2021 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
The 2021 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season marked the Gamecocks' 128th overall season, and 30th as a member of the SEC East Division. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, and were led by first-year head coach Shane Beamer.
| 2021 South Carolina Gamecocks football | |
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Duke's Mayo Bowl champion | |
Duke's Mayo Bowl, W 38–21 vs. North Carolina | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| East Division | |
| 2021 record | 7–6 (3–5 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Marcus Satterfield (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Clayton White (1st season) |
| Base defense | 4–2–5 |
| Home stadium | Williams–Brice Stadium (Capacity: 77,559) |
Uniform | |
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| 2021 Southeastern Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Georgia x#^ | 8 | – | 0 | 14 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Kentucky | 5 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 3 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 2 | – | 6 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 0 | – | 8 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Alabama x$^ | 7 | – | 1 | 13 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Ole Miss | 6 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Arkansas | 4 | – | 4 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 4 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Alabama 41, Georgia 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
Previous season
After opening the 2020 season with losses to Tennessee and Florida, the Gamecocks defeated Vanderbilt on October 10th. On October 17th, they beat No. 15 Auburn for the first time since 1933. The win over the Tigers would be the highlight of the season, as the Gamecocks would lose all of their remaining games, including losses to LSU (24–52) and Texas A&M (3–48). After giving up 59 points to Ole Miss, Will Muschamp was terminated. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo finished the season as interim head coach; he would lose the remaining final 3 games by a combined score of 44–103. It was the Gamecocks' worst season since 1999.
New head coach announced
On December 6, 2020, Oklahoma assistant head coach Shane Beamer was announced as the Gamecocks 36th head coach. A former Gamecock assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Steve Spurrier from 2007 to 2010, he is also the son of long time Virginia Tech Head coach Frank Beamer. Beamer was born in Charleston, South Carolina, after graduating from Virginia Tech, he was a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech, and Tennessee, before becoming an assistant coach at Mississippi State. Beamers other stops as an assistant included Virginia Tech and Georgia. Notable recruits signed during Beamer's time as recruiting coordinator at South Carolina included Alshon Jeffery, Stephon Gilmore, and D. J. Swearinger.[1]
Beamer cleaned out the staff from the Muschamp era, hiring Marcus Satterfield from the Carolina Panthers as Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Clayton White from NC State as Defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, and a slew of other hires including Pete Lembo as Associate head coach/special teams coordinator and Hammond coach and former Gamecock QB Erik Kimrey as Tight ends coach. Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray was hired away from Florida, and Wide receivers coach Justin Stepp was hired away from Arkansas.
Preseason
Offseason departures
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaycee Horn | #1 | CB | 6'1 | 205 | Junior | Alpharetta, Georgia | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Ernest Jones | #53 | LB | 6'2 | 230 | Junior | Waycross, Georgia | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Shi Smith | #13 | WR | 5'10 | 190 | Senior | Union, South Carolina | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Israel Mukuamu | #24 | CB | 6'4 | 205 | Junior | Bossier City, Louisiana | Declared for NFL Draft |
| Ryan Hilinski | #3 | QB | 6'3 | 225 | Sophomore | Orange, California | Transferred |
| Jay Urich | #10 | QB | 6'5 | 215 | RS Junior | Greenville, South Carolina | Graduated |
| Collin Hill | #15 | QB | 6'4 | 222 | Graduate | Moore, South Carolina | Graduated |
| Deshaun Fenwick | #14 | RB | 6'1 | 220 | RS Sophomore | Bradenton, Florida | Transferred |
| Slade Carroll | #33 | RB | 5'9 | 205 | RS Senior | Lexington, South Carolina | Graduated |
| Adam Prentice | #46 | FB | 6'0 | 245 | Graduate | Fresno, California | Graduated |
| Christian Kinsley | #36 | P | 6'2 | 220 | RS Senior | Lexington, South Carolina | Graduated |
| KeShawn Toney | #82 | TE | 6'2 | 248 | RS Freshman | Williston, South Carolina | Transferred |
| Will Register | #88 | TE | 6'4 | 245 | RS Junior | Chapin, South Carolina | Graduated |
| Sadarius Hutcherson | #50 | OL | 6'4 | 320 | RS Senior | Huntingdon, Tennessee | Graduated |
| Keir Thomas | #5 | DL | 6'2 | 275 | RS Senior | Miami, Florida | Transferred |
| Chandler Farrell | #31 | TE | 6'3 | 278 | RS Senior | Summerville, South Carolina | Graduated |
| Jammie Robinson | #7 | DB | 5'11 | 195 | Sophomore | Leesburg, Georgia | Transferred |
| Shilo Sanders | #21 | DB | 6'0 | 195 | RS Freshman | Cedar Hill, Texas | Transferred |
| John Dixon | #22 | DB | 6'0 | 185 | Sophomore | Tampa, Florida | Transferred |
Personnel
Coaching staff
| Name | Position | Consecutive season |
|---|---|---|
| Shane Beamer | Head coach | 1st |
| Marcus Satterfield | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | 1st |
| Clayton White | Defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | 1st |
| Pete Lembo | Associate head coach/special teams coordinator | 1st |
| Torrian Gray | Defensive backs coach | 1st |
| Montario Hardesty | Running backs coach | 1st |
| Greg Adkins | Offensive line coach | 1st |
| Justin Stepp | Wide receivers coach | 1st |
| Erik Kimrey | Tight ends coach | 1st |
| Mike Peterson | Outside linebackers coach | 5th |
| Jimmy Lindsey | Defensive line coach | 1st |
Notable support staff
| Name | Position | Consecutive season |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Day | Head strength and conditioning coach | 1st |
| Connor Shaw | Director of football relations | 1st (2nd overall) |
| Derrick Moore | Executive director of character and player development | 1st |
Roster
| 2021 South Carolina Gamecocks Football Roster | ||||||||||
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Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Placekicker
Punter
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Tight End
Offensive Lineman
Defensive Lineman
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EDGE
Linebacker
Defensive Back
Long Snappers
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Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 4 | 7:00 p.m. | Eastern Illinois* | ESPN+/SECN+ | W 46–0 | 64,868 | |||
| September 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at East Carolina* | ESPN2 | W 20–17 | 40,816 | |||
| September 18 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 2 Georgia | ESPN | L 13–40 | 92,746 | |||
| September 25 | 7:00 p.m. | Kentucky |
| ESPN2 | L 10–16 | 77,559 | ||
| October 2 | 3:30 p.m. | Troy* |
| SECN | W 23–14 | 60,686 | ||
| October 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at Tennessee | ESPN2 | L 20–45 | 89,437 | |||
| October 16 | 4:00 p.m. | Vanderbilt |
| SECN | W 21–20 | 64,695 | ||
| October 23 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 17 Texas A&M | SECN | L 14–44 | 103,889 | |||
| November 6 | 7:30 p.m. | Florida |
| SECN | W 40–17 | 70,131 | ||
| November 13 | 4:00 p.m. | at Missouri | SECN | L 28–31 | 44,092 | |||
| November 20 | 7:00 p.m. | Auburn |
| ESPN | W 21–17 | 70,299 | ||
| November 27 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 23 Clemson* |
| SECN | L 0–30 | 79,897 | ||
| December 30 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. North Carolina* | ESPN | W 38–21 | 45,520 | |||
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References
- "Beamer named head football coach at South Carolina". Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- "2021 Football Coaching staff". Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- "2021 Football Roster". Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- "2021 South Carolina Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.