When you hear the name "Beamer" along with the word "coach," most college football fans immediately think of Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech�s living legend of a coach. But, for the last three years, another Beamer has quietly established his own reputation.

Shane Beamer, the older of Frank�s two grown children, is wrapping up his third and final season as a graduate assistant under the tutelage of Phillip Fulmer and his coaching staff at the University of Tennessee.

The younger Beamer played football for Tech and his dad from 1996 to 1999, and graduated from Virginia Tech in December 1999, about two weeks before the Hokies played Florida State for the National Championship.

Following that game (a 46-29 loss, which handed Tech its only defeat of the season) Shane turned his attention towards his dream of becoming a football coach. After taking a few months off to relax and recharge his batteries, Beamer was off to Georgia Tech to begin his coaching career as a graduate assistant for George O�Leary�s Yellow Jackets.

"I spent a season with those guys and had a great time and learned a lot," Beamer recalled of his stint with George Tech. "It was really a good experience for me. Then coach Friedgen got the job at Maryland and left the following summer."

And so did Beamer.

"It was a tough decision, but this business is like any other," Beamer explained. "It�s all about who you know and making contacts. I felt like I had a chance to get in at Tennessee and meet some more people and learn football from somebody else."

Beamer kept in touch with coach Fulmer, and following the 2000-2001 football season, Tennessee called the former Hokie to see if he was interested in a defensive graduate assistant position. Shane had been working with the offense at GT, but when the opportunity to join the SEC knocked on his door, Beamer felt he had no choice but to answer.

"This was a position to go on defense and I felt this was an opportunity I couldn�t pass up," Beamer said. "It was a chance to get in the SEC�a chance to get on the other side of the ball and learn from a great coach in John Chavis, our defensive coordinator."

Entering his third and final season with the Big Orange, Beamer has created a lasting impression with the coaching staff at UT, and especially with coach Chavis.

"He�s a self starter," Chavis said, clearly impressed with young Shane. "You don�t have to sit him down and tell him what to do. He knows what needs to be done. He�s more mature than his years."

And that maturity has helped Beamer deal with the reality of following in his father�s footsteps. Frank Beamer is one of the nation�s most respected college football coaches, so it�s hard for Shane to dodge the moniker "Frank�s son." But Beamer, 26, seems to know what his surname can and cannot do for him in the coaching circles. He embraces it, accepts it, and has no problem with it whatsoever.

Reporters have asked the question too many times to count, "Do you think you got where you are going because of your dad�s reputation?" Beamer is so used to it, he doesn�t even bristle at the question. In fact, he doesn�t seem to mind it at all.

"I realized being Frank Beamer�s son, it can only help me for the most part," Beamer explained. "It�s a way to get my foot in the door just because people are able to recognize Shane Beamer, Frank Beamer�.they make the connection.

"People have always told me that your last name may get your foot in the door," Beamer continued. "But you�re going to keep yourself there. After awhile, you start making your own contacts, so I worked hard trying to learn as much as I could, be my own person and kind of go from there."

And go from there is where Beamer will find himself when this football season comes to an end. He�ll have four years as a graduate assistant with two respected programs. He�ll have the ringing endorsements of some of the most respected coaches in the game today. And of course, he�ll have the last name of one of the most respected coaches in college football. Shane wouldn�t have it any other way.

"I�m proud of whose son I am and I�m proud of what dad has accomplished," Beamer said. "But, I�m working hard to be my own person and not live off that name. I want to be Shane Beamer and accomplish what I�ve accomplished."

Beamer never got any breaks while playing for his dad. Often times, Frank was probably harder on Shane than other players because he was the coach�s son. That same ideology has followed the next generation coach to Tennessee.

"Nobody has ever treated him differently because he�s a coach�s son," Chavis said emphatically. "If anything, we probably expected more of him."

Coaching seems to come quite naturally for the Beamer boys. Shane�s years playing with Virginia Tech�s special teams�three years as the starting long-snapper�has made him a target at various NFL and college camps. Coaches want him to help them learn the secret to Virginia Tech�s vaunted special teams.

"A lot of people I come in contact with automatically think I�m a special teams genius," Shane chuckled. "This past spring I went to visit about four NFL teams and spent a couple days with their coaches. They all wanted to get together and talk about the kicking game."

This time six months from now, Shane hopes that teams will want to talk to him about more than special teams. He�s hoping for a coaching job�any coaching job�but one based on merit, not name.

Shane knows that there are those in the coaching world keeping an eye on him who see him as Frank Beamer�s son. That�s why he feels he�s had to do a little more to stand apart from the other graduate assistant coaches coming up through the ranks.

"I�ve always tried to go the extra mile to really prove that I do belong and that I�m not here just because of who my dad is," Beamer said.

For Shane, the next rung in the coaching ladder is a full-time coaching position. While he would prefer to stay in the southeast and coach, Beamer said he�ll go anywhere for a job. The highest level possible would be ideal, so if it�s a Division I-A school or a position in the NFL, great. If it�s a Division I-AA school, that�s fine too.

Whatever the job, Shane seems prepared to embark on a new career. Who knows, maybe by the time his old man is ready to call it a career, Shane will be ready to carry on the family name at Virginia Tech.

"We�ve never really talked about it to be honest with you," Beamer said. "If it works out where I can come back to Virginia Tech one day, I would love that. That would be a dream. If not, I�ll just work hard and do the best job I can wherever I am."

When his time arrives, Shane will be ready, count on it. And Beamer Ball will live on.

Gary Cope hosts "Riding the Bench with Gary Cope," which can be heard live on Sportsradio 1400 AM, The Ticket, in Charlottesville, every Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon.

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