South Carolina football’s Shane Beamer at SEC Media Days 2024
Coach Shane Beamer along with South Carolina football players Luke Doty and Debo Williams answer questions at SEC Media Day 2024 in Dallas, Texas
About an hour before his designated time to deliver remarks, Shane Beamer received a text from one of his Oklahoma buddies.
The message was from OU men’s golf coach Ryan Hybl, who inquired about reuniting with the Beamer family when they return to Norman this fall. In addition, two of the first three questions the South Carolina football coach fielded Monday at the lectern on the main stage during the first day of SEC Media Days at the Omni Hotel in Dallas were about OU.
Beamer served as an assistant coach under former head coach Lincoln Riley and coached the Sooners’ tight ends from 2018-20 before he took the Gamecocks’ job. The son of former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer will return to Norman to face OU on Oct. 19.
“The opportunity to get connected and be with the Oklahoma program was a great opportunity. Went there for a lot of the reasons,” Beamer said. “Joe Castiglione, the athletic director, was one of them, to get connected with him. Just went there and made so many friends for life.
“I mentioned Ryan Hybl. Zac Selmon, Mississippi State, someone that’s a dear friend. I learned a lot. Pretty cool being a part of that tradition, and it’ll be a big challenge going back to Norman on that Saturday. Really looking forward to the trip.”
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OU and South Carolina have never played in football and Beamer said excitement is growing among Gamecocks fans in Columbia, South Carolina.
“Excited for our fans,” Beamer said. “Our fans are so excited about going to Norman, Oklahoma. I can’t tell you how many have come to me and told me they got their flights booked and what do they needed to and where to go. It will be a fun weekend and work trip for us.”
Beamer is well aware of the tough competition in the SEC as he’s 20-18 in three seasons as South Carolina’s coach.
Beamer was asked what challenges OU will face in its first SEC season.
“It’s the size and the depth and the athleticism you see on the line of scrimmage every single week in this conference,” Beamer said. “I can remember being at Oklahoma, coaching tight ends, and you would be getting ready to play most Saturdays and there may be one or two guys on the opposing defensive line that you really got to be cognizant of. Like this guy can completely wreck your game if you don’t have a plan for him.
“But then you come into this league, it’s not one or two, it’s like six or seven every single Saturday on the line of scrimmage. That’s one thing.”
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Publish date : 2024-07-16 06:08:55
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