CHEEZ-IT CITRUS BOWL: SOUTH CAROLINA VS ILLINOIS

December 8, 2024

Shane Beamer

Camping World Stadium

South Carolina Gamecocks

Press Conference

SHANE BEAMER: You guys are excited, but I don't think you're more excited than we are about coming down there. I mean, this was the best possible outcome, in our opinion, of where we could be playing.

I've watched this game over the years and know what a great job you guys do down there putting this game on. Our players are excited. And we've got a great opponent, have a ton of respect for Coach Bielema and his career and what his team here at Illinois has done this season. We're really looking forward to the match-up and looking forward to an amazing week down in Orlando.

Q. Wanted to see if you could update us on the situation at offensive coordinator, with Dallas moving on to App State. Is there anything you can reveal about your plans for what that will look like for you guys in the bowl game, or are you going to sit on that one?

SHANE BEAMER: Not at this point. We’re working through some things. Happy for Dal and his family and the opportunity he's gotten at App State. He's excited about that. But it's obviously still very fresh.

I was in Atlanta yesterday for the SEC Championship game when I found out that he took it. I've certainly had some preliminary conversations with him in regards to his role and what we're going to do going forward, but nothing that I want to get into right now.

Q. You mentioned it before that this was kind of the best possible outcome. I know that you guys wanted a CFP spot. But how prestigious is it that you guys got this slot when it's SEC's highest for nonplayoff teams?

SHANE BEAMER: What a statement. Obviously the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl had a choice on who they wanted, and they chose us. And I'm at our season-ending awards banquet that we're about to have -- I know I'm visiting with you guys later on tonight, I guess, the local media -- but that's what I'm going to tell these guys here tonight. They already know. They don't need me to tell them.

But they chose us, and it's a statement about our team. It's a statement about our program. It's a statement about our fan base. The number of friends outside of our athletic department that have already called or texted myself or my wife to tell me they've already booked rooms or booked plane tickets to come to Orlando already is pretty awesome.

I know our fans are really, really excited and our players are excited, and it's a great statement about what we've done this season but what we've done as a program.

Outside of the playoffs, this is the best bowl there is in the SEC. Really the best bowl there is in the country, in my opinion, outside of the playoff. For us to be a part of it is really cool.

Q. What was the excitement in the room like when you guys found out about this? I'm sure there were some guys kind of waiting to figure out where you were going to play and who you were going to play against. But how did the team find out? Were you guys all together?

SHANE BEAMER: No, we were separate. I gave everybody the weekend off, and then they knew they had to be back here about right now because we're getting ready to get started with our banquet here at the top of the hour.

So no, we weren't together. We haven't been together as a team since, I guess, Thursday last week, we met as a team Thursday morning. I gave everyone a long weekend off. I was texting with some of our older guys, leaders, literally during the Selection Show about, okay, Alabama is not in the playoff, here's what could happen, and best-case scenario was us headed to Orlando. And there were other scenarios that looked like they could be a possibility.

I was talking to some of our leaders about if it got to that point what would be y'all's preference, and once it was announced we were going to this game, actually LaNorris came in my office as soon as I found out. He probably knew before my wife, believe it or not.

So, I was meeting with him and talking to him about some things. And Coach Tanner came into my office. I was meeting with a player when he found out and the door was shut. I came out of the meeting with the player, not LaNorris, but came out of a meeting with a player and Coach Tanner walked in.

I don't know if it was as impactful when he called to offer me the job and said are you ready to do this. But when he came in and said ‘Get ready for Disney World,’ I gave him a bear hug. I can't lie. There was a lot of excitement, for sure. And then the text messages I started getting from our players, they feel the same way.

Q. Are you more of a Disney or Universal guy?

SHANE BEAMER: Florida Citrus Sports, do I make anybody mad if I answer that the wrong way? (Laughter.) I don't want to upset any sponsors.

I love them all, how about that one? No, I most recently have been to Universal. Believe it or not, literally the morning after our spring game earlier this April, we played the spring game on Saturday night and literally the very next morning I had a recruit that was here for an official recruit meeting, I met with the recruit in my office Sunday morning. And then I took both of my teenage daughters, they grabbed two to three friends, and we went down to Orlando, and I took them to Universal for the day, and full day throughout the evening and maxed out our time. We had an awesome time at Universal, but we've obviously had some really special times as a family together at the Magic Kingdom as well and got some great memories also.

Whether we were at Oklahoma or when I was coaching at Georgia, when the kids were growing up, we always took them down there and did the Magic Kingdom and Disney, all that. I'm excited about both of them. I can assure you that the Beamer children are ecstatic about this trip when I told them.

Q. I know the players have exams coming up this week. I was curious what their schedule will look like here while you guys are still in Columbia.

SHANE BEAMER: We're going to let them get through exams here, or not ‘get through,’ but start exams, give them a little bit of a break. And then we'll get back together on Thursday of this week. Not necessarily practice, but kind of start ramping up, get a workout in from a weightlifting standpoint, run them a little bit. Just ramping back up for us to truly jump into bowl practice next week.

Initially, my thoughts were to just continue to work through exams and practice. But it's been a long year, mentally and physically. I think our players need a little bit of a break. Our coaches need a break.

It will allow us as coaches to really get into preparing for Illinois this week. We will have the majority of the week off.

I've got some traveling to do. Obviously, Kyle Kennard is a finalist for the Nagurski Award and Lombardi Award, so I'll be part of that out in Charlotte tomorrow night and Houston on Wednesday, I think, and we'll get back together as a team on Thursday and Friday, do some lighter workouts, more lifting, running, give them the weekend off and then come back in here. We've got graduation on Monday, a week from tomorrow, and then we're full speed ahead on bowl prep with practices starting after this week.