The bizarre tale of former Wake Forest assistant football coach Tommy Elrod providing information for Demon Deacons opponents spilled into the Southeastern Conference on Thursday when the University of Georgia fined first-year tight ends coach Shane Beamer $25,000.
Beamer recently confessed to receiving information from Elrod before Virginia Tech and Wake Forest played in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup two years ago. Beamer was then a Hokies assistant under his father, Frank Beamer.
"While at Virginia Tech, I was contacted by Tommy Elrod the night before our game against Wake Forest in 2014," Beamer admitted Thursday in a statement released by Georgia. "I had known him for several years through coaching circles, so I did not think it unusual he would be calling me. During these communications, however, he told me about a few plays that he said Wake Forest might run during the game on Saturday. I did not share this information with anyone, including our student-athletes, anyone on the coaching staff, or my father, nor did we use the information in the game.
"I realize I made a serious mistake in judgment by accepting the information and failing to notify officials at Virginia Tech of the communications. I sincerely apologize to Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, the ACC and the University of Georgia for my mistake. I am truly sorry."
Georgia first-year coach Kirby Smart, whose Bulldogs wrapped up on-campus workouts for the Liberty Bowl on Wednesday, said Beamer informed him of the incident last week. Beamer was a tight end and long snapper for the Hokies from 1995 to '99 and returned to his alma mater in 2011, spending the next five seasons as running backs coach.
Elrod played at Wake Forest and was a Demon Deacons assistant coach under Jim Grobe, but he was not retained by current coach Dave Clawson in 2014. He then became a radio analyst for Wake Forest football games and gave information to Louisville and Army in addition to Virginia Tech during a three-season span from 2014 to this year, according to a Wake Forest internal investigation. Louisville and Virginia Tech were each fined $25,000 by the ACC.
"While we do not condone this type of behavior, I appreciate Shane informing me and our administration of his involvement and respect the way in which he is accepting responsibility for his lapse in judgment," Smart said in a released statement.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.