Exclusive: Why CCU lost some of its best recruits? Tim Beck on his failures and fixes

Coastal Carolina head coach Tim Beck may have had a successful first year at Coastal Carolina, but several shortcomings still hurt the team. Meanwhile, paying players is already hurting Coastal’s attempts to build for the future.

The team went 8-5, one less win than the previous year, but despite roster-wide injuries to stars like Grayson McCall, CCU won its second bowl game in program history.

But CCU faces a critical offseason, despite completing its fourth straight winning season. The transfer portal could disrupt CCU’s roster even more than it already has, while Coastal’s current NIL status leaves them vulnerable. All the while, Beck must pick his quarterback of the future.

Reflecting on his first year as a college football head coach in his office in the Marrio & Josh Norman Field House, Beck said making decisions about the little details like scheduling travel, deciding what the team eats, dictating strength and conditioning routines, and other logistical procedures were a new part of the job.

“As an assistant (coach), I’d show up at the airplane and get a text message that said seat whatever, and that’s what I did and went,” He said. “Now we’ll be able to weed through some of the important things that really need my attention and the ones that ‘hey, he’s going to want it like this. I know because this happened last year.’ Like we couldn’t say that before.”

Sorting out logistics will get easier with time, but one area of college football that continues to present CCU challenges is name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. Coastal’s first NIL Collective ceased operations at the beginning of 2024; its founders said getting donations from alumni was challenging.

CCU’s inability to compete in the NIL space is affecting recruiting too, Beck said.

Beck said Coastal had five players de-commit after receiving better NIL offers elsewhere and lost 12 recruiting battles for players CCU was interested in bringing to Conway. While Beck wouldn’t say who the players were, he added there is an echelon of recruit or transfer portal talent that CCU might be unable to reach.

“It’s happened to us (where) we had a great relationship with a player, they’ve been committed to us (and say) ‘Coach, I love it here. This is home,’” Beck said. “Then a week later (they) say, ‘sorry, I’m going to x school because their NIL deal coach, they’re offering me x amount, a free apartment and a car.’ What do you do?”

The biggest failures of Tim Beck’s first season at Coastal Carolina

There are other issues to sort out though this offseason. Four of Coastal’s losses were by an average of 11 points, and in several of CCU’s defeats, Coastal either led or kept the score close throughout the game. But whether it was poor goal line and red zone execution, missed field goals or untimely turnovers, the fine details sometimes got in CCU’s way, and the game would slip away.

The small mistakes, which re-appeared throughout the season, were the difference between an 8-5 team and a potential 10-win team, and Beck said the little things would be addressed in the offseason.

“When you focus on the details of every day, then that will carry over to the game, and unfortunately for me, in my first year, there were a lot of little things I could have done better, right with the coaching staff support step to help,” He added. “But it’s almost like teaching you how to drive ... That’s what we did. I learned how to put the key in the ignition, and we learned that’s reverse, that’s park. Now we’re on the road. This year, we’re on the road.”

Special teams was CCU’s Achilles Heel in 2023, as the Chants could not rely upon consistent kicking or returning from the unit. Missed kicks contributed to CCU’s loss to UCLA and Georgia Southern and a botched punt return.

CCU addressed kicking mid-season with a personnel change and returning by recruiting a wide receiver/specialist this offseason. Beck, whose last experience with special teams was as punters coach at Illinois State in 1990, said the unit’s struggles in 2023 were due to a lack of roster depth, and his own fault.

“I’ve got to give it more emphasis ... I’ve got to do a better job of re-evaluating,” He added. “Other places I’ve been you’ve played some of the younger, talented players. The days of red-shirting, I think, are probably gone because all you’re doing is saving a year for somebody else.”

Here’s how CCU and Tim Beck succeeded, despite injuries to Grayson McCall and internet controversy

Close losses and special teams are problems moving forward, but regardless, Beck ended the 2023 season with a bowl win and soaked in teal Gatorade. His team had several other high points in 2023, too. Sam Pinckney broke the NCAA record for most consecutive games with a catch.

CCU defeated Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, for the first time in program history.

“I think beating the school in Boone was awesome,” Beck said.

CCU’s trying times, injuries, and tough losses could’ve derailed their season, but Coastal turned their year around with five straight wins despite the obstacles.

When Beck faced criticism on social media before the Hawai’i Bowl for taking a shirtless photo with the bikini-clad dance team on the beach, his players were some of his staunchest defenders. Beck addressed other areas of concern too in his first year.

The defense, a question mark before the season became one of the best units in the Sun Belt Conference in 2023, rebuilding it with players from the transfer portal. He’ll have to rebuild again before 2024, as Beck is losing most of its starting defensive line, several starting defensive backs and one starting linebacker to the NFL Draft and transfer portal.

They’ll have to be replaced along with Pinckney, along with Brown at wide receiver and McCall at quarterback. Looking towards the future, Beck only had one goal for 2024.

“We got to be a tougher football team. That’s the number one goal this offseason,” Beck said. “They have to make a choice of ‘I’m either going to stay in here and fight through this workout or this running or whatever it is, or I’m out of here’ ... I’d rather they quit and leave now (before) they quit and leave when we’re playing James Madison or whoever.”

How the transfer portal is affecting CCU’s future at quarterback and other roster decisions

The looming threat of the Transfer Portal could also impact Beck’s roster construction for 2024.

CCU already lost McCall, wide receiver Jared Brown, running back CJ Beasley linebacker JT Killen and more than a dozen players in the transfer portal this year.

Finding the next starting quarterback will be the biggest question for Coastal before the 2024 season, and Beck’s assembled a deep, talented quarterback room to address that vacancy. Beck was criticized previously during his career as a play-caller, but his track record as a developer of quarterbacks is clear.

He’s gotten the best seasons out of college quarterbacks like Sam Ehlinger, Devin Leary, and Taylor Martinez. Still, Beck is worried the transfer portal could disrupt his plans to develop the quarterbacks on his roster in a long-term fashion.

“It’s hard. I’d love to develop them. I love that. I think that’s becoming less and less likely ... everywhere in the country,” He added. “I’m just going to continue to coach the guys that I got and develop the guys that I got the only way I know how to do that. If they stay great, they’ll develop into really good quarterbacks. If they decide to leave and chase the almighty dollar, then I can’t help that.”

At the moment, Beck has several good choices for his future quarterback. Redshirt freshman Ethan Vasko shined in relief for McCall during 2023 and is the most likely to replace McCall. Blake Boda showed potential in minimal field time. Former Michigan State Noah Kim could provide veteran stability and incoming freshman DJ Moore, whom Beck has praised in the past, might be the program’s future if he fulfills his potential.

But the transfer portal still looms over Coastal’s quarterback room. Most of Beck’s quarterbacks are underclassmen, so whoever wins the job will likely force the rest elsewhere. Beck said that he would not let the portal dictate who he plays but knows it’s inevitable some of his prospective quarterbacks and other players could leave if they don’t see the field.

“If you have a good relationship with those kids, you’re honest with those kids, they understand what’s going on, they see improvement, in my experience, you’ve got a chance of keeping them when you do that,” he said. “Now there are some unique situations where maybe two guys are in the same class or one guy ahead of another, and he’s young, and he’s starting over the other guy, you would expect the next guy to leave because he wants to play.”