We knew that when Kirby Smart was named the head football coach at Georgia that he would assemble quite the coaching staff.

One of the recent hires in particular should make Bulldogs fans extremely happy.

Shane Beamer, most recently the associate head coach/running backs coach at Virginia Tech, was named tight ends coach/special teams coordinator at UGA on Jan. 3, giving Smart one of the best recruiters in the country on his Bulldogs staff.

Beamer returns to the Southeastern Conference with this move. Previously, he was the recruiting/special teams coordinator at South Carolina and prior to that was the recruiting coordinator at Mississippi State. This will be his fourth stop in the league.

Beamer led the recruiting efforts (2009-11) of the Gamecocks just prior to the best run in program history. Players like Jadeveon Clowney, Marcus Lattimore, Stephon Gilmore, Connor Shaw and Alshon Jeffery were among the in-state stars that South Carolina and then-head coach Steve Spurrier were able to corral during that time period. The Gamecocks subsequently went 42-11 with an SEC East title in 2010 thanks in large part to the work Beamer and the coaching staff did to set the table for the run.

While in Columbia, Beamer personally recruited Jeffery and offensive guard A.J. Cann. Jeffery is on his way to being an All-Pro with the Chicago Bears and Cann started several games this season for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie. During the recruiting process, Jeffery was committed to Southern California for a large part of the cycle before Beamer and the Gamecocks flipped him and kept him at home, adding more evidence to his recruiting prowess.

While with the Hokies, Beamer was responsible for Richmond in-state and parts of North and South Carolina out-of-state. The Carolinas in particular have been very good to Georgia over the years (Todd Gurley from North Carolina, A.J. Green from South Carolina both come to mind) and certainly it helps to have someone with experience in those areas on the trail for Smart and staff.

Beamer also was able to help in some out-of-state, position-specific recruiting battles. Beamer was in with offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler on Shai McKenzie, the very talented young Hokies running back who should end up having a tremendous career in Blacksburg. At South Carolina, he mined talent-rich Gwinnett County in Georgia and has ties to the Peach State in that regard.

Why is Beamer such a good recruiter? Well, he understands, like most great recruiters do, that recruiting is about relationships. Just like Smart over the years has been, Beamer is one of the best in college football and building positive relationships with recruits and their families. He’s also a relentless worker. You won’t hear of any recruits being recruited by Beamer that don’t know he’s recruiting them or that haven’t had contact with him for months as his work ethic and sales approach blends nicely when he pitches prospects to the program he works for.

It also could be argued that Georgia is the easiest place to sell that Beamer has worked. The Bulldogs are the flagship institution of one of the top talent-producing states in the country. UGA also has a national brand and while that doesn’t guarantee actual commits and signings, it does usually mean an easier path for getting the foot in the door with top prospects through early communication, unofficial visits for junior days, games and things of that nature.

Given the accelerated recruiting cycle, it’s imperative to get off to a good start. The brand helps that. Beamer’s ability to recruit is what will lead to the closing part of it.

Smart’s staff as a whole is impressive and Beamer adds to that. It was a brilliant hire and one that will pay huge dividends moving forward in Athens.