Virginia Tech vs South Carolina: Shane Beamer Gives Reasoning For Not Releasing A Depth Chart

South Carolina declined to release a depth chart this week for the game vs Virginia Tech

Nov 23, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer directs his team against the Wofford Terriers in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Game week is here for Virginia Tech and South Carolina, one of the biggest week one games in college football. The Hokies and Gamecocks will be looking to get a big victory to start the season, though Virginia Tech is a sizeable underdog in this game.

No depth chart

Jul 14, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer talks to the media during SEC Media Day at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

While Virginia Tech released a depth chart earlier this week, South Carolina declined to do so and Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer had a perfectly valid reason for doing so:

“Uh, you’ll piece it together,” Beamer said. “And, again, I’ve got respect for y’all and I understand you have a job to do. And it’s not trying to be any kind of gamesmanship. I called Brent Pry last week and I told Brent Pry that I was not going to release a depth chart this week, because I didn’t want him to release one and then we don’t release one and he’s like, ‘What the heck?’. So, I called him last week to tell him that I was not releasing a depth chart. It’s not any kind of, trying to keep secrets from Virginia Tech.”

To be totally honest, hell, I’m just trying to avoid unnecessary overreactions, which is what a depth chart is when it comes out,” Beamer said. “I mean, we’ve still got position battles going on out there on the practice field. And, if I had released a depth chart, it was going to have a gazillion ands and ors on there, because that very much is the case at a lot of those positions.

I’m not sure what we’ll do on Sunday leading up to the game. I can tell you – with about, I think we do it with about 28 minutes left on the clock in pregame warmups. The first offense will come together and run plays against the first defense, so that’ll be a great look at it. That gives you a 28-minute head start before kickoff. And then, after that, we go down and we kick an extra point, so you’ll see our starting snapper, holder, kicker at that point. And then we turn around and we punt, so you’ll see the starting snapper, punter and we punt to the starting punt returner. So you’ll be able to knock that off before kickoff as well. I’m not trying to be a smart you-know-what. That’s truly what’s going to happen if we don’t put anything out before then.”

South Carolina is going to have a lot of new faces on their team this season, but one thing is certain, they will have one of the best offensive players in the country in quarterback LaNorris Sellers and one of the best defensive players in the country with DE Dylan Stewart.

Season Opener Could Be Telling

Jul 24, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry answers questions from the media during ACC Media Days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Is Virginia Tech closer to the top of the ACC or the bottom? We may find out on Sunday when they face South Carolina in Atlanta.

Of course the obvious headline in this game is going to be South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer coaching against his fathers team. Frank Beamer is the greatest coach in the history of Virginia Tech and there is certain to be a lot of talk in the lead up to this game about his son coaching against the Hokies.

While Virginia Tech is not going to have the same amount of hype that it received ahead of the 2024 season, South Carolina is going to enjoy plenty. The Gamecocks were one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch of last season and made a case to be in the College Football Playoff at the end. They are going to return quarterback LaNorris Sellers and standout defensive end Dylan Stewart, and may just start the year in the top 10. The Hokies, on the other hand, have been one of the hardest-hit teams when it comes to transfer portal entries, and their roster is going to look a lot different when the two teams kick off the season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. To Brent Pry's credit, he did a solid job of landing talent in the portal after an early mass exodus, but they are going to be the underdog in week one vs South Carolina.

South Carolina leads the all-time series 11-7 between the two teams, but they have not met since 1991. Virginia Tech has not beaten South Carolina since 1974.