South Carolina football had a special visitor at practice this week.
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley stopped by Sunday morning to speak to the Gamecocks (9-3) at their last practice before the holiday break.
The football team has a few days off before traveling to Orlando, Florida, where South Carolina faces Illinois on Dec. 31 (3 p.m., ABC) in the Citrus Bowl.
Coach Shane Beamer revealed the news of Staley’s visit on Sunday afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter. He posted two pictures of Staley with the team and wrote, “We brought in @dawnstaley to give the same message to our @GamecockFB TEAM this morning before our last practice before Christmas break.”
Staley replied to the post and said “IT’S ALL ABOUT US GAMECOCKS, coach!”
Beamer’s caption was referring to a news conference with Staley on Dec. 18 during which she was asked how she ensures her team is focused after the holiday break.
“You threaten them,” Staley joked. “I’ve been in college before, I understand the play on the mind of being in two places and you want to get home. You can’t fight that, so it has to be your discipline, you have to be where your mind is. If your mind is home your play is going to say so … it’s really a mental test.”
Her team had one final game against Charleston Southern on Dec. 19 before a 10-day break. The Gamecocks (11-1) won 82-46 and return to play Wofford on Dec. 29 (2 p.m., SEC Network).
This isn’t the first time Staley has dropped by a football practice. She talked to the team during spring practice on April 13. Beamer speaks very highly of Staley and is very open about their friendship as coaches. Beamer was in Cleveland for the women’s basketball team’s 2024 national championship.
At 2024 SEC Media Days, Beamer revealed that some recruits wanted to meet Staley when they were on South Carolina’s campus. Beamer said Staley found time even in the middle of her season to meet with about eight recruits, and she’s been to his house to meet recruits as well.
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Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina’s Dawn Staley advises football team ahead of bowl game
