Here’s when South Carolina’s Shane Beamer is OK with players entering transfer portal

Sometimes lost in all the hullabaloo about the craziness of the transfer portal is the healthy transfer.

The guy who enters a program and, for whatever reason, it’s not working out. Perhaps an injury derailed things. Or a scheme change. Or the SEC was just too fast.

That player should not have to spend the next however many years sitting on the bench as a third-stringer only getting reps on the scout team.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer is totally good with that part of the portal.

“It would be very easy for us right now to not be as honest as maybe you should be in order to keep guys around,” Beamer said Tuesday at his Welcome Home Tour stop in Columbia. “I want our guys to have a good experience here in this program. And that means being able to play.”

With spring practices all wrapped up, players know where they stand. They know if there’s a chance to play themselves onto the field — or if it’s gonna be a major uphill battle.

So Beamer tries, he said, to be honest. Telling them what their role would be if the season started today. What would need to happen for them to play. Here’s what needs to change. On and on.

Beamer began player meetings on Monday at 7 a.m. and, as of Tuesday night, had met with 80 of his players — going through evaluations and conversations about potential and academics and, sometimes, the transfer portal.

Beamer admitted a couple of guys “who weren’t necessarily surprises” have already informed him they plan to enter the portal.

“You kind of expect that at the end of spring,” Beamer said. “Again, you want guys to have good experiences and good opportunities. If that means going somewhere where you can play a little bit more. (I) certainly wish those guys well and all of them have been honest, positive conversations.”