South Carolina Football: Gametime moved for season opener
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina football will take on its border rival North Carolina in the season opener on September 2nd. The Battle of the Carolinas will be featured on College GameDay and was originally set for a 7:30 kickoff.
According to the Gamecocks’ play-by-play man (and former All-American quarterback) Todd Ellis, that will be changing.
During the first Carolina Calls radio show of the football season, Ellis sat down with head coach Shane Beamer to take calls from South Carolina football fans, but before the calls came pouring in, the former Gamecock signal caller dropped a note about the new kickoff time for next Saturday night.
According to Ellis, the official kickoff time is set for 7:44 and has a five-minute flex that could see toe meet leather at 7:49 if the game prior goes longer than expected.
The Gamecocks have had several players dealing with minor injuries during fall camp, but according to Beamer earlier this week, all of them are expected to play. The only players considered “out” for the season opener are players like offensive tackle Jaylen Nichols who have had long-standing injuries that will cause them to miss most or all of the 2023 season.
Players like wide receiver Juice Wells, wide receiver Nyckoles Harbor, tight end Tyreek Johnson, linebacker Pup Howard, defensive end Tyreek Johnson, and running back Juju McDowell are among the banged-up players who are planning on playing next weekend.
During the Carolina Calls show, Beamer revealed that defensive end Jatius Geer is a new addition to the injury report and his status is somewhat up in the air. Beamer said Geer will play “if healthy.” New transfer portal addition Drew Tuazama is expected to see some snaps despite joining the team this week.
Ellis also told the listeners that South Carolina football is planning a “different” entrance for Cocky this season. Exactly how different the new entrance might be has not been revealed.