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I don’t want to knock fourth-year University of South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer too hard. I like his style and I think he’s got an infectious energy – even if he is currently on the downslope of a Will Muschamp trajectory when it comes to wins and losses.
But style and energy won’t get you over the hump in the Southeastern Conference – especially in the newly configured Southeastern Conference.
Nor will a bunch of exclamation marks on social media…
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Let’s Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) August 2, 2024
??
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What will? People much smarter than I have been weighing in on that question… but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess it has something to do with landing four- and five-star recruits, developing their God-given abilities and deploying them in the proper schemes.
You know, like the Gamecocks did with Jadeveon Clowney.
Can Beamer do that? Sure… I just don’t know if the brutal schedule he’s facing in 2024 will be conducive to the sort of outcomes South Carolina fans grew accustomed to under former head coach Steve Spurrier.
As I noted earlier this month, of the Gamecocks’ twelve 2024 opponents, seven are ranked in the Top 20: No. 5 Alabama (October 12 at Tuscaloosa), No. 6 Ole Miss (October 5 at home), No. 11 Missouri (November 16 at home), No. 12/13 LSU (September 14 at home), No. 14 Clemson (November 30 in Clemson), No. 16 Oklahoma (October 19 in Norman) and No. 20 Texas A&M (November 2 at home).
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Is that the kind of slate that lends itself to bowl eligibility for a team picked to finish 13th in a 16-team league? Not really… no.
South Carolina is not without talent (as I’ve noted in chronicling many preseason award watchlists), but this week’s release of the 2024 Coaches All-SEC squads showcases just how much more talent other programs have.
Only one Gamecock – long-snapper Hunter Rogers – made the first-team All-SEC squad. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see South Carolina with a first-team All-SEC performer but… the long-snapper? Seriously? That’s it?
Look, I get ‘Beamerball’ is all about special teams play, but unless you’re in a game – special teams don’t typically win games. Offense and defense win games – starting in the trenches. And defense wins championships – which South Carolina has never won nationally and hasn’t won at the conference level since 1969.
Since joining the SEC in 1992, South Carolina has posted an atrocious 109-148-1 (.424) record in conference play. Through thirty-two (32) SEC seasons, the Gamecocks have posted a winning conference record just eight times.
Take out the Spurrier years and it’s even worse…
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Two players hoping to reorient this terrible trajectory were listed on the All-SEC second team – transfer tailback Raheim “Rocket” Sanders and redshirt senior linebacker Debo Williams. And to be clear, both standouts could have explosive seasons capable of redefining expectations for the entire program. Meanwhile, defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway and safety Nick Emmanwori both earned third-team preseason honors – and if they similarly exceed expectations, South Carolina could have something truly special on defense.
Which could free things up on the other side of the ball…
Speaking of, South Carolina may have the most naturally gifted deep ball threat in the nation in the form of sophomore wide receiver Nyck Harbor – a 6-foot-5, 235-pound wideout from Washington, D.C. who possesses what they referred to in Spaceballs as “ludicrous speed.”
Harbor didn’t make the coaches’ preseason squad, but he’s well-positioned to earn postseason laurels if he even approaches his vast potential in 2024.
So, there are plenty of weapons available… meaning Beamer and his staff could conceivably recapture some of the upset magic of 2022 (see here and here).
As I noted earlier this year, the 47-year-old first-time head coach “banked plenty of goodwill with the fan base” during his expectations-defying 2022 campaign, but another losing season – which is frankly more likely than not at this point – would raise the temperature under his seat considerably.
And for that matter, the temperature under the seat of consistently underwhelming athletics director Ray Tanner…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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