Shane Beamer considers how to manage position battles in modern era

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is heading into his fifth season in Columbia, where he’s led the Gamecocks to a 29-22 record. The 2024 season was the best so far for Beamer, as Carolina went 9-4 and finished ranked No. 19 in the final AP Poll of the season (highest since 2013).

Beamer brings in what is likely his most talented team so far this season, leading to lofty expectations for the program. They will open the 2025 season ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll and have a massive opportunity to start the campaign strong against Virginia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Game.

During a media opportunity on Tuesday, Beamer discussed how he is dealing with all of this talent when it comes to managing position battles.

“It was something we talked about in one of our very first staff meetings before we started camp, probably before the players reported,” Beamer said. “That was one thing we talked about as coaches that we as coaches, starting with me, have to do a great job this year at managing those personalities in those rooms. Everybody wants the ball. We have more depth (in my opinion) at running back and receiver than we’ve ever had here since I’ve been the head coach. There’s a lot of guys.”

Beamer preaches team building and camaraderie

The Gamecocks boast three upperclassmen at running back, led by Utah State transfer Rahsul Faison. Faison rushed for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

“We don’t just point to one and say, ‘Here’s Xavier Legette and he’s your guy or whatnot.’ There’s a lot of guys that want the ball and that’s great. Same thing at the tight end position,” Beamer said. “There’s only one ball to go around but understanding that a lot of things like it’s not all about stats, it’s about winning football games. That’s the most important stat to me. Supporting one another and we talk about celebrating one another’s success because if you celebrate others’ success, you get to celebrate more as well.

“You see that out there but we’ve got to do a great job throughout the season of that. For example, Mazeo Bennett‘s not gonna catch 10 balls every single week. There may be a game where he catches 10, but there may be a game he catches zero. How he can affect the game in other ways, we’ve really spent a lot of time talking about that. It all starts in the offseason, building up the team and camaraderie.”