The South Carolina Gamecocks will be without one of its biggest stars for Week 1 against Kent State in offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak. Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer has sounded optimistic about the return of Peak, who is rehabbing back from a knee injury he suffered in February.
But for now, the Gamecock left tackle will not suit up for the Sept. 5 home opener against Kent State. As for which guys will fill that starting role against the Golden Flashes, new South Carolina offensive coordinator Kendal Briles gave some insight the week before the Gamecocks open the season.
"There’s four guys that are working in there," Briles said at a recent press conference via Gamecock Central. "Dayne Arnett, Shed Sarratt‘s in there, Seth Smith, and then Darius Gray is also working out there at tackle, as well. Those guys are are all battling out so we can get what we feel like is the two best. And then, if we need to rotate some guys, we’ll rotate them.”
While the plan is for Peak to take the left tackle spot once he is healthy, it sounds like the Gamecocks already have a solid rotation in-place already.
Arnett is a transfer who came to South Carolina this past January from DII powerhouse Ferris State. Under longtime Bulldogs head coach Tony Annese, Arnett helped Ferris State's offense finish first nationally in scoring and total offense (52.8 PPG), as well as allowing just 17 sacks as an offensive line. The Bulldogs finished 16-0 as national champions.
Arnett played with now Ole Miss star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss Ferris State in 2024, helping the Bulldogs win another national championship.
Sarratt is a sophomore this season, coming off of an impressive true freshman season in 2025. He stepped on-campus as an early enrollee in January, and played in 10 games for South Carolina last season. In total, he started in nine games.
Smith is also a transfer offensive lineman, coming over from FCS Northern Arizona. He brings in plenty of experience along the offensive line. For the Lumberjacks, he made 25 starts during 31 games across five seasons.
And last but certainly not least, there's true freshman Darius Gray. Although he only arrived in Columbia over the summer, his physicality and how well he performed during summer workouts has impressed several of his coaches.
"I’ve been doing this a while,” South Carolina offensive line coach Randy Clements said of Gray via The State newspaper. “And I don’t know if I’ve seen (a freshman) that far advanced as he is.”
Per Briles, it sounds like who exactly will start at left tackle hasn't been sorted out just yet. But the Gamecocks have plenty of experienced, talented guys rotating in the spot that can fill the void before Peak comes back.
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