Georgia expected to lose assistant coach to team it defeated in the Rose Bowl
Georgia assistant coach Shane Beamer is expected to take a promotional opportunity with Oklahoma, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Telegraph.
Beamer, who has spent the past two seasons as Georgia's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, will coach tight ends and H-backs at Oklahoma but will also be involved in head coach Lincoln Riley's weekly game-plan preparation. The story was first reported by ESPN.
Beamer, the son of legendary Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, helped engineer a turnaround on special teams at Georgia during his two years in Athens. The Bulldogs were among the worst in the nation on special teams in head coach Kirby Smart's first season in 2016. This past season, the Bulldogs were exceptional on kickoffs and punting.
As a tight ends coach, Beamer's group was utilized more as run blockers than pass catchers during the 2017 season, thanks to increased production in the Georgia rushing attack. During the College Football Playoff, Beamer said his tight ends at Georgia took an unselfish approach this season instead of worrying about their personal statistics.
"Just like with the receivers, we sell them on the blocking and how successful the run game is going to be because of their blocking," Beamer said. "We practice throwing them the ball. We work routes with them. For whatever reason, it hasn't happened statistically. It hasn't been as hard as you might think and it goes back to those kids in that room."
Beamer will join a program that just came off a thrilling 54-48 double overtime defeat to Georgia in the Rose Bowl, which also served as a College Football Playoff semifinal game.
In the 2018 recruiting class, Georgia signed tight ends Luke Ford and John FitzPatrick, and also inked place-kicker/punter Jake Camarda. Beamer was instrumental in landing those recruits' commitments.
"We want to play for (Coach Beamer) because he focuses on family and the opportunities beyond football," FitzPatrick told The Telegraph after he signed his national letter-of-intent. "He speaks on how they use tight ends for both blocking and receiving, and I’m used to both."
Brandon Sudge contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Georgia expected to lose assistant coach to team it defeated in the Rose Bowl."