South Carolina Gamecocks: Insider Believes Shane Beamer Is On Hot Seat Heading Into 2024

This past season was supposed to be the year where everything game together. Spencer Rattler was entering his second campaign as the starting QB and Beamer’s recruiting efforts were now turning into players who could contribute on Saturdays that he directly brought into the program.

But Beamer’s team took a major step back. It all began with the season opener, where they fell to a slightly above-average North Carolina team. Their schedule didn’t do them any favors, but they were supposed to be able to compete with the top teams in the SEC — and in several instances they did — but just fell short.

Their second loss of the year game to Georgia, who was the No. 1 team in the country most of the year. After beating Mississippi State, the Gamecocks got embarrassed by Tennessee 41-20. Then came a much-needed bye week, but when they returned, the South Carolina Gamecocks couldn’t find a way to win. They fell to Florida by just two points in a 41-39 shootout. Then came a 34-12 loss to Missouri, followed up by a 30-17 loss against Texas A&M, a team they should have beat.

They pulled off three consecutive wins over Jacksonville State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt before losing their regular season finale to Clemson, 16-8.

When it was all said and done, South Carolina finished (5-7) overall and just (3-5) in the SEC. The season was a disappointment in every metric possible.

Shane Beamer On The Hot Seat In 2024?

Suddenly, after missing a Bowl game for the first time since taking over the program and falling short of expectations in a major way, the South Carolina Gamecocks’ hopeful savior appears to enter the 2024 season with more pressure than ever.

Brad Crawford of 24/7 Sports has covered the program for years and believes Beamer has to make a major turnaround next season or his job could be in jeopardy.

“It’s what I would consider a contract year,” Crawford said. “If he goes 5-7, I’m not sure his future is certain.”

And according to Crawford, it’s not going to be an easy task to right the ship due to obvious holes on the current roster.

“They’ve got some roster holes, but have done well in the portal and in this class,” Crawford added. “QB depth is a major issue. Two scholarship guys right now. One RS freshman and one true freshman. They’re putting 100 percent of next year’s stock in QB LaNorris Sellers and a revamped RB room with three portal additions. Wins and losses will be determined by how SC plays along the OL. That was the team’s biggest weakness this fall.”

As it stands, the South Carolina Gamecocks have the No. 19 recruiting class for 2024 according to On3. 5-star EDGE rusher Dylan Stewart looks like he could contribute in a major way immediately. He’s the third -ranked edge rusher in all of the 2024 class. The only other 5-star commit is offensive tackle Josiah Thompson, who is the third-ranked OT in the country and could ideally provide stability up front.

Behind those two, the Gamecocks have seven 4-star prospects and another seven 3-star athletes.

South Carolina finished 2023 with the worst rushing attack in the country, and as Crawford noted, Beamer and company made an emphasis to bolster that position through the transfer portal. The most intriguing prospect is Raheim “Rocket” Sanders (6-2, 242; four-star transfer): Sanders comes to South Carolina by way of Arkansas. He missed six games last season with a knee injury, but was one of the best rushers in the SEC as a true sophomore in 2022, accumulating 1,443 yards (averaging 6.5 per carry) and 10 touchdowns.

If the new quarterback and his new weapons click, maybe there can be a dramatic turnaround in Columbia.

Crawford isn’t too optimistic though. He has them finishing (5-7) yet again which would mean there would be tough decisions to make considering Shane Beamer’s future.