It’s impolite to level. However that didn’t cease Shane Beamer on Tuesday. Nor Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. on Thursday.
Beamer, the South Carolina head coach, has caught some severe flak for his berserk conduct throughout the Citrus Bowl on Tuesday when he needed to be held again whereas pointing at Illinois coach Bret Bielema.
And as if his Gamecocks’ loss in that bowl sport wasn’t irksome sufficient, Beamer was reminded of his uncouth outburst when Wells — a former receiver, now of the Ole Miss Rebels — trolled him throughout a landing celebration within the Gator Bowl on Thursday.
Wells’ pointed salute whereas being restrained by a teammate after hauling in a 32-yard landing within the first quarter of the 52-20 win over Duke was a transparent callback to the irate finger his former coach had held up two days prior.
Through the second half of their 21-17 loss to the Combating Illini, the Gamecocks’ head coach was proven on the sport broadcast pointing and screaming at Bielema.
As Beamer would clarify after the sport, he thought Bielema was taunting him and his crew throughout a break in play by sticking his arms out within the honest catch sign — the identical sign one of many Gamecocks’ kick returners made earlier within the sport on a pretend honest catch.
Beamer didn’t take kindly to Bielema’s gesture and needed to be held again from working out onto the sphere by a slew of assistant coaches.
Wells’ cruel imitation Thursday wasn’t so out of the blue contemplating that the huge receiver and his former coach share a little bit of uncomfortable historical past.
In November 2024, Beamer shaded a former participant for transferring out of this system on the finish of the 2023 season. And whereas the ex-Gamecock wasn’t named by the top coach, it doesn’t take a lot detective work to find out whom he was referring to.
“There’s a player that left our program after last season, and one of the reasons he told me he was leaving was [because he didn’t think] we were going to be very good, and we don’t have a quarterback,” Beamer informed reporters on Nov. 19.
“Well, he is somewhere else right now and there are a lot of guys that are here and are glad they’re here.”
Earlier than transferring to Ole Miss to play beneath a way more mild-tempered coach in Lane Kiffin, Wells was one of many Gamecocks finest receivers
In 2022, he paced the receiving corps in receptions (69), yards (928) and touchdowns (six).
After enjoying simply three video games in 2023 as a result of a foot harm, he moved to Oxford, Miss.
However there, amongst a extra proficient huge receiver room, Wells struggled to regain each the goal share and manufacturing he accrued as a Gamecock.
He completed 2024 with 27 receptions for 521 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The 32-yard rating Thursday was his solely catch of the sport regardless of Ole Miss’ deconstruction of Duke’s protection.
