Gamecocks Begin Spring Practice – University of South Carolina Athletics

SOUTH CAROLINA SPRING PREVIEW

Take it a step farther.

That’s the mantra that fifth-year head coach Shane Beamer has challenged his team with as they went through their off-season regimen in preparation for the 2025 campaign, 

Whether it be developing relationships, the way they train in the weight room, or the way they do things in the training room, Coach Beamer has pushed his troops to taken it another step farther in every aspect of their lives, both on and off the field, than what they did last season.

After a tremendous bounce-back season in 2024, one that saw the Gamecocks put together a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, falling just short in their claim for a spot in the college football playoffs en route to a nine-win campaign and a top-20 national finish, expectations are at a high level entering 2025.

Many of the nation’s prognosticators have the Gamecocks penciled in as a preseason top-15 caliber team, one that won’t be able to sneak up on anyone as they did in 2024 when they entered the season well under the radar.

Coach Beamer has proved he has the chops to keep the program on an upward trajectory. With 29 wins, he eclipsed the mark set by Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier for most wins in his first four seasons at Carolina. The Head Ball Coach did not win nine games until his sixth year at South Carolina but then won a school record 11 contests in three-consecutive years. 

The playing field has certainly changed since Spurrier roamed the sidelines with the advent of the transfer portal and NIL, but Beamer has established a culture to withstand the fluidity of roster management and has the Gamecocks poised to be a consistent threat for a playoff berth and positioned to challenge Spurrier’s success from a decade ago.

 While the roster has its share of turnover as 43 players, including 34 letterwinners, who finished the 2024 regular season are no longer in the program, the coaching staff remained virtually intact. The lone exception was Mike Shula being elevated to the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach after Dowell Loggains took the head coaching post at Appalachian State. Shula worked very closely with the offense last season and the transition is expected to be a seamless one.

Coach Beamer and his staff welcome 107 players into spring camp including 42 letterwinners, 19 on the offensive side of the ball and 25 on defense. That list includes nine returning starters. The five offensive returning starters…