Photos by Chesapeake Sports Club Member Linda Allen Clifton
January 14th Luncheon Speaker was Shane Beamer. Shane Beamer is the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team and the son of long-time Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer.
College Playing Career
Beamer chose to walk on as a wide receiver at Virginia Tech over an offer of a partial scholarship from Division I-AA Charleston Southern. Later, he moved to long snapper, the position he played during the Hokies’ 1999 season, in which they played for the national championship.
Coaching Career
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Following Beamer’s playing career, he became a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech under George O’Leary. Beamer’s team was scheduled to play against his father in the 2000 Black Coaches Association Classic to open the season, but the game was canceled because of lightning and Georgia Tech refused to reschedule it.
Tennessee Volunteers
From 2001 – 2003, Shane served as a graduate assistant under Phillip Fulmer at the University of Tennessee.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
In 2004, Beamer was hired by Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State to coach corners where three of his players earned All-SEC Freshmen honors. In 2006, he assumed the role of recruiting coordinator and brought in a class that included current San Francisco 49ers running back Anthony Dixon.
South Carolina Gamecocks
In 2007, Shane was hired by Steve Spurrier at the University of South Carolina to coach outside linebackers and to serve as the special team coordinator. In 2008, the Gamecock defense finished 2nd in pass defense and 13th in total defense nationally. His 2009 special teams unit blocked five kicks, tying for the SEC lead and ranking eighth in the nation, while the Gamecock defensive unit finished third in the SEC in total defense and fifteenth in the nation.
In his final two years in Columbia, Beamer also served as recruiting coordinator for the Gamecocks. The 2009 class was ranked 12th best in the nation by Scout.com and Rivals.com and included future NFL draft picks Stephon Gillmore and Alshon Jeffrey. Both the 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes ranked in the top 25 and included current South Carolina stars Marcus Lattimore and Conner Shaw.
Beamer was nominated for the 2009 Frank Broyles Award which goes annually to the top assistant coach in the country.
Virginia Tech Hokies
Beamer joined his father in Blacksburg in 2011 as the Associate Head Coach and running backs coach. In his first year as running backs coach, he tutored the school’s single season rushing record holder, All-American and ACC Player of the Year, David Wilson. Wilson was subsequently drafted in the first round by the New York Giants.