South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer spoke on welcoming back former FSU edge rusher Gilber Edmond and what his presence means for their program.
Edmond originally enrolled at South Carolina in 2020 and transferred to Florida State after the 2022 season. He has since transferred back to Columbia.
When asked about it during a Friday press conference, Beamer stated that his return “makes a hell of a statement about our program,” and that the Seminoles’ failure to make the College Football Playoff despite an undefeated regular season and a conference championship was proof that “the grass isn’t always greener.”
“The biggest thing about [Edmond’s return], it makes a hell of a statement about our program. You hear a lot of these guys they leave here for different reasons and they want to go home. He went home. He went home to the state of Florida. He went undefeated. He won a conference championship. And all that wasn’t enough. He said, 'I want to come back to Columbia, South Carolina because I realize now that the grass isn’t always greener. And I realize now what a special thing we have at South Carolina,'” Beamer said.
The South Carolina head coach also insinuated that Edmond left South Carolina to be closer to family at home as well as receive compensation from NIL deals at FSU.
"I don't know what you were making from an NIL standpoint at Florida State but you ain't getting anything remotely close to that here," Beamer said. "Like, if you're coming back here, it ain't going to be because of NIL reasons and it's not."
Additionally, he mentioned that Edmond left the program “the right way,” leading to his acceptance back to the Gamecock’s locker room.
In February, one of Florida State's collectives, The Battle’s End announced a relationship with Edmond.
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