After a whirlwind week for the South Carolina football program, there are now a slew of new coaches since the last edition of grading coach Beamer’s hires.
A wide receivers coach, a new offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, and a strength and conditioning coach have all been named.
While a lot of the names were not flashy and were frankly unknown to many Gamecock fans, these coaches are no joke, and I encourage those in doubt to research them before making up their minds.
Let’s take a look at some of the recent hires by Shane Beamer.
Wide Receivers Coach: Justin Stepp
Grade: A+
So good to be home! pic.twitter.com/KWeGMGYTb6
— Coach Justin Stepp (@coachjstepp) January 11, 2021
Stepp is a Columbia area native, as he graduated from Pelion High School. He has made stops coaching wide receivers at Appalachian State, SMU, and most recently Arkansas.
Stepp is known best for his outstanding recruiting ability, and he was named a Top 25 recruiter in the nation by Rivals in 2019. Some near the program have even gone as far as to say Stepp is the best hire that Beamer has made so far.
His on field coaching is also notable, he developed two wide receivers into NFL draft picks at SMU. He also had multiple receivers earn All-Conference honors at both Arkansas and Appalachian State.
Stepp’s resume speaks for itself, and he is considered one of the young and budding stars in the coaching industry.
No matter which way you look at it, this is a home run hire for Shane Beamer and Stepp should be one of the most valuable pieces of the staff for years to come.
Defensive Coordinator: Clayton White
Grade: A
The #Gamecocks are set to hire Clayton White as their new defensive coordinator per @PeteThamel
— The Spurs Up Show (@TheSpursUpShow) January 9, 2021
White is an 18 year coaching veteran and has three times been nominated for the Frank Broyles Award. pic.twitter.com/nA6x1DcsS1
White is another fantastic hire for coach Beamer’s new staff. It wasn’t the flashiest hire for the defensive coordinator job, but it doesn’t take too much research to realize how good White is at his job.
He is a three time finalist for the Broyles Award, given out to the nations top assistant coach. All three of those nominations came while he was the defensive coordinator at Western Kentucky, a job he held from 2017-2020.
His 2018 defense lead the C-USA in scoring defense and was second in total defense, which was also in the Top 25 in the nation. His 2020 defense was 28th in the nation in total defense and 8th in the nation in pass defense, which is especially impressive in the pass happy C-USA.
His 4-2-5 scheme should be familiar to Gamecock fans, which is the scheme run during most of the Spurrier era. Another very solid hire for Shane Beamers staff, and the defensive side of the ball might show some improvements pretty quickly.
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Luke Day
Grade: B+
Hey there Columbia… time to get to work
— Luke Day pro struggler (@CoachLukeDay) January 11, 2021
Day comes from Marshall, where he was the strength and conditioning coach for four years over two stints. He also spent time in the NFL on the Cincinnati Bengals strength and conditioning staff, as well as the University of Colorado.
Shane Beamer has spoken very highly of Day, and says that he ended up being “the best candidate by far.” He also says that Day was highly recommended by multiple people that Beamer trusts.
Coach Beamer also noted Day’s focus on not just physical strength and conditioning, but the mental side of it as well.
If nothing else, the strength and conditioning coach needs to be a good fit with the head coach and the rest of the staff, and it sounds like Shane Beamer has found himself a great fit in Luke Day.
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach: Marcus Satterfield
Grade: B
After Mike Bobo chose to take the Auburn job, it took almost no time for Shane Beamer to hire Marcus Satterfield to fill his role.
It seems that Marcus was, at minimum, the clear second choice behind Bobo for the job. It also seems that Satterfield is going to run the exact style of offense that coach Beamer wants to run at South Carolina.
Satterfield has experience as an offensive coordinator at three schools, and was also the head coach at Tennessee Tech for two years. He was recently an apprentice of Matt Rhule, where he worked under the coach at Temple, Baylor and the Carolina Panthers.
Satterfield’s best offensive season as a play caller came in 2010 while he was at Chattanooga. His team averaged 430 yards per game and scored over 31 points per game.
This is another hire that is a great fit if nothing else, and I expect Satterfield and Beamer to work together to create some very potent offenses in Columbia.