When head coach Shane Beamer stepped onto the podium ahead of his weekly media availability on Tuesday afternoon, he immediately addressed the South Carolina football team鈥檚 injury situation.
Beamer announced that a number of players, including two of South Carolina鈥檚 starters from last weekend 鈥� sophomore defensive back Nick Emmanwori and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Cason Henry 鈥� would be unlikely to appear in Saturday鈥檚 game against Furman. He also confirmed that redshirt junior linebacker Mohamed Kaba, who suffered a 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒-ending ACL tear last 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 against Arkansas, would miss another year due to a left knee injury.
鈥�(The) kid worked his butt off throughout the off麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 spring practice, was practicing with great energy and was truly loving being back out there, as you can imagine, (with a) smile on his face every day at practice,鈥� Beamer said. 鈥淚t really hurt for him. And I wish him well, but we鈥檒l wrap our arms around him and we鈥檒l see what the future holds.鈥�
As the team looks to move forward in light of these injuries, Beamer said players must be 鈥渟mart鈥� in the way they practice, with a thin roster at many positions.
However, the Gamecocks have been battling injury woes long before the regular 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 started. Fifth-year offensive lineman Jaylen Nichols, who made seven starts at left tackle in 2022, suffered a knee injury during the spring game and is expected to miss the entire 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒.
Beamer said laying out contingency plans for injuries is something he and his staff discuss before each game day, but last Saturday鈥檚 matchup against the Tar Heels resulted in a particularly unfavorable scenario.
鈥淭he first thing was 鈥極kay, let鈥檚 talk about the DB play. The one thing that would really put us in a bind is if we lost Nick or (sophomore defensive back DQ Smith), and we lose 'em on the first play or the first series,'鈥� Beamer said. 鈥淭hen, we talked about the offensive line and we said, 鈥極kay, with our youth, the one thing that would really hurt us 鈥� that would be tough to overcome 鈥� would be if Cason got hurt, Cason or any of our tackles.鈥�
Graduate student edge rusher Jordan Strachan, who tore his ACL during the same game Kaba did last 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒, has found himself in similar positions throughout his career. He said that the nature of the sport forces teams to embrace a 鈥渘ext man up鈥� mentality, something South Carolina will undertake over the next few weeks.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the game of football. Football has injuries, so next man up,鈥� Strachan said. 鈥淚t sucks, but life goes on. We can鈥檛 stop playing, so you just got to move on.鈥�
Along with Emmanwori, Henry and Kaba, freshman offensive lineman Markee Anderson, redshirt sophomore edge rusher Jatius Geer and redshirt senior defensive back David Spaulding were listed by Beamer as players who are on the shelf to begin the week. Should they still be inactive by game day, Beamer indicated that younger players could be filling up spaces on the depth chart before Saturday鈥檚 game.
Specifically at the linebacker position, this could mean the collegiate debut of freshman linebacker Grayson 鈥淧up鈥� Howard, one of the most highly-touted freshmen from this year鈥檚 class.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have him really going on any special teams because he hadn鈥檛 been practicing a lot," Beamer said. "Our defense did a better job of getting off the field in the second half than what they did in the first half, so he never got in there, but he could have gone, and (I) fully expect to see him play this week.鈥�
Heading into the Furman game, South Carolina鈥檚 injury outlook is not all negative, though. Two receivers who left last week鈥檚 game and did not return 鈥� senior Antwane 鈥�Juice鈥� Wells Jr. and fifth-year Ahmarean Brown 鈥� have been active in practice, according to Beamer.
鈥淚 asked (Juice) early on in practice, 鈥楬ow鈥檙e you feeling? What鈥檚 your mindset this week?鈥� And he said, 鈥業鈥檓 playing, and don鈥檛 even try and limit me in practice today,鈥欌�� Beamer said. 鈥淎B got hit in the ribs a little bit the other night, but he practiced today and was fine.鈥�
In their absence, redshirt junior quarterback Luke Doty showcased his positional versatility by lining up at receiver on some plays. Doty said that he and his teammates are always willing to step up and help the team, no matter what the injury situation is.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what capacity it is. If it鈥檚 me having a headset on the sideline watching defense and making calls 鈥� if it鈥檚 me out on special teams or playing wide receiver, then I鈥檓 all for it,鈥� Doty said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 always how I鈥檝e been and 鈥� those guys are the same way 鈥� any way we can help the team, we鈥檙e going to make it happen.鈥�