South Carolina’s Shane Beamer is trying to steal a quarterback from Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols
South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer is trying to make life difficult this offseason for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols. Beamer is trying to swipe a quarterback commit from the Volunteers.
The Tennessee Vols made a surprise addition to their 2027 recruiting class in February by landing three-star quarterback Derrick Baker.
Baker, 6-foot-1/226 pounds from Alpharetta, GA, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 43 quarterback in the nation and the No. 86 player in the state of Georgia.
Shortly after Baker committed to Tennessee, VolQuest’s Austin Price cautioned that other programs will try to flip the talented quarterback from the Vols.
“He’s a thick kid,” said Price in February on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “He weighs 225ish. He’s got a strong arm. He’s got to stay healthy and stay on the field, but they loved what they saw from him at camp last summer. That’s when they offered him. That’s when they really started to go harder at him. They were after him all fall — even when he was injured.
“And then (Vols OC) Joey Halzle was down there to see him shortly after he got cleared back to start throwing again. And Tennessee just kind of stayed on that one. And they’ll have to stay on it because he’s going to start playing more as he gets healthier, and I’m sure others will come back in here trying to flip him. So that’s one that Tennessee will have to stay on top of.”
Shane Beamer and South Carolina offered Derrick Baker a scholarship
According to On3’s Chad Simmons, Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks offered Baker a scholarship this week.
“Schools are still working to get Baker on campus for official visits in the coming months, and not all schools are giving up,” wrote Simmons. “South Carolina is one. Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks offered the dual-threat quarterback earlier this week.”
Simmons noted that Tennessee is still in a “good spot” with Baker despite the interest from South Carolina.
“My commitment is strong with Tennessee,” said Baker to On3. “The coaches have been great since I committed.”
Baker is expected to take visits to other programs this spring, but it sounds like he’s firm in his commitment to Tennessee.
But you never say never in recruiting. And with Beamer squarely on the hot seat at South Carolina, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get desperate in an attempt to flip Baker from the Vols.
For now, though, it doesn’t appear that Tennessee fans have anything to worry about.
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