More changes to South Carolina 2026 staff, latest from Shane Beamer

Shane Beamer is returning for his sixth season as coach of South Carolina football but the pieces around him will look different in 2026.

Less than a month after hiring three new offensive coaches, the Gamecocks have hired Deion Barnes from Penn State as its new defensive ends/outside linebackers coach and internally promoted Torrian Gray to co-defensive coordinator.

Both moves were approved by South Carolina’s board of trustees on Dec. 26. Gray, who was hired as defensive backs coach in 2021, will now make $1 million annually. Barnes’ contract is for two years, earning $675,000 through December 2026 and $775,000 in 2027.

South Carolina hires Deion Barnes from Penn State

On Dec. 22, it was officially announced by LSU that Sterling Lucas would join new coach Lane Kiffin as defensive line coach.

Lucas spent five seasons as the defensive ends/outside linebackers coach, recruiting five-stars like Dylan Stewart, Nyck Harbor and transfer star Kyle Kennard, who won the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

On Dec. 23, South Carolina announced Barnes’ hire.

Barnes, 32, spent the past three seasons as defensive line coach on James Franklin’s staff at Penn State. Franklin was fired midseason and is now the coach of Virginia Tech.

In total, Barnes has been at Penn State for six seasons, working as a graduate assistant for three seasons before his first official coaching job. He is from Philadelphia and played at Penn State from 2012-14 and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012.

Beamer had already hired Stan Drayton from Penn State to coach running backs.

Penn State is facing Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27, and Drayton confirmed Dec. 12 that he will coach the Nittany Lions one last time before fully transition to his new role in Columbia.

Shane Beamer promotes Torrian Gray to co-defensive coordinator

Gray will now be co-defensive coordinator with Clayton White, who just completed his fifth season.

Gray has coached the secondary for nearly 30 years.

Not long after the news was announced, former player Brandon Cisse gave Gray a glowing review on X, writing “If you’re a DB considering SC and want to be developed there’s no better coach in the country than @togray14 !”

Cisse spent just one season with the Gamecocks in 2025 after transferring from NC State. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft on Dec. 11.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky‪@bylulukesin.bsky.social‬