Beamer looks to control his emotions in South Carolina debut

By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Shane Beamer hasn’t been able to think about much other than his head coaching debut at South Carolina. The Gamecocks will face Eastern Illinois on Saturday night to start the season. The Panthers of the Ohio Valley Conference opened their year with a 26-21 loss at Indiana State last week. For Beamer, it’s a career-defining week. He’s the son of Virginia Tech football coaching great Frank Beamer and has worked as assistant at South Carolina under Steve Spurrier. He’s also coached for his dad with the Hokies, Kirby Smart at Georgia and Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma.