Shane Beamer recounts two important phone calls from Alshon Jeffery’s South Carolina career

Like many other South Carolina football greats, Alshon Jeffery had a collegiate career filled with memorable moments.

There were highlight-reel plays, like his one-handed grabs against Alabama in 2010 and The Citadel one year later. He was always a deep ball threat and demonstrated that on his 78-yard reception against Nebraska in the 2012 Capital One Bowl as well.

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He also came up big when the stage was brightest, delivering key performances in some of the Gamecocks’ most impactful victories. In that game against Alabama – one in which South Carolina beat the top team in the country 35-21 – Jeffery had seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. When the Gamecocks beat Clemson later in the year, he totaled 141 yards on five catches, scoring once.

He even showcased his game-changing abilities as a freshman, most notably in his “coming out party” against Kentucky. His career-high three touchdowns, along with 138 yards on seven total catches, helped South Carolina earn a narrow 28-26 win.

Shane Beamer was asked on Tuesday about memories from Jeffery’s career that stuck out in his mind. Beamer, who played a pivotal role in Jeffrey’s recruitment to South Carolina, responded by telling stories about two phone calls he had with him. One of those calls informally began his USC, and the other formally placed it in the upper echelon of Gamecock football history.

Here’s what Beamer had to say about each of those phone calls.

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On the latter stages of Jeffery’s recruitment

“I remember being on my back porch at my old house in Columbia when they gave me the news that he was committing to the other – the wrong – USC, and thinking to myself how crushed I was to hear that, but then thinking that I’m not going to let that happen. And just the amount of time I spent not trying to pressure him to change his mind, but just continuing to sell South Carolina and let it just kind of happen. There was a lot of time that went into it.

“I remember the night before Signing Day – at 1 a.m., 2 a.m. on literally Signing Day – being on the phone with him, still talking about stuff – jersey numbers, whatever it might be. We were on the phone that night late and just so thankful that he had trust in us.”

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On Jeffery learning that his South Carolina jersey would be retired

“Very important, thankful to Coach Tanner. I didn’t know until Coach Tanner called and told me they were going to do that for him. I would’ve been the first one jumping on the table for Alshon if I had a say in it. But Coach Tanner called me earlier this year and told me they were doing that. And man, I was so happy to hear that. It was a really cool moment when Coach Tanner and I got on the phone with Alshon, the three of us on the phone at the same time, and I was able to tell Alshon that news. It was pretty cool.

“Just thinking about when he was 17 years old, and I was recruiting him out of St. Matthews, South Carolina. Then fast forward to 2023, and here I am telling this young man that his jersey’s going to be retired was a really, really, really cool moment for me. Just hearing how grateful he was on that call was a phone call I’ll never forget, without a doubt.”

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On his strong connection with Jeffery today

“What a fantastic person he is. He called me a few weeks ago just to ask about Juice, and Legette, and some of the freshman receivers. Every time I talk to him, he asks about Emily and my kids and all that as well. Somebody that I love deeply, and so excited for him, and can’t wait to see him this weekend.”

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