Every college football coach knows that recruiting success plays a huge role in building a winning program.

In his first season at South Carolina, Shane Beamer has landed commitments from some very good prospects, but he’s also missed out on some top targets as well.

But just as is the case with on-field results, close doesn’t count when it comes to recruiting, said Beamer on Wednesday.

“There’s no moral victories,” said Beamer during the SEC coaches teleconference. “We’re not patting ourselves on the back for being in the top 2 or 4 or whatever. … I do know those were hard decisions for the guys who didn’t come. … We’ve got a great situation, program, university to recruit to. We’ve got a lot of guys who are committed to us right now who disappointed a lot of schools when they didn’t come. That’s part of recruiting, but we’re going to win our share of recruiting battles.”

This weekend, Beamer and the Gamecocks will face a tough test, as they head to College Station to face No. 17 Texas A&M on Saturday.

Beamer said Wednesday that one of the keys to the game will be how his team is able to defend much-improved Aggies quarterback Zach Calzada.

“He’s an athlete who can move around in the pocket and seems to get more and more confident,” Beamer said. “… You see him getting better and better and he’s got some really good weapons around him. … He’s got weapons and Coach (Jimbo) Fisher’s history with quarterbacks speaks for itself. It takes time. He’s a guy we can’t let get comfortable on Saturday night.”