Daily Flux Report

Hamilton: Beamer's handling of Ashford considerate, prudent

By Scott Hamilton Shamilton

Hamilton: Beamer's handling of Ashford considerate, prudent

Only days before South Carolina played in the 2022 Gator Bowl, Shane Beamer was adamant when it came to his policy regarding the transfer portal. He didn't "want someone who's one foot in, one foot out" as the Gamecocks prepared to play Notre Dame.

"We had a couple players on our team that entered the portal," Beamer said in December 2022, "and (they) asked me if they could enter the portal and still play in the bowl game and I told them no; that you're either with us or you're not. I don't mean that in a negative way. I wish everyone well. But I don't want somebody down here that's already spending half their time thinking about where their next stop is and things like that."

Fast forward to this week.

Beamer revealed that backup quarterback Robby Ashford will be with the Gamecocks on Dec. 31 when they play Illinois in the Citrus Bowl. It didn't matter that Ashford entered the portal for the third time in his career earlier this month.

Now there are apparently exceptions.

"It's a little bit of a change because I've had some guys ask to do that in the past and I've said no because you're either with us or you're not," Beamer said. "I think each situation is specific, Robby loves it here, he's enjoyed his experience here, he wants to be a starting quarterback, I get that and he should be. (But) there's only one of those guys on the field."

For the Gamecocks, that's LaNorris Sellers.

The SEC Freshman of the Year, barring injury or some other freak occurrence, presumably has a stranglehold on the position so long as he's in Columbia. That's left Ashford to do what quarterbacks do these days -- go elsewhere, rather than try to get better and compete for the job.

Nomad

In 2024, you can't criticize Ashford too harshly for his decision.

College life is a still a relatively tight window in the grand scheme of things, even as the average player ages keep creeping closer to 30 than 20. Opportunities to leverage those years have to be seized while they can and wherever they can -- especially with NIL dollars in play for guys who likely won't make an NFL roster.

Meanwhile, the player who sticks it out is now almost an anomaly, either because he already has a perfect situation away from football, or his ceiling isn't that high to begin with. We see more of the latter because mis-hits happen more than most coaches want to admit.

As for the former, Ashford hasn't discovered a locale enough to his liking.

He spent two seasons at Oregon and two at Auburn before transferring to USC last January. So he obviously believes he can be a QB1 somewhere, or perhaps he'd otherwise lean on baseball, something he explored as a redshirt freshman outfielder when he played 20 games for the Ducks. We'll find out if he's correct.

Regardless, he has to explore possibilities now.

In this climate of heightened competition where moves happen in real time, the best opportunities go to the ones who move the fastest. And few teams are so locked in at quarterback for the next season that they're shopping for other positions first.

Ashford has appeal for those in need, even if he's had limited reps. The starter during USC's win over Akron, he's completed 23 of 32 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns this season, while rushing for 278 yards and two more touchdowns.

He played in 22 games for Auburn, including 10 starts, rolling up 1,758 yards and throwing nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. Ashford also rushed for 917 yards and 12 touchdowns. He didn't take an in-game snap while with Oregon.

"I would love for Robby to stay but I want him to get a chance to be a QB somewhere," Beamer said. "I'd love to say, 'Don't announce you're going into the portal until right after the game,' but that's not the best thing for him.

"I didn't want to prevent him from being able to find his next home over the month of December."

Strong signal

That's considerate of Beamer. And it demonstrates his continued maturation as a head coach. He's evolving as the world of college football evolves.

No doubt he would rather stick to his guns and keep his arms wrapped firmly around this and every other situation -- that's the innate nature of all coaches. Dealing with and explaining the optics of changing stances is exhausting.

Still, the signal that being open-minded sends might be more empowering than crippling.

Because the main takeaway is this softer version of Beamer takes care of his guys first. That's powerful capital; not only when it comes to luring players either out of high school or in the portal who are seeking homes, but also for retaining his current roster. It was driven further home in that he didn't make the decision unilaterally; instead, letting the team chime in.

Besides, it's also happening elsewhere.

A prime example: Back-up quarterback Preston Stone is with SMU as the Mustangs prepare to play Penn State in the College Football Playoff.

He started the first three games this season, but lost the job to Kevin Jennings. Stone entered the portal after Clemson beat SMU in the ACC Championship Game and will be QB2 for the opening-round game at the Nittany Lions. But third-year coach Rhett Lashlee is letting it play out.

Which spotlights the most obvious takeaway from both situations, though this specifically for the Gamecocks: Not having Ashford around would be problematic for USC should something happen to Sellers.

Sixth-year senior Davis Beville -- a Greenville native who spent three years at Pittsburgh and two at Oklahoma before transferring to USC -- would become QB2. He left those places for a reason, and his experience and production has been even more limited than Ashford's. That's a scary proposition for a coach and a team looking to lock down the fifth 10-win season in school history and first since 2013.

Behind Beville are true freshman Dante Reno and walk-on Jimmy Francis. Super-sub Luke Doty is the option behind glass to break in case of emergency.

So, Beamer pivoting on his stance was as prudent as it was considerate.

"Quarterback is a unique situation because they only take one," Beamer said. "I told the team in front of Robby that if we go through this process and I sense that he's not being a great teammate or isn't completely committed, than we are going to have a different conversation."

Fair enough. And if Ashford doesn't live up to his side of the bargain, then that will empower Beamer, too.

Because then he can reverse back to his initial stance, saying at least he gave it a shot.

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