopped short of naming a QB3, saying that the competition is still ongoing. “Whatever the roles are in game one doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same game 12,” he noted.
Freshman running back Isaiah Augustave has also made a strong impression, breaking off a 60–70-yard run in the scrimmage. “He’s got speed, explosiveness, and he’s serious about his work,” Beamer said.
Game Week Simulation
This week serves as a mock game week, helping the newcomers, nearly 50 of them between transfers and freshmen, understand the rhythm of meetings and practices. Some Virginia Tech prep has already taken place, though Beamer stressed that the real game plan will ramp up next week.
“It’s critical we get better this week,” Beamer said. “This can’t be a take-a-breath week. We’ve got a lot to accomplish.”
The Gamecocks will open their season Sunday, August 31, in Atlanta against Virginia Tech.
You can read the entire transcript of the press conference below:
“Going back to last week, we had our final scrimmage of the preseason. Got a lot accomplished. We tried to go into the stadium, and then right about the time we were going to start, there was a storm that hit Saturday afternoon. I think it was centered right on top of Williams-Brice Stadium. So we had a lot of thunder and lightning and a lot of rain in a short period of time. So we had to obviously get work on a weather delay. So our guys were in the locker room for well over an hour waiting that out, and then, in the end, just felt like it was going to be hit or miss with storms the rest of the day. Didn’t want to tear the field up as well. So we pivoted, ‘sudden change’, as we call it on the football field, and came over here and did everything in our indoor facility. So it was like old school arena league football. We were tackling and going full speed through everything out there. Went through everything from a game day standpoint, what pre-game warmups are like, what halftime is like, what sideline organization is like. So really proud of our players handling the change. I think an average, weak-minded team would be in the stadium for an hour. They’d lose focus, their head coach would come in and say, ‘Hey, we’re walking back across the street, and then we’re going to go through our entire pre-game warmup routine, and then, by the way, we’re going to go in the indoor facility. It’s going to be live, and we’re going to tackle just like a game.’ I think that a weak-minded team that didn’t love football would look at that coach like he was crazy. Not these guys, they were fired up. Had a really productive day.
“Got better, got to see what we wanted to see, and then had a physical day in there as well. So proud of what we got done on Saturday. Sunday was our in-season Sunday, where we had meetings and lifting and our annual newcomer talent show, which is always the highlight of the year, seeing those guys in that talent show at the end of the preseason camp. And then Monday, yesterday was our off day, and today was a normal Tuesday. So this is our mock game week, as I talked about before. Want everybody to understand what a Tuesday is like around here, tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday, as far as meeting schedule, practice schedule, so they can get in their routine, because we’ve got close to 50 players, I think, who weren’t a part of our program last season, counting freshmen and transfers. So it’s a lot of guys that have not been through a game week, if you will. So want those guys to understand what a normal game week is like around here. So the next week, when we do it for real, they understand and they have their routine. So that’s what this week is about. But they went out today and had a productive, productive Tuesday. And as I told the team after practice, it’s critical we get better this week. This can’t be a, you know, take a breath and let’s just try and get to game week next week. We’ve got a lot to accomplish. We’ve got a lot of work to do. And started today, and thought we could start getting better out there today.
“No update on Rahsul (Faison), I know you’re going to ask. Same story as last week. Hopeful and optimistic we’ll hear something from the NCAA soon. No new injury updates that are long-term, other than George Wilson, an EDGE transfer who was going to play for us this season. He’s going to be out for a while as well, which is unfortunate. We’ve kind of gotten hit pretty good at that one spot, which is disappointing from that standpoint, from a depth standpoint. But a lot of guys that are competing and working to get better. So we’ll see what we continue to do tomorrow.”
LaNorris Sellers was just in here, and he revealed kind of an interesting motivational ploy that Mike Shula has for him. Do you know about the plastic poop thing while they’re watching film? How did that come about?
“I’m well aware. There’s certain things that I think need to stay in-house, and that was probably one of them. I hire coaches and trust them to do their jobs and whatnot. And I wasn’t really aware of it. I go to the quarterback meetings most days, and I was in there last week. We had a couple of basketball coaches who were here visiting, and I was sitting there with them, and something came up, and Mike told Cutter (Woods) to go get it, and I didn’t know what was going on. And then Cutter came back carrying the piece of you know what, as well. And he kind of enlightened us on the backstory, going back to when he was with the New York Giants and all that as well. So whatever it takes to connect with guys and motivate them, I’m all for.”
With George Wilson’s injury, is it something where he could come back next year, or are you hopeful that you’ll be able to get back at some point this season?
“We’ll see what happens this year, but we’re already working to get him back in 2026, absolutely, if we’re not able to get him back in 2025. Disappointing for him to not be ready to go right now and to be out for a little bit, but like I told him, you try to find the positive in everything, and what I told him is maybe this is a positive because you didn’t get here until June and now you have a chance, if you’re not able to get back in 2025, you have an entire offseason in the weight room where you should be an even better version of yourself in 2026 if you’re not able to get back in ’25.”
Were there any questions you had or anything you were hoping to see that you didn’t see in the first scrimmage that you did see in the second?
“I was hoping to see our punters punt even better, our snappers snap even better, and our kickers kick even better, and they did, so that was very good to see. I was hoping to see maybe a little bit more explosiveness on the offense, as far as explosive plays — saw that. I was hoping to see the defense create a few more takeaways than they did the week before. And I know there was one on social media, GK’s interception, and that was one. But overall, I thought they were better. Offense protecting the ball was still good. Defense was doing some things. So, yeah, there’s a lot that I went into it. Wanting to stay healthy was probably the biggest thing, because that was a scrimmage for us where we really wanted to get the guys that we really know, the LaNorris’ of the world that are going to be playing a lot of snaps against Virginia Tech. We wanted to get them as much of a game-like feel as we could. So we instituted TV timeouts, where they have to get used to the drives over, and now we punt. Now it’s three minutes of just downtime. So we were in there for about two and a half to three hours, just getting used to our guys feeling that as well. So along those lines, we wanted our top guys, if you will, to get a lot of reps. And that was the other thing. We got accomplished, and we were able to stay healthy throughout that as well.”
Was there anyone’s talent that impressed you the most in the team’s talent show?
“A lot of it. Talking about LaNorris and some things need to stay in-house, there’s a lot from that show that probably needs to stay in-house. There’s some good ones. Some players reenacted the Fantasia scene from the locker room, which was a hit. Brought my wife, and I didn’t even know she was a part of the talent show, but she showed up in the team meeting Sunday night. So that was fun. Nick Gargiulo, a few years ago, kind of started his own version of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update with the scenes from camp, which was epic a couple years ago. But Cutter Woods did it this year, and it was pretty funny. All G-rated. It was awesome, but it was pretty cool seeing Cutter up there. So it’s a fun night. Talent-wise, nobody that I was just blown away by. We’ve had some guys sing and dance before. Nobody just blew me away this year. But there were some good performances.”
In the Netflix documentary, Emily Beamer said that she doesn’t want to leave the house after a loss because she feels like the town’s mad at her. You’ve been pretty vocal about how your job affects your kids. But I’m curious if that was sort of a different approach, where she feels like she bears a lot of weight. Do you have those conversations, and does it feel different going into year five?
“Yeah, a little bit. And I think with what she says, it’s not like, you know, the minute she walks out of the house, it’s everybody’s just out there with pitchforks and knives in the cul-de-sac of our neighborhood, it wasn’t quite like that. But I get what she was saying in regards to, you know, everybody’s disappointed, and people in this town, they live and die with Gamecock athletics, and everybody’s Mondays are a lot better if we have won the Saturday before and if we haven’t, certainly you feel that, not in this building, but her and the kids on the outside.
“And I think as a dad, certainly having those conversations where we’ve got so many supportive people in Columbia, it’s awesome, and our kids’ school is awesome. But certainly there were times, particularly a couple of years ago, when we were 5-7, where kids at school may just say something being kids, and you really just kind of got to prepare your kids. And I did this early on, really, when we came here, that look, Dad’s not the assistant coach in Oklahoma anymore, where Lincoln Riley was getting blamed for losses. Now you are the head coach, so people are going to blame Dad if we don’t play well. So just having those conversations, but making sure they understand that whatever somebody might be saying to them at school, that kid probably heard his parent saying at home as well. But we’re very thankful to be surrounded by an awesome community and great support, but that’s just part of it when you’re at a high-profile job like this.”
How’s that handling the running back room handling Rahsul Faison’s situation, and what’s impressed you the most with that collection of talent during fall camp that gives you confidence?
“The group’s handling it really, really well. Proud of ‘Sul. First of all, he’s just been all business and goes out there and focuses on what he can control, what you can’t control with the NCAA’s decision. So he just goes out there and works and tries to get better. So proud of him from that standpoint. We did do a spelling bee the other night, a skit in the talent show, and ‘Sul’s word was “eligibility.” That was pretty funny. But I’ve been proud of him for the way that he has worked. Proud of that whole group, and the way they’ve supported him throughout this process as well.
“I believe we’re better in that running back room than what we were last year. And that’s nothing against anybody who was here. It’s nothing against Rocket (Sanders). Rocket was the guy in that room, and he got the bulk of the reps and the carries. We have more depth in that room this year, and they’re all really supportive of one another in knowing that they’re all competing with each other and making one another better. They’re all supportive of ‘Sul, and ‘Sul is supportive of them. They’ve done a good job of working together without a doubt.”
Have you named a backup or QB3 yet, or is that competition going to keep going?
“I’d say it’s certainly ongoing. It’s no conversations that I’ve had with anybody. I don’t want to speak for Mike. I don’t believe he has either. Those guys are still working, still competing, still developing. And that’s one like whatever the roles are in game one, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same game 12. We’re constantly competing. That’s one thing we talked about today at practice was that we’re a team that continues to compete. We continue to get better throughout the year, typically. And it starts with the way that we practice. So we’re constantly competing and trying to earn roles throughout the season and increase roles throughout the season as well. So no, nobody. We got a general idea of kind of where it would be, maybe, you know, if we play right now, but we’re not at that point yet.”
How have you seen Brandon Cisse’s development? And also, he played wide receiver in high school, so is that something you guys might explore?
“Sure, if Virginia Tech’s listening, probably not, to be totally honest. He’s been really good at defensive back. He’s a talented guy. I see where he could be really good at receiver. We’ve got enough right now with wide receiver depth. Right now, we’re trying to get all those guys at receiver ready to play and improve them as quick as we possibly can. What I’ve seen for him is just the mentality that he approaches things with. I think Torrian (Gray) has talked about it. Brandon’s just a football junkie and just really smart. I would get text messages from him in the springtime and in the summer, on a Saturday morning at 7 a.m., and he’s up watching tape of Stephon Gilmore, whoever, and just asking questions. That’s who he is. He loves football. He’s really smart, and he’s been a great addition to not just our secondary and not just our defense, but our football team. Just his mentality, the way that he practices, the speed that he plays with, I think he’s getting ready to have a really, really productive year for us.”
Going back to your playing days at Virginia Tech, could you give us a scouting report on Shane Beamer, the long snapper?
“I was a guy when I was snapping that I was good in coverage, and that I was, well, I’m not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but I could snap, protect a little bit, and then at least get downfield and force a fair catch. So I don’t know if I was in on many tackles in my career. So that was me. I always just kind of had a knack for being able to snap, and that was a way for me to get on the field. My dad told me that back when I was in eighth grade, I was a receiver, quarterback, defensive back growing up, and my dad kind of had the talk with me in eighth grade that, ‘Look, Shane, if you want to play at a high level, I’m not sure if it’s going to be as a quarterback or wide receiver at a high level. You can keep working at it, but there’s a way for you to get on the field, and that’s at snapping. You want to keep that up.’ So that’s how I got on the field.
“As for a scouting report, athletic enough, decent as a snapper, but could get downfield in coverage, and at least for some fair catch, and get in fair catches and get in on 10 tackles as well. So before I started snapping, I’ve covered some kickoffs as well. So I was proud of that. There’s some pretty good tape of that back in the ’96 season, also. Thank you for asking. That’s awesome.”
With some of those injuries in the edge room, what have you seen of some of those other guys who could potentially stepping up into more of a playing time role?
“Just understanding the urgency. We’re fortunate that we at least have Dylan (Stewart) returning and two guys in Bryan Thomas and J.T. Geer that have played a lot of football for us and are older guys. When you talk about those three, along with Desmond (Umeozulu), that’s four guys that are in at least their third year in this program. Then, guys coming along like (Demon) Clowney and Anthony Addison, those guys just continue to work, (Jaquavious) Dodd. We have some flexibility.
“I hate being down some guys, that’s unfortunate, but those guys have really just increased the urgency that they’re doing things with, and understanding how much we need them right now as well. Fortunate that Anthony was here during spring practice, Quay was here during spring practice, so they’ve been around here long enough where they’ve got some reps and experience, just not in games.”
You alluded to the specialists playing better from scrimmage one to scrimmage two. What about them did you really like as you head into the first week of the season?
“Just the consistency of doing their job, snapping, holding, kicking, punting as it gets closer to game day. Last Saturday, we tried to put them in more tough situations and a two-minute drive where it’s a field goal to win. Multiple kickers got out there and kicked field goals in that scenario — field goal to win, try to make a game like with people screaming on the microphone at William Joyce, Mason Love, Peyton Argent and Max Kelley, whoever on the field to attempt a 48-yard field goal, or whatever it might be. Just seeing them go out there and be able to perform and just be consistent, that was the biggest thing as well. And not that they weren’t beforehand, but I just saw more consistency out of that on Saturday afternoon.”
The defense last season ranked top 10 nationally in sacks. How much does that force pressure on the quarterback, and also in facing a quarterback like Kyron Drones here in a couple of weeks?
“For us, it always starts with stopping the run. First and foremost, that’s the number one thing that we want to do, which is stopping the run. And then once you do that, that allows your pass rush to take over and force teams to throw the ball. So absolutely, our ability to generate pressure, we knew going into last season that we needed to be more disruptive around the quarterback and create more negative plays, and we were able to do that. And absolutely, when you’re a defensive back, you love that up front, guys that are able to put pressure on the quarterback, and they can get rid of the ball quick, so they don’t have to cover all day. So it all ties together, and it’ll be critical next Sunday in Atlanta against Drones. He’s a weapon back there, that’s an experienced guy that can make a lot of plays with his feet. We’re going to need to do a great job of putting stopping the run, putting pressure on him, keeping him corralled, and then allowing our guys to go out there and do what we want to do defensively.”
The NCAA issued a number of decisions on individual cases over the last several weeks. Have your people given you any indication about the Faison case? Do they need more information, more material? Is it just that they’re in line waiting?
“I think we’re just in line. We’ve given them everything that they’ve asked, and they’ve some back a couple of times in the last few months, just wanting a little bit more. I think that process, that communication has been very clear and concise. Obviously, the (case) that I’m most worried about is this one, there’s also other cases like you’re alluding to as well and I think we’re in line, if you will. I don’t know the logistics of how everything works there at the NCAA, but it’s not a matter at this point of, they don’t have what they need. Now, they may call me as soon as I walk out of here or call us and say they still need clarity on this scenario, but until they tell me otherwise, I think we’re just in line.”
How much in this game week simulation have you introduced to preparing for Virginia Tech?
“I think it’s a fine balance of you don’t want to be just so much Virginia Tech for two straight weeks, where they’re just overloaded and mentally fatigued of Virginia Tech talk going into the first game. So we introduced it today, like we would on a normal Tuesday, and we did some preparation for Virginia Tech out there at practice. But it’ll be just a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow, a little bit Thursday, and then really full board next week. And this week gives us an opportunity to look at some things that we may like, offense, defense, special teams, and then tweak and adjust if we don’t like it, take it out, all that stuff.
“It’s very similar for us to an off week during the season, where typically we’ll practice three days of the week that we’re not playing that week is about getting us better, but also introducing the next opponent, and that’s what today was, and tomorrow and Thursday. So, introducing Virginia Tech, giving them a good understanding of Virginia Tech going into the weekend, and it probably is more beneficial now than ever, just because there’s so much unknown about Virginia Tech, because you’ve got coordinators that weren’t there last year. Not only were they not there last year, but they were not even in college football last year. So there’s a heavy volume of tape that you can watch from different places, and giving our guys a solemn understanding of here’s what we think. But we gotta be ready for this. We gotta be ready for that and so on.”
How have you guys handled the workload of Faison, knowing the uncertainty of whether he’ll be able to play Week 1, while also getting the other running backs reps in these scrimmages?
“From ‘Sul’s standpoint, it’s, let’s get him ready to play. But we’ve also got to have these other guys ready to play. And thankfully, all those other guys are guys that have been here in our program, that have been repping. It’s not like they just got here. And then ‘Sul had a little bit of a shoulder bruise last week, where he was a little bit limited last week. So that gave those guys an opportunity, those other ones, to get in there and get some reps. So for us, it’s really just get all those guys ready to play, prepare like ‘Sul’s playing, prepare him as if he’s playing from a rep standpoint. We haven’t had a conversation where I told Coach (Marquel) Blackwell, ‘Hey, let’s not use him here, because we don’t know.’ It’s more, let’s plan on him playing, and let’s do what we would do if there wasn’t an eligibility issue. Also, though, understanding that we’ve got other running backs that are going to play whether ‘Sul is eligible or not. You’re going to see more than one or two running backs out there. So let’s get those guys ready to go.”
Guessing it’s probably a little premature to start naming who’s going to get on the bus or plane to Atlanta. But as far as the freshmen, are there any of them that you’re confident that they’re going to be making the trip?
“Yeah. I mean, it may be a little early from y’all’s standpoint, but not for us. I mean, we talk about that all the time, just especially for Joe DeCamillis, in regards to special teams. And we meet regularly, but every Sunday after a scrimmage, we sit in there and we talk about, okay, here’s where we see this guy on defense right now. Where do we see him on special teams? Is he going to play on special teams? Is he a guy you got to have? So we’re having those conversations just from a rep standpoint, so we can have a general idea of who we need to be repping where. And if he’s nowhere in the defense of our plans or the offensive plans, a certain individual, but he’s definitely a guy that Joe D says ‘I need,’ then we’re going to get that guy ready to play from a special team standpoint. So we’re fairly far along with that, not necessarily going through each position, necessarily. But I think you could look around at every position, tight end, receiver, defensive end, linebacker, defensive back, and say that there’s going to be a true freshman at those positions playing against Virginia Tech, whether it be on special teams or on offense or defense.”
Vicari Swain mentioned earlier how having Cisse in the room, coming from the ACC, helps when prepping for teams like Virginia Tech and Clemson. From your perspective, how does having those guys coming from other power conference schools help prepping for these bigger out-of-conference games?
“Maybe. I don’t want to speak for Vicari, but I don’t know. I mean, maybe if they played against that team last year, they have some familiarity with it. If Brandon can say that last year, when NC State played Clemson, that this was part of their plan, or something he remembers, sure, it’s a nugget that can help, but I think it’s more whether it’s Brandon Cisse or anyone just being able that’s had experience at this level playing in games against other Power Four teams, the more guys like you, the more guys and have that experience on your team, the better it is for everyone.”
What have you seen from Isaiah Augustave throughout fall camp?
“We’re really excited about him. I guess you forget that he just got here in the summertime. He’s got speed, he’s got explosiveness. He had the longest run, at least in a scrimmage, of the preseason the other day, where he broke a tackle and had a 60-70 yard run, which was impressive to see. We need that explosiveness at the running back position, for sure, and that’s what I’ve seen. He’s a guy that’s very serious about his work. He can run. He’s got size, he’s got an explosiveness to him when he hits the hole. He’s a hard runner and has been really good for us on special teams as well because of his size and speed of getting downhill.”