Shane Beamer opens up on why Michael Smith left South Carolina program: 'Practice matters'

South Carolina‘s roster took a hit on Tuesday when news emerged that tight end Michael Smith planned to enter the NCAA transfer portal. He will forgo the rest of the season with the Gamecocks.

On Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call, coach Shane Beamer opened up a bit on the conversation with Smith that led to his departure. He also wished him well.

“I’ll keep some of those (discussions) between Mike and I, but essentially I met with Michael last week,” Beamer said. “He came to talk to me about his role on the team and where he was right now. I explained to him where he was and why. I gave him the weekend to kind of think about what he wanted to do in regards to continuing with us and moving on. And he reached out to me over the weekend, we had a good conversation and he just told me he thought it was best for him to get a fresh start somewhere else.”

Michael Smith has dealt with some injuries over the last several months that left him behind the 8-ball in Columbia. Beamer pointed to those and practice habits as the chief reason he wasn’t seeing more time.

Smith had played in 16 games for the Gamecocks across two seasons. In that time, he had 12 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown.

“I told him the same thing that I told our team: practice matters and there’s competition at every position on our team,” Beamer said. “Mike did a lot of good things for us in 2024 and I certainly didn’t want him to leave. I love the kid. But at the same time he missed all of spring practice with an injury, that put him behind a little bit. He’s had a knock and a little bit of a shoulder injury since the beginning of the season and right now at this time Brady Hunt, Jordan Dingle, Mo Brown we feel like are practicing and giving us a better opportunity to win games than he is right now.

“I encouraged him to continue to work and get back out on the field and change that because of the expectations we had for him. But he just felt like it was best that he get a fresh start.”

Michael Smith will be able to preserve a redshirt and a season of eligibility by calling it quits now on the 2025 season. Surely that was a factor in his decision.

In any case, Beamer made it clear that he wishes Michael Smith well. He also stands by his own decision in that regard, though, with other players on the roster playing well.

“Wish him well, love Mike,” Beamer said. “Love his energy, love his spirit, good football player. But, again, practice matters and those other guys we feel like at this moment just give us a better opportunity on Saturdays.”