South Carolina football fans won't get a chance to watch their favorite team this week as the Gamecocks have "Bye" next to their name for September 28th. The time off comes at a good time for Shane Beamer's team, though, as several prominent Gamecocks are dealing with injuries right now.
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers rolled his ankle against LSU last weekend and was held out of the game against Akron this Saturday. Running back Rocket Sanders didn't play much in the Akron game before leaving in a boot following his own ankle injury. Other players (such as linebacker Bangally Kamara and wide receiver Jared Brown) also missed the game this Saturday.
During his Sunday night teleconference, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer updated his team's injury situation, including giving some direct insights into Sellers and Sanders.
An optimistic Beamer said that he thought his team would be ready to roll for their next game, an October 5th home contest against the top-10 Ole Miss Rebels. Players with known long-term injuries will remain out for the game unless something drastically changes, but the individuals whose statuses are more up in the air should be fine according to the Gamecock headman.
Beamer hedged his remarks a bit by saying that several players would be questionable if USC had to play a game this week. Specifically, he called Rocket Sanders "the most questionable" of the group of banged-up Gamecocks. As far as Sellers is concerned, Beamer didn't label his quarterback's potential availability, but he said that Sellers has been walking around without a boot and even took part in weightlifting sessions last week.
Beamer also shared that tight end Michael Smith and offensive lineman Tree Babalade have been a little banged up (Smith's issue came up during the Akron game). He expects both young players to be healthy moving forward. During his postgame media availability, Beamer mentioned that defensive tackle Monkell Goodwine got hurt against Akron, as well, but more details on his status have not been made available.