South Carolina football already has a solid-looking QB room entering the 2025 season with LaNorris Sellers, Air Noland, and Cutter Woods. But that isn’t stopping head coach Shane Beamer from adding more weapons to his arsenal.
Beamer paid four-star FSU commit Brady Smigiel an in-person visit last week after making an offer per The State. A class of 2026 commit, Smigiel reconsidered his decision to stay with Florida State after Gus Malzahn was hired as the new Seminoles offensive coordinator.
Smigiel’s father Joe Smigiel, the head coach at Newbury Park High School, confessed that Mike Shula as the Gamecocks’ OC was also a luring factor.
“We were interested based on the fact Mike Shula was hired. He’s a pro-type guy and there’s some good pro aspects to their offense. That’s kind of where it started. The three of them watched film and they signed off on it,” Smigiel’s father Joe said.
He also confessed that the QB would be taking other trips down to Washington, UCLA, Michigan, and Michigan State in the spring to keep their options open.
“If he’s taking a trip, he’s serious about it. Those are the ones that have potential to where he’s going, but he hasn’t signed them up yet,” the QB prospect’s father added.
Despite the competition, the Gamecocks might have an edge in getting the QB thanks to Beamer.
“I’m a head coach and we do a lot with accountability and culture and buying in. In today’s college football world, it’s hard to keep that good culture,” Coach Smigiel said.
“Those are hard questions we brought up to Coach Beamer, and Coach Beamer answered them in a way that reminded me of a guy who coached me. I coach the same way that he coached me, and that was Dick Tomey at the University of Arizona. He’s obviously a very impressive coach and our meeting went really good.”
Beamer and Shula have zeroed in on getting Smigiel on board. So more official visits can be expected. For now, his commitment to Florida State remains intact.
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