Coaches Football

Head coach Shane Beamer grounded in faith as he leads No. 25 South Carolina

By Joshua Doering Oct 28, 2022
Shane Beamer celebrates after South Carolina's win over Texas A&M on Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr.)

South Carolina’s 30-24 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday was historically significant for multiple reasons. It was the first time the Gamecocks beat the Aggies since Texas A&M moved to the SEC. The victory also gave the program its first four-game winning streak since winning six straight to close the 2013 season.

The win moved South Carolina to 5-2 on the year and earned the Gamecocks the No. 25 spot in this week’s Associated Press college football poll. They hadn’t been ranked this late in a season since going 11-2 in 2013.

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Head coach Shane Beamer is now one victory away from winning as many games in his first two seasons in Columbia than the program did in the three years before he arrived. South Carolina went 7-6 in 2021, closing out the season with a win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Beamer said after Saturday’s game that he mentioned the team’s track record against Texas A&M to his players during the week, but didn’t want them dwelling on it.

“It was time to win this thing, to win one of these,” he said. “Our guys believed that and had great confidence coming into the game and played really, really hard and found a way to win it.”

South Carolina jumped out to a 17-0 lead thanks to a touchdown on the opening kickoff, a fumble recovery and an interception. The Aggies responded by scoring 21 of the next 28 points to make it a three-point game heading into the fourth quarter.

But MarShawn Lloyd’s second rushing touchdown of the game with 3:08 remaining put the Gamecocks up 30-21, and they were able to hold on for the win.

In August, Beamer appeared on the Sports Spectrum Podcast to talk about the upcoming season and how he approaches running a program. Even then, the 45-year-old was excited about what he was seeing from his team.

“It’s a fun group to be around,” he said. “By no means are they complacent about anything that we may have accomplished last season, and there’s a great hunger and excitement to be even better.”

The son of legendary Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, Shane spent nearly two decades climbing the coaching ranks before getting the South Carolina job. His final stop as an assistant was a three-year stint at Oklahoma from 2018-20.

Though some children of coaches end up wanting nothing to do with the profession, Beamer always knew he wanted to be involved in athletics and be able to make a difference in people’s lives through sports. He said his faith helps him do that and reminds him what the most important aspects of his job are.

“[Faith] certainly keeps me grounded and keeps great perspective on everything that I’m doing,” he said on the podcast. “I realize the impact that I can have in this chair as the head football coach at South Carolina on not just the players in this program, but the people in this program.”

Of all the lessons Beamer learned from watching his dad build Virginia Tech into a national power, one sticks out for him above the rest.

“My dad, I thought one of his great qualities was he never got too high or too low, and I hope I’ve taken that quality from him,” Shane said on the podcast. “And I think I do, that I just try and keep a positive outlook, positive mindset, stay consistent and not get too high and too low, and my faith allows me to do that.”

South Carolina will face Missouri at home on Saturday before ending the season with three road games in a four-week stretch that includes matchups with two undefeated teams in Tennessee and Clemson. The Missouri game kicks off at 4 p.m. ET.

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