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Beamer's Signing Day Presser Details Spring Plan For Edge Rushers

At his national signing day presser, South Carolina's head football coach Shane Beamer gave his thoughts on the edge position heading into the spring.

Heading into his third offseason as the head coach of South Carolina's football program, Shane Beamer has to be quite proud regarding how much talent he and his staff have accumulated in their first couple of years in Columbia. It started in the 2022 recruiting cycle with underrated prospects like Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith, along with transfer acquisitions in Spencer Rattler, Antwane Wells Jr., and Nate Adkins, all of whom made big impacts this past fall.

Heading into the spring, however, there are still a few positions in which South Carolina's coaching staff has moderate concerns regarding the depth, none more concerning than the edge or defensive end position. The Gamecocks lost three edge defenders in Jordan Burch, Gilber Edmond, and Hot Rod Fitten to the portal after the regular season. The staff also recently suspended early enrollee Monteque Rhames after he was arrested on weapons and obstruction of justice charges.

This has made the edge position increasingly thin as the program nears one of the most critical stretches of the year, with spring practice starting mid-March. Back on National Signing Day, Shane Beamer spoke about the staff's plan for the position and if an early enrollee like Elijah Davis or a current player like Tonka Hemingway could be moved there, and the head coach responded with a challenge to the current edge defenders on the roster.

“I think Elijah is a guy like Tonka [Hemingway where] they have some position flexibility where they can do different things and play in both spots. In our minds right now, Tonka’s a defensive tackle and Elijah’s a defensive tackle and let’s continue to try to develop that edge position around them as well. There is another portal window coming up, we’ll see what’s available. I’m all about increasing the competition and the depth at every position, but certainly that edge position is still a concern, but I’m excited about the guys that we have in the program right now that are returning, and [think] that it’s time for all those guys to take another step and be the best they’ve been here in 2023.”

It's been an unfortunate series of events that's led South Carolina to this point. With the premium on the defensive end position in the SEC, it'll be interesting to see how everything unfolds.

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