Most interesting things we heard from South Carolina, Shane Beamer before practice starts

COLUMBIA — South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer is trying to make sense of the latest change in college eligibility rules right before preseason practice begins.

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney ruled July 31 that players in the high school class of 2022 who didn’t redshirt or turn pro can apply for a fifth season in 2026-27.

Does that mean someone might be a late add to the Gamecocks‘ roster?

“Yeah, we’ve had some discussion but really we’re kind of in a holding pattern until we get some more clarity from NCAA, SEC,” Beamer said Aug. 6. “I don’t think anybody’s really doing much of anything right now.

“Is there anything imminent? No. Is there any player that I’ve had a discussion with and said, ‘If this passes, we want you to come back, or we want to add you to our team?’ I have not. Never say never. We’ll always do what’s best for our program but we don’t anticipate anything changing.”

Beamer’s comments were part of South Carolina’s media day. Here’s the best of what we heard before practice opens Aug. 7.

Though neither had announced if they were returning when new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles was hired in December, LaNorris Sellers and Nyck Harbor heavily influenced his choice to take the job.

“If I didn’t think both those guys would be here, I probably wouldn’t want to take this job as fast,” said Briles, who was at TCU. “That was a big deal, knowing that (Sellers) was going to be here, and obviously (Harbor).”

It’s the fourth year in the program for both and Sellers’ third as starting quarterback. The duo developed even stronger chemistry in 2025 with Harbor the main wide receiver option, even as the offense struggled overall.

“Those guys are difference-makers,” Briles said. “We’re hoping that they make a difference each and every week. So I’m excited about the connection that they have already. I think there’s a lot of trust between them, and hopefully, we’ll continue to build off that in the fall camp.”

Sellers threw for 2,437 yards last year, with Harbor’s 618 receiving yards a team-high. The next-highest returner is Sellers’ brother Jayden, who had 337 receiving yards as a freshman. The youth at receiver resulted in Beamer getting Nitro Tuggle from Purdue and DJ Black from UCF in the portal.

“There’s a bunch of guys and all of them could come in and play at any moment,” LaNorris Sellers said.

Sophomore Cutter Woods is the only returner competing for the backup quarterback spot.

“The guy’s a true pro in every every facet, he does everything right,” Briles said of Woods. “Being able to see him this spring go out there and run the offense and compete was exciting to see. I thought he did a really nice job protecting the football and running the offense at a high level.”

Lucian Anderson and Landon Duckworth are the other two options.

“The unfortunate thing in the spring is those guys aren’t getting a ton of reps with team, so it’s a little bit harder to evaluate them at times,” Briles said. ”

Blowing a 30-3 halftime lead to Texas A&M was just one of six losses that were one-score games going into the fourth quarter last year.

So what did Beamer do to improve the Gamecocks late-game results?

“How we finish workouts each day, what we did throughout the workouts, trying to facilitate leaders, making those guys have to step up from a leadership standpoint,” Beamer said. “All things that we’ve done in the past, but really being even more cognizant of it this year. Just the details.

“If you look at all those fourth quarters, there’s a play here, a play there. It’s the difference in us winning and losing in those fourth quarters. Just continuing to convey to our guys and making them understand what a fine line it is between winning and losing.”

The Gamecocks open the 2026 season against Kent State on Sept. 5 (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) in Williams-Brice Stadium.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky‪@bylulukesin.bsky.social‬

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Most interesting things we heard from South Carolina, Shane Beamer before practice starts