South Carolina Gamecocks football coach Shane Beamer could be a candidate for the Virginia Tech Hokies’ vacancy, created by Brent Pry’s firing on Sunday. There’s a major caveat, though: the rest of the season has to match USC’s embarrassing 31-7 loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday.
CBS Sports’ David Cobb shared that caveat in a piece sharing five candidates for the Hokies. The James Madison Dukes’ Bob Chesney, the USF Bulls’ Alex Golesh, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers’ Tyson Helton, and the Norfolk State Spartans’ Mike Vick, who’s also perhaps the most notable Virginia Tech football alum in program history.
“Why would Beamer leave an SEC job to coach in his father's shadow? It's a tough sell. But it's conceivable that, if things go poorly at South Carolina this season, he'd be interested in a fresh start at a place of deep personal significance. Beamer spent his formative years in Blacksburg and played for his father. Also, winning in the ACC should be easier than winning in a 16-team SEC that is about to start playing nine league games,” Cobb wrote.
Cobb’s point depends almost entirely on the health of Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who left the Vanderbilt game with a concussion. Sellers’ status for the Mizzou Tigers game is unclear.
If Sellers misses time, Luke Doty is their man. Doty completed 18/27 of his passes against the Commodores, one of those being an interception, none of those being a touchdown toss.
Against a schedule that includes No. 3 LSU Tigers, No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners, No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide, No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels, and No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies, all consecutively, with a bye between Ole Miss and Texas A&M, it’s fair to question if Doty can get them through. The run game hasn’t had a 75-yard rusher, so Doty can’t game-manage his way out of that stretch.
South Carolina needs Sellers. If he’s not around, that bad season Cobb is talking about is their future.
We’ll see how long Sellers is in concussion protocol and how the injury affects his physical and mental psyche moving forward. If Sellers isn’t the same quarterback, perhaps they won’t have the same head coach in 2026.