1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

It was a Friday night at 10 not so long ago, and Shane Beamer got a call from one of his players.

No call — from a player, or from anyone about a player — is typically good late on a Friday night. Or any night. This one involved a potential confrontation with a security guard.

At the South Carolina football facility.

“You get that call, at that time …” Beamer says, “but It’s not what you think.”

It’s not offseason distraction, it’s focus. It’s not a potential problem, it’s a genuine example of change.

Two of Beamer’s players at South Carolina wanted in the football facility to — are you ready for this? — work out late on a Friday night. And they didn’t want the security guard to run them off.

“They said, ‘Well, what do you want us to do? Be out at Five Points?’,” Beamer said of the popular nightlife area in Columbia, S.C. “No, no, no. Stay right where you are, stay as long as you want.”

That program-defining anecdote has been sandwiched around many others this offseason, all pointing to one undeniable reality: the Gamecocks players have bought in to what Shane Beamer is selling.

Just like the group of starters — most of whom had sat down in favor of reserves in April’s spring game before begging Beamer to get back into a meaningless scrimmage that had just moved into overtime.

That’s right, overtime.

Most coaches do whatever they can to get out of a spring game quickly because, well, more bad than good can happen in spring games. They run clock, they have play counts and/or possessions. They fudge on ball spots and penalties.

Not Beamer. Not the guy whose own colleagues in the SEC have scoffed at his boyish exuberance.

It’s a game, and we’re playing it like every other game. That’s why star quarterback Spencer Rattler wanted back in. Why All-SEC wide receiver Juice Wells, among many others, was pleading on the sidelines to get a chance to win the game.

This is the living, breathing buy-in that Beamer has created at a program that’s still living off Steve Spurrier’s 3 straight 11-win seasons as the high-water mark in its 30-plus years in the SEC.

About 6 weeks later, a handful of receivers traveled cross country to join Rattler in his hometown in Arizona and began playing pitch and catch in preparation for the season. Others stayed in town and continued to ask for access to the facility — at all hours.

“I love this group. The youthfulness, the eagerness. They’re excited and they love to compete,” Beamer said. “There’s a lot of excitement about Carolina football right now, and there are a lot of reasons why.”

None more important than that crossroads day last November, when South Carolina played what looked like its worst game under Beamer in a 32-point loss to a Florida team that struggled all season to string together first downs, much less wins.

South Carolina scored 6 points — on a fake punt — and had 237 yards of offense. The Gamecocks gave up 374 yards rushing, had 3 turnovers and 11 penalties, and ran all of 50 plays.

Beamer could’ve blasted his team, which did the same thing 2 weeks earlier — losing at home to another struggling team (Missouri) while amassing 203 total yards and committing 2 turnovers. He could’ve put everyone on notice and proclaimed no scholarship is safe — and if you don’t like it, there’s the transfer portal.

Instead he told them they were plays away from a 7-game win streak, from a turning point in the development in the program. Here is where you are good; here is why it can work.

A week later, the Gamecocks scored 63 points — nearly the same amount they scored over the previous 4 games — in a rout of Top 5 Tennessee. A week after that, South Carolina traveled to Clemson, scored 31 points and beat their state rival for the first time since 2013.

If Beamer truly does get it turned at South Carolina, if the Gamecocks reach the level they did under Spurrier — and the reward this time is a spot in the new 12-team Playoff beginning in 2024 — we can look back at the Monday after the Florida loss as the turning point.

A week after the first win at Clemson since 2012, South Carolina wrapped up the No.16 recruiting class according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. A month later — and after a gut-punch Gator Bowl loss to Notre Dame — Wells said he would return to South Carolina. Then Rattler did, too.

South Carolina was suddenly so far removed from the worst moment under Beamer, even the uncomfortable realities of the new college football landscape couldn’t slow this offseason train.

2. The give and take

Everyone understands the NIL landscape. It’s cutthroat, with no standardized rules and no transparency.

If a player wants to leave, he can leave. If he wants to sign a deal that will allow him to earn more off his name, image and likeness at another school, there’s no stopping that from happening.

“At the end of the day, do they want to be here?” Beamer said. “I want guys that want to be here.”

But that doesn’t mean he’s not frustrated with third party infiltration in the great unknown of NIL. That’s the rub for all coaches, not just Beamer.

Losing a player because he wants to play for another school or wants to get closer to home is one thing. Losing a player because a middleman actively searches for, and negotiates, a deal with another school is a completely different game.

While Beamer got impact players from the portal — WR Eddie Lewis (Memphis), TE Trey Knox (Arkansas), OT Sidney Fugar (Western Illinois) — he said he lost 3 “key players” within days of their reaffirmed commitment to South Carolina.

Beamer wouldn’t say which players, but it’s not that difficult to see the important pieces on the South Carolina roster — and who left days after the end of the season and where they signed.

In each case, it was a player critical to South Carolina’s development under Beamer — leaving for a program that has embraced the portal (and all the interchanging parts) as well or better than anyone else.

  • TE Jaheim Bell left for FSU, which has recruited the portal (and spent money recruiting the portal) better than anyone.
  • RB MarShawn Lloyd left for the other USC, whose coach (Lincoln Riley) mined the portal so well in his first season in 2022, the Trojans evolved from a 4-win team in 2021 to a team that was 1 win from reaching the Playoff.
  • Edge Jordan Burch, the former 5-star recruit who played his best in 2022 after 2 disappointing seasons in Columia, left for Oregon.

“There needs be tangible evidence from a tampering standpoint,” Beamer said. “I think we all know what’s going on in a lot of ways, but having tangible evidence and proof can be harder to come by. In a couple of those situations, based on conversations that I had with those guys 2-3 days before they went into the portal … but again, rumor is one thing, proof is another.”

3. The momentum buildout, The Epilogue

Nearly 3 years ago, it was Beamer who alerted everyone to what was building in Athens.

Frustrated after a 40-13 loss at Georgia in the 3rd game of his 1st season at South Carolina, Beamer made it clear for anyone watching what was coming in college football. And more to the point, how far South Carolina was trailing.

Beamer’s 1st recruiting class at South Carolina in 2021 didn’t include 1 blue-chip (4- or 5-star) recruit. Months later, his team played Georgia.

“They’ve got, like, 100 5-star football players on their defense,” Beamer said after the loss. “There wasn’t some magical scheme they came out with. They’ve got 5-star recruits everywhere, and they play really physical.”

Nearly 3 months later, Beamer’s 2022 class was signed and included 7 blue-chip recruits. Last December, he landed 8.

His 1st class was ranked No.56 by the 247Sports composite, then 24th (2022) and 17th (2023). The current 2024 class is 13th — and 8 of the 12 commitments are blue-chippers.

South Carolina’s transfer portal classes have steadily increased, too — because when you’re chasing Georgia and Alabama in the SEC, you’re not going to out-recruit them at the high school level. The transfer portal must become the great equalizer.

“It allows other schools in the league to replenish your roster,” Beamer said. “Whereas before, you had to rely on the high school ranks to help your team.”

And winning games is the only way to find success with high school recruits. The elite blue-chips are simply not going to play for a program that doesn’t win consistently and/or doesn’t have a detailed plan and momentum (and NIL money).

Or as one SEC coach told me last month, “The money is the money. There’s not that much difference (between SEC schools). At some point, it has to be about the product you put on the field that attracts players.”

That’s why the turning point last November was so important. Why the 7 wins in 2021 — the last a thrilling Duke’s Mayo Bowl win where Beamer was doused in mayonnaise and was the hit of social media — were so important. Winning cures all ills.

Winning doesn’t happen without complete buy-in. Without late Friday night calls from players trying to work in the football facility instead of chasing empty calories in the entertainment district. Without players traveling cross-country to work out with their quarterback.

“We have a bunch of really good guys who are trying to get better,” Beamer said.

4. Closing the gap

Make no mistake, recruiting has been dominated by Georgia and Alabama and will likely continue on that predictable path.

But the numerous commitments in the month of June for the 2024 class at the very least shows a trend of elite blue-chip players saying no to Georgia and Alabama.

In this month alone, 9 blue-chip high school players have committed to another SEC school despite offers from both Georgia and Alabama. If the parameters are despite offers from Georgia OR Alabama, that number grows.

Of the 9 players with offers from both Georgia and Alabama, 3 committed to Florida, 2 to Mississippi State, and 1 each to Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn and LSU.

Georgia currently has the No. 1-ranked class in 2024 according to the 247Sports’ composite rankings, and Alabama is at No. 28. Don’t think the Tide — which are a finalist for many of the nation’s top uncommitted players — will stay in the high 20s much longer.

But those aforementioned 9 commitments are clear evidence of the impact of NIL and its ability to help raise the rest of the SEC closer to Georgia and Alabama.

5. The Weekly 5

The 5 games that stress the Alabama win total (10.5) for 2023.

1. Nov. 4. LSU: Brian Kelly will be the most difficult matchup of any previous LSU coach for the remainder of Nick Saban’s time at Alabama.

2. Sept. 9, Texas: Longhorns could’ve won last year’s game in Austin with a healthy QB (Quinn Ewers). And that was with Bryce Young leading the Tide — not Tyler Buchner.

3. Oct. 7, at Texas A&M: If you don’t think this is a dangerous spot, look at the last 2 vs. the Aggies. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher has figured it out.

4. Oct. 21, Tennessee: New Vols QB Joe Milton will be 7 games into his 1st season as a starter. If Vols can protect, he will shine.

5. Sept. 23, Ole Miss: A multiple-QB offense — Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders and maybe even Austin Simmons — will be fun to watch.

6. Your tape is your resume

An NFL scout analyzes a draft eligible SEC player. This week: LSU WR Malik Nabors.

“He grew a lot last year. I love seeing how guys react to adversity, and if they’re strong mentally and physically. The 1st game (in 2022) was a disaster. Some guys don’t come back from that. He got better every week. He obviously has the talent and skill. But he got better mentally, and those last few games were unique. I want to see him get in the end zone, and how he responds to teams rolling coverage and trying to take him out of the play.”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and 1 big thing: best offensive line rooms.

1. Georgia: On talent alone, the clear No.1 in the SEC and the nation. The middle 3 is strong with C Sedrick Van Pran, and the tackle spots will be handled by former elite recruits Amarius Sims, Earnest Greene III and Monroe Freeling.

2. LSU: The tackle combination of Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr. will be the best in the nation by the end of the season.

3. Texas A&M: There’s a lot to like about this group, beginning with punishing G Layden Robinson. LT Trey Zuhn III is a massive, strong pass protector. Knee injury limited C Bryce Foster to 4 games in 2022.

4. Alabama: Outside of LT Elijah Pritchett, there’s plenty of experience across the line. Can they become elite run blockers, and help Tide run game dictate tempo?

5. Tennessee: Cooper Mays is All-SEC level, and Miami transfer John Campbell joins Gerald Mincey — who played well last season as a transfer from Florida — at the tackle spots.

Florida: If Baylor transfer Micah Mazzccua returns from injury earlier than expected, this could be a strong unit. LT Austin Barber is a future 1st rounder.

Arkansas: C Beaux Limmer is an All-American candidate, but the Hogs need more consistency on the outside with OTs Patrick Kutas and Devon Manuel.

Mississippi State: C Cole Smith has been solid for 3 seasons since transferring from LSU, and with G Nick Jones, a strong middle will lead to better run game production.

Missouri: 5 starters return from a unit that was inconsistent in 2022. OTs Javon Foster and Eastern Michigan transfer Marcellus Johnson will provide stability in pass protection.

Auburn: The what-if line. If projected starting transfers LT Dillon Wade (Tulsa), RT Gunner Britton (WKU) and C Avery Jones (ECU) can mesh with the rest of the room, this ranking could move higher.

Ole Miss: There’s young potential at the tackle spots. LT Jayden Williams was solid last year as a freshman, and sophomore RT Micah Pettus — a massive 6-7, 360 — started the 2nd half of 2022 and got better every game.

South Carolina: The staff loves FCS transfer OT Sidney Fugar (Western Illinois) on the left side. The right side is another story: can Jakai Moore get more consistent and hold off Charlotte transfer Jaxon Hughes?

Kentucky: Wildcats struggled mightily to protect last season, and will have 2 transfers starting on the outside: Marques Cox (NIU) and Courtland Ford (USC).

Vanderbilt: G Bradley Ashmore could play for anyone in the SEC, but the Commodores need consistency in pass protection with OTs Gunnar Hansen and Junior Uzebu.

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: In the dream scenario for the SEC, where does it expand again? Collin Lewis, Charlotte.

Collin:

First and foremost, the SEC isn’t expanding until and unless something happens with the ACC. Unless the grant of rights is broken in court, the earliest teams can leave the ACC is 2036.

If the ACC breaks up, all bets are off as far as the SEC allowing schools currently within the league geographical footprint to protect their states.

In other words, Florida will have a hard time keeping Florida State and/or Miami out of the SEC, and the same for South Carolina with Clemson.

The 2012 expansion was based on expanding the footprint and adding new television markets. The 2021 expansion was based on 2 elite properties.

Any further expansion more than likely will also be about properties ahead of footprint and television markets. The ever-changing environment in cable television is driving the importance of properties ahead of markets.

Streaming already has changed the dynamics of media rights deals, and will continue to do so. That means elite properties known throughout the country will be the main targets.

That means North Carolina, FSU and Miami, for starters.

9. Numbers

61.9. Look for Vanderbilt to throw more on 1st and 2nd down this season, trying to keep rising QB AJ Swann from predictable down and distance situations.

Last season as a freshman, Swann completed 61.9 percent of his passes on 1st and 2nd down, and had 9 TDs and only 2 INTs. On 3rd and 4th down, he completed 50 percent of his passes and had 1 TD.

The big play capability of the offense was also greater on 1st and 2nd down (18 plays of 15+ yards) compared to 3rd down (7).

10. Quote to note

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, on criticism of his offense producing NFL Draft picks without pro style offense experience: “I’ve had more wide receivers drafted in the last 3 years than any other college coach. I think that speaks to what we’re doing, how we’re developing those guys.”