The South Carolina Gamecocks have made unexpected waves in college football recruiting this summer. Second year head coach Shane Beamer – and his army of assistants – have been collecting commitments across the country, and Tweeting them out for the world (and specifically their SEC counterparts) to see.
Summer of the 4-Star
Since mid-June, South Carolina’s landed four 4-stars in the 2023 class. Linebackers Jaden Robinson (committed 7/4/2022) and Grayson “Pup” Howard (committed 6/27/2022) lead the charge, choosing the Cocks over in-conference rivals like Georgia, Florida, and Kentucky.
The other pair of new commits is less worried about preventing points, and plans on producing them instead. ATH Kelton Henderson (committed 6/12/2022) chose the Palmetto State over a handful of schools closer to and in his Florida home. RB Dontavious “DJ” Braswell (committed 7/2/2022), after turning down ‘Bama and ‘Braska, could be the most draftable player when it’s all said and done.
The aforementioned foursome, plus nearly 10 other 2023 commits, has allowed the Cocks to creep up in the 247Sports Composite ranks at 27th.
The interesting note with all of these new players, has been the online interaction between them and their soon-to-be coaches. Nowadays, you’re hard pressed to find any school that’s not utilizing social media in their courting of high schoolers. But clearly, Beamer and the boys have done it differently than most.
Recent examples:
Check out some noteworthy Tweets below. Notice the ability to build suspense with “sub-tweets” about mysterious “great conversations.” Players are tagging up to four different coaches in their commitments. And the overarching theme of “Love/Family/Home” that hasn’t always been synonymous with USC football.
What A Day for @GamecockFB !!!
We may not be done though …. 😳🤙🏻 pic.twitter.com/7E9EtsPcmm
— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) June 16, 2022
110% Proud to be a gamecock let’s work🔥🔥@coachchaney96 @CoachDixon2 @coachjstepp @CoachSBeamer pic.twitter.com/g6wXZS2cAI
— Kelton Henderson (@KeltonH5) June 13, 2022
Nothing like a Wednesday morning phone call to keep this momentum going !!!!#WelcomeHome #AboveAllEl23 🤙 pic.twitter.com/5rCCxLtgdv
— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) June 15, 2022
(Even 2024 QB Dante Reno is getting in on the “Family” aspect already!)
Booomm!!!! Congrats brotha, welcome to the family!! ❤️❤️ https://t.co/XyxdOqKvMj
— Dante Reno (@dantereno10) July 4, 2022
Best Coach on the Bird App
Shane Beamer is not the only head coach on Twitter, but it’s not a stretch to say he’s the best on the app. A quick scroll of LSU’s Brian Kelly’s feed shows no retweets from players. You will, however, see many “BK Takeover” GIFs (that don’t mean much of anything). Nick Saban & JImbo Fisher? Not even on the platform.
The Gamecocks have a long road ahead if they plan on SEC titles and beyond (they do), but their modernized online family atmosphere could put them on the fast-track in gathering the talent necessary to reach the top.
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3 Comments
Coach’s these days need to visit the recruits where they live… on their phones. Excited to see what Beamer can do this season. Go Cocks!
Interesting article, go cocks!
The use of social media to showcase commits gives the prospects what they want (i.e., clout, recognition, presence). Heads up move by their marketing department. Good article!