SEC Media Days: South Carolina HC Shane Beamer Outlines Two Hurdles for Oklahoma's SEC Transition

The former Oklahoma assistant coach highlighted two big differences between the Big 12 and the SEC at SEC Media Days.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer / SEC

DALLAS — Shane Beamer knows a thing or two about going from Oklahoma to the SEC. 

The South Carolina head coach took over his current program in 2021 after three seasons on staff in Norman, and he knows as well as anyone the transition Brent Venables and the Sooners are about to undertake in 2024. 

“(The transition is) a couple of things, one on the field an another one off the field,” Beamer said during his SEC Media Days press conference at the Omni Hotel on Monday. “From being in other conferences, and I’ve coached in multiple leagues in my career, it’s the size and the depth and the athleticism that you see on the line of scrimmage every single week in this conference.

“I can remember being at Oklahoma coaching tight ends and you would be getting ready to play most Saturdays and there may be one or two guys on the opposing defensive line that you really have got to be cognizant of. Like, this guy can really wreck your game if you don’t have a plan for him. But then you come into this league, it’s not one or two. It’s like six or seven every single Saturday on the line of scrimmage.”

Venables is aware of what lies ahead, too. 

He helped Dabo Swinney build Clemson into one of the few programs who could go toe-to-toe with the SEC in the College Football Playoff. Venables has been working to build that kind of program, especially on the defensive line, since arriving in Norman. 

Defensive tackles coach Todd Bates did a lot to add to OU’s line this past offseason. 

Bates and Venables won a highly competitive recruiting battle for TCU transfer Damonic Williams to land one of the top rated defensive tackles out of the portal. 

The Sooners also have a pair of true freshmen, 5-star recruit David Stone and his IMG Academy teammate Jayden Jackson, who Venables and defensive coordinator Zac Alley hope will develop into the exact kind of difference makers Beamer warned of. 

Those guys might even be on Beamer’s own radar by the time the Gamecocks roll into Norman on Oct. 19.

There is another notable difference between the Big 12 and the SEC, Beamer said. 

“The other part off the field, and it’s awesome, is the venues you go into in this league,” he said. “… Every single Saturday it’s an event in that town. … There’s nothing like it.”

Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is one of those venues every Big 12 school circled on the schedule. But Owen Field will fit into the pageantry of the SEC instead of stand alone alongside Texas as it did in the Big 12. 

Jackson Arnold will make his first road start in front of 88,043 fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn on Sept. 28, a full introduction to Oklahoma’s new conference digs. 

It won’t come until the middle of October, but Beamer is excited about his return to Norman. 

“For me it’s a work trip,” he said. “My kids are disappointed it’s an early kickoff because they were expecting, hoping to have a full Friday and a full Saturday of seeing all the things, people and places back in Norman.”

“I had a great time there. Got great friends there. Literally just got a text message about an hour ago from Ryan Hybl the golf coach telling me that we need to get together as families.”

Though he’s focused on getting South Carolina back on the right track, Beamer didn’t hide his admiration for the Sooners. 

“The opportunity to get connected and be with the Oklahoma program was a great opportunity,” he said. “… Learned a lot. Pretty cool being a part of that tradition and it will be a big challenge going back to Norman on that Saturday. But really looking forward to the trip.”