Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

College Football

Shane Beamer on Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC: ‘This is the toughest conference in America, and it just got tougher’

Michael Wayne Bratton

By Michael Wayne Bratton

Published:

South Carolina has been very successful in recent weeks on the recruiting trail.

Part of the Gamecocks’ message to recruits has been simple. You want to play against the best, come to the SEC?

The way Shane Beamer tells it, that pitch just got easier to make with Texas and Oklahoma officially accepting invites to the league on Friday.

Here is what the first-year South Carolina coach had to say when asked to share his thoughts on the two programs officially accepting invitations to join the SEC.

“Certainly, tons of respect for Greg Sankey, our commissioner. He’s a lot smarter than I am and he knows what’s best for not only the SEC, but what’s best for college athletics, and he feels like this is something that’s best for college athletics,” Beamer said. “Trust him and there’s a lot more that I’ve had to worry about between now and then.

“But it’s exciting, I said it earlier in an event, this is the toughest conference in America, and it just got tougher. But if you want to play against the best, and that’s what we tell recruits all the time, if you want to play against the best, the SEC is where you need to probably come play.”

Beamer then made a good point, considering Texas and Oklahoma left the Big 12, what should that tell everyone about the allure of the SEC?

“The fact that you had two premier programs like Oklahoma and Texas that are wanting to leave a pretty good situation where they were to come play in this league I think speaks volumes,” Beamer concluded.

Michael Wayne Bratton

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com

You might also like...

2025 RANKINGS

presented by rankings