South Carolina coach Shane Beamer hired Jamil Walker as his assistant strength and conditioning coach in June 2023.
Walker had been at the University of Arkansas. Little did Beamer know that, two years later, he would be recruiting Walker’s son Julian for the Gamecocks’ 2026 class.
Julian Walker (6-6, 265) is an up-and-coming defensive end at Dutch Fork who had a terrific junior season and perhaps played his best in the playoffs in helping the Silver Foxes win another state championship. Beamer offered Walker during the season, and he’s also picked up offers from N.C. State, Missouri, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State.
It would be easy to project the Gamecocks as a slam dunk for Walker, but he’s deep enough into the process to make a decision. “Just because I’m in such an early state of my recruiting, there’s not much of a favorite yet, but you can definitely feel the love from all the schools that came to talk to me,” Walker said. “I’m definitely going to be open-minded to my recruitment. Everybody has a fair chance to come and talk to me.
“But Beamer and the staff, Coach (Travian) Robertson, they show a lot of love to me. They communicate with me. Since I’ve been here, they’ve shown a lot of love, and I really appreciate that from them.
It’s great over there.” Walker, of course, has a little bit more access to the USC program than your typical recruit, and he’s been there a good bit for games and recruiting events. He’s seen for himself what Beamer, his dad and the rest of the staff have been able to build in the last few years.
“Beamer is building a great culture over there,” Walker said. “Being able to see them in the weight room and meetings, every time I walk in the building there’s lots of love from everybody in there. He’s building a great team at South Carolina. It’s been a pleasure to see that growth from the first year I was here to the second year.”
Coach Walker certainly will share his thoughts with his son during the recruiting process and answer any questions he might have. But Julian said his dad is giving him his space when it comes to making his decision, which he said won’t come until after his senior season.
“He’s handling it really well,” Walker said. “He’s really letting me go through the process. He’s there for me as a parent. It’s a great family process.
He’s letting me be open-minded about what schools I like. He’s really playing the parent role in this recruiting, and I appreciate that we have the ability to do that.” In January, coaches from USC, Clemson, Georgia, Missouri and N.C. State were by the school to visit with Walker.
He got a good idea from his conversations with them about how he’s viewed as a potential college player. “Usually, coaches talk to me about what front they play, and they tell me that they could see me playing that three (technique) in a pass rush situation while also playing an edge,” Walker said. “Everybody is open-minded to me playing both inside and outside.
Usually when I talk to coaches, they are like, ‘We like the relentlessness you play with, the passion you play with, the physicality and the way you move.’ ”
Walker said he did not make any visits in January but will get out this spring for junior days and practices. He has not yet set his official visits but identified schools he plans to visit as USC, N.C. State, Missouri, Syracuse and North Carolina.
