Shane Beamer has been catching flak lately from critics who accuse him of unethical tactics in recruiting. The heat mostly comes from a rival coach who suggests Beamer skirts ethical lines. This accusation was first hinted at publicly by Maryland head coach Mike Locksley. Last year, Locksley made a pointed plea to the NCAA for a game against South Carolina amid swirling rumors about Beamer’s recruiting methods. But now, after 15 months of that under-the-wraps jab, the Maryland HC, finally exposed the real reason for it.

Things heated up when Mike Locksley accused South Carolina of paying his 2026 five-star commit, Zeion Elee, to visit their school. “In my opinion, those guys, you know, they get paid to go take those trips now,” Locksley said. “Why would I be mad for Zion to make five to ten grand to go down to South Carolina? He’s been one of those guys who’s been really loyal to this area. He’s been loyal to me and the program that we’ve created.” This is a serious accusation on Beamer and the South Carolina program.

That raised some eyebrows, especially since Elee had said his recruitment was “closed.” He was in South Carolina this past Saturday, checking out the Gamecocks as they took on powerhouse Alabama. It’s a tricky spot. NCAA rules don’t allow schools to pay visits out in the open. Plus, public comments about recruits before signing can be a recruiting violation itself. But then, in classic coach fashion, Locksley backtracked a bit. He toned it down, saying he wasn’t outright accusing anyone but voiced concerns about the whole NIL situation being murky territory.

As a matter of fact, this tone of accusation clearly matches the tone Locksley used to demand a matchup against the Gamecocks. It’s because Locksley has always been at the frontline of this battle. Locksley knows recruiting in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) region is highly competitive. “I’d love to put a wall around the DMV and keep all these teams out,” he joked. That’s why it’s not a huge deal for him to snag away South Carolina commit Braydon Lee on signing day. Now, he wasn’t the first Gamecock commit to flip.

Back in 2021, Beamer basically accused Maryland of pulling some behind-the-scenes moves when linebacker Jaishawn Barham bailed on his South Carolina commitment at the last minute to sign with the Terps. So this recruitment battle isn’t really new between them.

Over the past few years, booster collectives have popped up nationwide, and South Carolina’s Garnet Trust is one of the big players. In South Carolina, players get paid to promote the Garnet Trust collective itself. And that, in turn, funnels money their way through NIL contracts. That’s clever business. Plus, totally legal.

But Locksley need not worry about Zion, as he made his stance pretty clear. “I’m staying locked in with Maryland,” Elee told Rivals in August. “The relationship I have with the coaches is pretty tight. Obviously, we are still building because I still talk to them on a constant basis.” And as for the Gamecocks, they’ve got 15 commits in this class. They sit at No. 17 nationally according to the Rivals team rankings.

Mike Locksley and his smart recruitment tactics

Mike Locksley’s journey with Maryland football has been met with a lot of bumps. Sure, he orchestrated three straight winning seasons and bowl victories from 2021 to 2023. But then the NIL era slammed into Maryland like a freight train. In 2024, things went south. Locksley lost 32 players to the transfer portal, including eight starters. The problem? Maryland couldn’t compete with the deep pockets of other programs paying big NIL deals

Locksley found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place: spend big to keep older players or invest in fresh talent coming in. He chose a middle ground that didn’t sit well with everyone. The result was a locker room split between the rich and the not-so-rich players. But Locksley didn’t hide from the fallout. “I own the fact that I lost my locker room,” he admitted. The 2024 season ended with a disappointing 4-8 record, and questions swirled about the program’s health.

But instead of waiting for the NIL tide to turn, Locksley doubled down on traditional recruiting, the “old-school draft” approach. He leaned heavily on the DMV area’s rich talent pool, signing a 25th-ranked 2025 recruiting class packed with homegrown players. Eight true freshmen have already played 90+ snaps, matching the rest of the Big Ten combined. Plus the three of those rookies are starters, including Malik Washington at QB and two defensive ends, Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis. It appears even in this NIL era, there are some coaches doing it the old way.