"He was smart and confident, and yet willing to listen and learn from people with more experience. "His willingness to do whatever he could to help the program, and not necessarily help himself, is what jumped out to me," Croom said. Right away, Croom knew Beamer was going places, and it had nothing to do with his last name. Beamer was the Bulldogs' cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator and later transitioned to running backs coach. It's sort of, 'Hey, I know what I want to do, and I'll get it done.' "Ĭroom, the SEC's first Black head football coach, gave Beamer his first full-time assistant coaching job in 2004. But he's always been like that, one to take charge, very organized and following a plan that he very carefully laid out. "He never once asked me to make a call or write a letter for him to any coach," said Frank Beamer, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018. There were also stops at Mississippi State under Sylvester Croom, South Carolina under Steve Spurrier, Georgia under Kirby Smart and Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley.Īnd, yes, Beamer did spend five years under his dad as Virginia Tech's associate head coach from 2011 to 2015 before the elder Beamer retired. ![]() ![]() So off he went, first to Georgia Tech to work under George O'Leary as a graduate assistant and then to Tennessee to work under Phillip Fulmer as a graduate assistant. Sure, his last name would help open doors, but he wanted to earn his way into a profession that has oftentimes been guilty of overt nepotism. That's because the younger Beamer made it a point long ago to create his own shadow.Īfter finishing up his playing career at Virginia Tech, the easy path into coaching for Beamer would have been to join his dad's staff as a graduate assistant. 3 opener against Georgia State, Beamer has never been more comfortable walking in the shadow of his dad, a Hall of Famer with 238 wins in 29 years at Virginia Tech and 280 victories overall. So as anticipation builds to the Gamecocks' Sept. On the recruiting trail, the Gamecocks are reeling in 4-star recruits from the state of Florida. The Gamecocks have their quarterback in place - a motivated Spencer Rattler with plenty to prove after it all fell apart for him at Oklahoma - more offensive firepower surrounding him thanks to the transfer portal and a deeper team across the board. "I wanted to hear what he had to say because I felt I could hear something or learn something that might help me, on or off the field.īeamer, 45, is entering his second season as South Carolina's coach, and expectations are soaring. "When I got to Virginia Tech, I just kind of gravitated to Shane whenever he was in the room, the way he thought the game and the way he always prepared," said Vick, a four-time NFL Pro Bowler. But it was a former walk-on, who just happened to be coach Frank Beamer's son, that made a lasting impression on one of the most dynamic football players of his generation. Sure, Vick was the budding star, a multitalented quarterback who went on to lead Virginia Tech to the Sugar Bowl BCS national championship game during a dazzling redshirt freshman season in 1999. It's the same feeling Vick had when he first met the Hokies' long snapper with the famous last name, textbook football temperament and an insatiable drive matched only by his honest-to-goodness humility. Just watching him with his players, the way he directed them, the way he related to them, I was like, 'This is right where he was meant to be.'" "And he still had that young freshness about him, just like he did 20 years ago. "I'm sitting there thinking, 'Yep, I always knew he was going to be doing this one day,'" Vick recounted. Shane Beamer, the Gamecocks' first-year head coach, was addressing his team, and his message, his mannerisms, his conviction - really, everything - took Vick back in time, all the way back to their days as teammates at Virginia Tech more than two decades ago. As a guest last August at one of South Carolina's football practices, Michael Vick found himself nodding along with nearly every word. How Shane Beamer got South Carolina football rolling so quicklyĬOLUMBIA, S.C. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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