Shane Beamer Makes Candid Admission on Leaning Into Dad Frank’s Virginia Tech Past for South Carolina Opener

The football gods sure knew how to stir the pot for this one. Mercedes-Benz Stadium turned into a family reunion with shoulder pads when Shane Beamer’s South Carolina squad threw down against Virginia Tech. The very program his pops, the legendary Frank Beamer, built brick by brick. The No. 13 Gamecocks didn’t just sneak out a win. they muscled past the Hokies 24–11 in a hard-nosed, chest-thumping SEC vs. ACC slugfest. Shane leaned into the past, dug into that Beamer DNA, and then kept it real afterward with one of the bluntest confessions of Week 1.

Shane Beamer didn’t play coy. When asked what he saw, he cracked, “Yeah. Physical, tough, mentally and physically early in the game, I thought we were doing that. And I mean, there were some ugly runs, but if you look up on a lot of those plays, our offensive linemen had Virginia Tech guys on the ground as well.” Then he doubled down, giving props to Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones: “He’s a load back there. He’s hard to bring down and he’s a heck of a player.” But the real meat of his words was about South Carolina’s grit. “I was proud of them, the mental toughness to just hang in there and not get frustrated at one another or anything and just continue to battle and get stronger.” Translation? His squad went through the mud and came out flexing.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers set the tone by muscling in a 15-yard rushing score, and when Virginia Tech tried to claw back, he uncorked a 64-yard bomb to sophomore burner Nyck Harbor. Sellers finished 12-of-19 for 209 yards with 2 total touchdowns, while Harbor flexed with 99 yards on just 3 grabs. Virginia Tech? They had John Love kicking field goals from everywhere, including a 56-yarder to make it 10–8 at halftime.

Then reality slapped back in the second half. Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones couldn’t keep it clean, throwing two costly interceptions that killed drives and flipped momentum. Meanwhile, South Carolina tapped into some vintage Beamerball magic. Special teams and defense doing the dirty work. The turning point? Freshman Vicari Swain’s electric 80-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter that stretched the lead to 17–8. The Hokies tried to claw back with another Love field goal, but Sellers and Harbor slammed the door shut with that 64-yard laser.

Beamer tipped his hat to the Hokies’ DNA, still laced with his father’s fingerprints. “Jared Ferguson is running the strength and conditioning program now. Jared was a teammate of mine. Jared was the associate strength coach when I was there with my dad. And so I know what they’re about. And Brent Pry knows what Virginia Tech’s about. I think he’s got like nine of my dad’s former players on his staff right now. So they know what it’s about. That’s that ‘lunch pail’ mentality that permeates through that program.” He knew Virginia Tech would come swinging, but he also knew South Carolina had to show it could punch just as hard. And they did.

Frank Beamer’s shadow loomed large, as it always will in Hokie country. The man racked up 238 wins, four ACC titles, and 23 straight bowl appearances across 29 seasons. He was the architect of Beamerball. On Saturday night, his son’s team flipped that same script. South Carolina won not just with talent, but with depth and physicality, letting the second half tilt in their favor. It was like Shane took his dad’s old playbook, updated it for the SEC grind, and threw it right back at Virginia Tech.

Frank Beamer led the pre-game prayer and got honored

Before all the fireworks, and before Sellers scrambled and Swain flew down the sideline, the spotlight belonged to Frank Beamer. The old ball coach stood tall in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, black South Carolina quarter-zip on, his wife Cheryl by his side, as the crowd rose to honor him. The man who turned Virginia Tech from a regional afterthought into a national contender opened the night with the game’s invocation. If there was ever a moment where past and present collided, it was right there.

Frank wasn’t just a guest of honor. He was the story before kickoff. Fans swarmed him outside the stadium for selfies, a reminder of just how much he still means to college football. Inside, the Gamecock faithful, Hokie diehards, and even casual fans, stood together to give the man his flowers. The respect was real, because you can’t talk about modern Virginia Tech football without putting Frank Beamer’s name in bold letters.

Shane’s connection made it even sweeter. He played special teams for his dad in Blacksburg from 1995 to 1999, grinding as a walk-on before returning as an assistant coach from 2011 to 2015. That bond isn’t just father and son. It’s coach and player, mentor and protégé. Watching Shane now lead South Carolina while Frank gets honored in the stands? That’s football poetry. That’s legacy turned living, breathing reality.