Have you ever heard an idea so good, so obvious, that you wonder why it hasn’t happened yet? That’s exactly where we are with inter-college spring games in college football. Picture this: instead of watching your team run glorified practice drills against itself, you get an actual showdown with another squad, full pads, live action, and maybe even a packed house. Sounds dope, right? Well, Deion Sanders sure thought so. Syracuse was all in. The NCAA? Not so much. They shut that thing down faster than a no-name corner getting stiff-armed by Derrick Henry. But hold up—just because the NCAA put the brakes on it doesn’t mean the conversation is dead. South Carolina’s own Shane Beamer is out here keeping the dream alive, and now, SEC insiders are weighing in with their own spicy takes. And oh boy, they’re not mincing words.

On April 1st, SEC Mike and Cousin Shane hopped on live and reacted to South Carolina’s sixth spring practice, where Beamer had just dropped some straight-up real talk about the NCAA’s rejection of inter-college spring games. A reporter hit him with the question: “Deion Sanders was almost able to sneak in that game against Syracuse. The NCAA said no. But that coming as close as it did, does it give you some hope that this could be something that will be worked on?”

Shane Beamer, never one to shy away from a topic, laid it out plain and simple. “Yeah, definitely sounded like it was close. It was going to happen,” he said. “Y’all know me. You were covering us when I was an assistant coach here, back in 2007-10, and I was talking about it then and still am. I would love it. And I think a lot of the coaches in this league were in the same boat.” His frustration? Understandable.

The NCAA didn’t just reject the idea; they let Colorado and Syracuse cook with it until the last minute before yanking the rug out. “A lot of teams, I think, have already finished spring ball,” Beamer noted. “For teams that didn’t get that opportunity because they’re already done with spring ball, it would be a little bit of a competitive disadvantage.”

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He’s got a point. A real one. And SEC insiders wasted no time backing him up. SEC Mike came in strong. “I’d be—um—I’d be all for it, whether it be springtime or, you know, especially in the preseason. I mean, how—this right now, this spring, this is the worst spring I can ever remember for college football. And if we had these games, I mean, it would take it from a zero to like a 10 in a hurry, don’t you think?”

Cousin Shane kept it even more real. “Oh yeah, yeah. You had trouble selling tickets when they were there, you know what I’m saying? Even if it was free, there were people—we had 25, 30,000, which was great, you know? Great showing. But you put a different football team in there? Yeah, brother, we may have us a little sellout. I may travel to the spring game, you know what I’m saying?” And honestly? He’s spitting facts. Fans aren’t exactly lining up in droves to watch practice reps. But throw a real opponent in the mix, and suddenly, that game means something. And when games mean something, so do the reps, the strategy, and—most importantly—the competition. Speaking of competition…

Shane Beamer drops LaNorris Sellers bomb, cranking up the QB2 showdown

Now, while Shane Beamer was dropping truth bombs about spring ball, there was another storyline bubbling under the surface—the Gamecocks’ quarterback room. The battle for QB2 is officially on, and Beamer made that crystal clear when asked about LaNorris Sellers and the rest of the group.

“Great competition is what’s going on behind LaNorris at quarterback,” Beamer said. “Dante Reno obviously has been here. It’s his second year in the program. Cutter Woods just got here. Air Noland just got here. Jimmy Francis, it’s his second year in the program. So we’re very young at that position, obviously, including LaNorris.” Translation? A QB2 has not been named yet. And that means every single rep matters in this battle. “So we don’t have a number two quarterback right now,” Beamer added.

While Sellers is locked in as QB1 after leading the Gamecocks to a 9-4 record last season, the battle behind him is as open as a busted coverage. Dante Reno’s got experience. Cutter Woods has the raw talent. Air Noland’s got hype. And Jimmy Francis? He’s been in the trenches too. Shane Beamer even gave a little sneak peek into what’s been happening in practice. “We did a little drive out there today where we didn’t script anything. We just put the ball down and just basically play football, like a game, and Air led his series. I mean, he led the offense on a, I was hoping it was going to be about a four or five, six play drive, but it ended up being a 19-play drive that he took the team down the field.”

That’s got to turn some heads, right? A 19-play drive? In a practice setting? That’s the kind of thing that puts you on the map. And then there’s Cutter Woods. Beamer had high praise for him, too. “I’m really excited about Cutter Woods. You guys who have followed him in high school know that he’s a winner. This is what he did in high school, and comes from a great program up there at Westside with Coach (Brian) Lane.” So what does it all mean?

Well, Sellers has his spot, but everything else is up for grabs. And if you think that competition doesn’t matter, just wait until one of these young guns gets called into action in a tight SEC battle. This isn’t just about filling out the depth chart—this is about finding the guy who can step in and take control when it counts.

Between Beamer pushing for inter-college spring games and the all-out QB war behind Sellers, South Carolina is setting the stage for one wild offseason. The NCAA might be blocking the spring game evolution for now, but don’t be shocked if this idea keeps gaining steam. And as for the Gamecocks’ QB2 race? Let’s just say there are a few young stars looking to turn that competition into a straight-up dogfight.