Shane Beamer just kicked off his fifth season as head football coach of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, coming off of a nine-win season last year. The team finished the season ranked 19th in the Associated Press and Coaches polls.
We checked in with Beamer, the son of famed Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, on how the team is shaping up, what he looks for in recruits, and how he spends his time off the field.
Q&A with Shane Beamer
TOWN: Former USC running back Marcus Lattimore recently shared a poem on Instagram talking about the importance of your words of support (Beamer was an assistant coach at USC during Lattimore’s first season in 2010). Is being positive and supportive part of your coaching philosophy?
Shane Beamer: It’s the way I’ve always been. I’ve always been a guy who cares about the players, and I love what I get to do. That Marcus poem is a testament to that, the way I’ve always been—the difference is now that I’m a head coach, I can have the same relationship with 120 players instead of just a few.
How much of your coaching philosophy came from your dad? (Frank Beamer coached Virginia Tech from 1987–2015, leading the Hokies to 23 consecutive bowl games.)
I learned a lot of it from him, but it’s more me than anything. We’re similar in a lot of ways, but different as well. I got a solid foundation from him.
How is the team progressing after several key players left or graduated?
I think everyone is coming along well. We are very excited and proud of what we accomplished last year, and the players are very much driven to be even better. They’ve been working that way since January, and then summer school, summer workouts.
LaNorris Sellers had an excellent first season last year. How is he doing in preparation for this season?
LaNorris accomplished a lot and is very driven to be even better. He’s a great young man, and he’s doing well on and off the field.
What do you look for in a player besides talent?
The skill set you’ve got to have, the talent you’ve got to have, but you want good people. I want to bring in young men who are good people who love football. It’s a hard sport, so you better love football and not what football brings you. And guys that have a strong competitive spirit, that hate to lose and are doing everything in their power to win. A lot of our players embody those qualities and are doing well academically and on the football field.
You are considered an effective recruiter. What’s your top pitch to recruits?
I talk about just the state and city in general. South Carolina is an awesome state, a great place to live, and Columbia is a great place to be. There is a great opportunity at USC to play big-time football in a great place, at one of the best schools in the country. And the football aspect, the SEC is the best conference in all of college football. The fan base we have here . . . our stadium, Williams-Brice, there’s nothing like it. And then there’s the development players get, and the people here.
You mentioned the draw of living in Columbia. What do you like about living there?
It’s such a great city. I love history, and there’s so much history in South Carolina, with historical sites, museums. It’s great to be on the river, or on the lake, or in a national park, and then you can be downtown in no time.
Do you have any game-day superstitions?
Every player on our team has their own thing that they do before a game, something that is personal to them. As a team, not really. Everything is very structured, away and at home, in regard to the schedule. I don’t personally have any, but I stay active. I always get up on Saturday mornings and I go running, something I have always done to get the day started.
Is there a book, movie, or song that gets you fired up?
I love to read, and I read regularly, but I wouldn’t say any particular movie or song fires me up. I’m pretty passionate about what I do, working with the young men on our team and coaching football, so I don’t need anything beyond that.
What do you do when you aren’t working?
I do enjoy what I do, coming to the office, being around the players and coaches. And then it’s family time. I have an awesome wife and three kids, ages 16, 15, and about to be 12, and they are growing up fast. I have a lot of time away, so when I do have down time, I want to spend it with my family. I love to read, I love golf, but I don’t play much.
What’s your goal for this season?
I know it’s cliché, but we talk about being the best team we can possibly be, and every year that looks different. We have high expectations this year. If we maximize our potential, there is nothing we can’t accomplish this season.
Fast Facts
- Title: Head Coach, University of South Carolina
- Named head coach: 2021
- First bowl at USC: Duke’s Mayo Bowl, 2021 (Winning meant having 4.5 gallons of mayo dumped on his head in a video that went viral.)
- Last year, USC beat No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 23 Missouri, and No. 12 Clemson in a 9–4 season.
Upcoming Home Games
Sept. 13 vs. Vanderbilt
Sept. 27 vs. Kentucky
Oct. 18 vs. Oklahoma
Oct. 25 vs. Alabama
Nov. 29 vs. Clemson
