Shane Beamer Explains Coaching Shake-Up and What Shawn Elliott Brings to South Carolina’s Offense
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer spent nearly five minutes during his latest press conference explaining his decision to part ways with offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley — and what the team can expect under new line coach Shawn Elliott.
Beamer even lightened the moment with a touch of humor, warning South Carolina’s next opponent, Oklahoma, to prepare for a new look.
“Yes, if I was Oklahoma I would go back and study every game that Shawn had as the head coach at Georgia State,” Beamer said wryly. “Every game that he coached here as the offensive line coach. And every game that he coached at App State, and that’s a good start for them and everything.”
On a more serious note, Beamer explained that Elliott’s arrival would bring adjustments to the offense, but not a complete overhaul.
“Now having said that, in all seriousness, certainly there’s going to be things in the run game that he really likes that maybe we haven’t been doing as much that we’ll add,” Beamer said. “Certainly we’re going to add some things to the scheme. But you can’t just blow everything up and say, ‘OK, all of a sudden we’re going to become a whatever-type team’ when we haven’t been doing it all season.
“So we’re going to continue to do what we do, but there will be some new twists off of it. There may be one or two new schemes that he feels like he wants to implement. So there will be some schematic changes.”
Beamer believes the biggest difference might not come from the playbook, but from the energy and leadership Elliott brings to the offensive line room.
“I think more than anything it’s just a different voice in that room,” Beamer said. “Every coach is different. My style is different than Kirby Smart’s or Steve Spurrier’s. Every coach has to be who they are. And Lonnie Teasley’s style of coaching is different than Shawn Elliott’s. Doesn’t make one right or wrong, it’s just different.”
He added that Elliott is already making his mark through technical adjustments and terminology changes to match his comfort level.
“There will be some things that we’ve tweaked already just in regards to some technique things and terminology of how we call some things that Shawn’s more comfortable with,” Beamer said. “So there will be some changes. You can’t blow the whole thing up, but definitely some schematic changes and then general coaching tweaks.”
Elliott’s most immediate challenge will be improving discipline and execution up front. The Gamecocks have struggled with penalties and negative plays, stalling multiple drives in recent weeks — something that can’t continue in SEC play.
“Confident, but then also you turn on the tape of Oklahoma and you see how active they are,” Beamer said. “I think they’re right at the top of the SEC in sacks and TFLs. Usually in a four-game body of work there’s, I don’t know, 30 plays on there. I think it was 68 yesterday.”
Beamer shared a lighthearted story about watching film with his son, Hunter, who reacted to Oklahoma’s defensive chaos.
“He was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Beamer laughed. “So it’s a lot on there, and they’re active. But that is the hope, certainly — that we can cut down on the presnap penalties.”
To prepare his linemen, Elliott has been hands-on and intense in practice, taking a direct approach to replicate game pressure.
“Today at practice Shawn was literally lined up across from center pretty much every play,” Beamer said. “Screaming, yelling, clapping, barking, blowing whistles, making move calls himself — just trying to make things as difficult as he possibly can. Would it be nice to say that we’re going to go out there and have zero presnap penalties on Saturday? Yes. Is that realistic? I don’t know, but it definitely needs to be less than — I think we had six on offense the other night alone, and five were on the offensive line.”
Ultimately, Beamer hopes that Elliott’s fiery coaching style and fresh perspective will help the Gamecocks tighten up mentally and perform more consistently.
“We need to cut down on that without a doubt,” Beamer said. “Maybe a different voice will help us do that. We’ve been trying to emphasize it and implement it even more in practice, but a different voice in that room may help — both mentally and physically — with what we’re asking them to do before and after the snap.”
