The 2021 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season marked the Gamecocks' 128th overall season, and 30th as a member of the SEC East Division. The Gamecocks played their home games at

Williams–Brice Stadium Williams–Brice Stadium is the home football stadium for the South Carolina Gamecocks, the college football team representing the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. It is currently the 16th largest on-campus college footb ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

, and were led by first-year head coach

Shane Beamer Shane Beamer (born March 31, 1977) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at the University of South Carolina. He is the son of former Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechni ...

Background

Previous season

After opening the 2020 season with losses to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, the Gamecocks defeated Vanderbilt on October 10th. On October 17th, they beat No. 15 Auburn for the first time since 1933. The win over the Tigers would be the highlight of the season, as the Gamecocks would lose all of their remaining games, including losses to

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

(24–52) and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

(3–48). After giving up 59 points to Ole Miss,

Will Muschamp William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Georgia. He served as head football coach at the University of Florida fr ...

was terminated. Offensive coordinator

Mike Bobo Robert Michael Bobo (born April 9, 1974) is an American college football coach who is currently the Offensive Analyst for the Georgia Bulldogs. He was recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Auburn Tigers. He was the he ...

finished the season as interim head coach; he would lose the remaining final 3 games by a combined score of 44–103. It was the Gamecocks' worst season since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

New head coach announced

On December 6, 2020, Oklahoma assistant head coach

was announced as the Gamecocks 36th head coach. A former Gamecock assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Steve Spurrier from 2007 to 2010, he is also the son of long time

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

Head coach

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shan ...

. Beamer was born in Charleston, South Carolina, after graduating from Virginia Tech, he was a graduate assistant at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, and

, before becoming an assistant coach at

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

. Beamers other stops as an assistant included Virginia Tech and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Notable recruits signed during Beamer's time as recruiting coordinator at South Carolina included

Alshon Jeffery Alshon Jeffery (born February 14, 1990) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at South Carolina, and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. As a member of the ...

, Stephon Gilmore, and

D. J. Swearinger Dayarlo Jamal Swearinger Sr. ( ; born September 1, 1991) is an American football strong safety for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football at South Carolina and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2013 ...

. Beamer cleaned out the staff from the Muschamp era, hiring

Marcus Satterfield Marcus David Satterfield (born April 9, 1976) is an American football coach and former player, who is the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Satterfield served as the head football coach at Tenness ...

from the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

as Offensive coordinator and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

s coach,

Clayton White Clayton White (born December 2, 1977) is an American football coach and former player who is serving as the defensive coordinator for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Prior to being hired at South Carolina, he was the defensive coordinator for the W ...

from

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

as Defensive coordinator and

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

s coach, and a slew of other hires including

Pete Lembo Peter Lembo (born April 16, 1970) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the associate head coach and special teams coordinator at the University of South Carolina. In 2022, Lembo oversaw the highest rated special teams ...

as Associate head coach/

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coordinator and Hammond coach and former Gamecock QB Erik Kimrey as Tight ends coach. Defensive backs coach

Torrian Gray Torrian Gray (born March 18, 1974) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the defensive backs coach at the University of South Carolina. Also known by the nickname “Big Play Torrian Gray”. College career Gray was th ...

was hired away from Florida, and Wide receivers coach Justin Stepp was hired away from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Preseason

Offseason departures

Personnel

Coaching staff

Notable support staff

Roster

Schedule

References

{{South Carolina Gamecocks football navbox

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

South Carolina Gamecocks football seasons Duke's Mayo Bowl champion seasons South Carolina Gamecocks football