On the positive side, South Carolina football will have players like Vershon Lee, Cason Henry, Ahmarean Brown, and Xavier Legette back, but several other players won’t play.
It was announced early in the week that left guard Trai Jones would be absent from the lineup against Jacksonville State on Saturday, and star wide receiver Juice Wells was not expected to play, either. However, one player from the long list of “questionable” players will join Jones and Wells on the sideline this week.
Tight end Trey Knox suffered a hamstring injury last week against Texas A&M, and #1 will not play against the “other” Gamecocks. After Coach Shane Beamer was unwilling to commit to Knox playing or sitting when giving injury updates this week, he was not on the official dress list.
This season, Knox has gotten the lion’s share of the snaps at tight end, but Josh Simon (who has been listed as a co-starter at the position the entire year) has shown some impressive flashes.
Simon has shown more blocking ability than Knox this season, and though he hasn’t had many touches, he’s made the most of them. The former Western Kentucky Hilltopper has found the end zone twice, and he has delivered some punishing hits to defenders who have made the mistake of trying to bring him down after the catch.
After Simon, both Connor Cox and Nick Elksnis have played a small amount of snaps this season. With Knox out, one or both of those guys likely will be asked to step up into a bigger role.
As of now, there has been no timeline given for Knox’s injury. He has played much of the year banged-up, but he will not be able to go this week against JSU.
The Gamecocks and Gamecocks will kick off at 12:00 on ESPNU and the ESPN app.