South Carolina is hoping to improve to 3-0 this week, as the Gamecocks take on fellow undefeated Mississippi State at home. What should be a great quarterback battle between LaNorris Sellers and Kamario Taylor just might come down to whether or not Gamecock stars Jacarrius Peak and Dylan Stewart will play.
During his weekly radio show, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer gave the most positive indication yet that left tackle Peak and EDGE rusher Stewart will make their highly anticipated return to the field on Saturday afternoon:
“Peak and Stewart have had a good week of practice and are certainly trending in the right direction,” Beamer said via Gamecock Central. “Barring any setback tomorrow, we expect to see them on the field Saturday.”
The news is one that South Carolina fans have been eagerly awaiting basically since both guys got injured. Peak has been rehabbing a knee injury he suffered in February during a pick-up basketball game, Stewart played through a significant back injury that he played through last season.
Although they both missed South Carolina's first wins over Kent State and Towson, the hope was to have them back in time for the Gamecocks to start SEC play. Luckily for the Gamecocks, the timing appears to be shaping up that way.
Having both guys back should drastically help South Carolina on both sides of the ball on Saturday. One of the biggest keys for the Gamecocks defensively will be getting after Bulldog quarterback Kamario Taylor. He's been lighting up defenses during wins over UL-Monroe and Minnesota, having thrown for 581 yards with seven touchdowns and another 145 yards on the ground with a score.
His mobility also helps him avoid sacks and quarterback pressures as well, only having been sacked once in his first two games. That could change, as Taylor has to go up against a Gamecock front that now features Stewart. That's in addition to the likes of Caleb Herring, Anthony Addison, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy and Tomiwa Durojaiye. Across his two seasons, Stewart has accounted for 11 sacks.
Peak is also critical for Sellers and the Kendal Briles offense to have success, as well. While the Gamecocks have had no problems scoring in its first two games, averaging 51 points per game. But Jeff Lebby's Bulldog defense has allowed just 13 points across the last two games. Peak allowed just seven sacks across his last three seasons at NC State, and was named an honorable mention all-ACC lineman last season.
It'll be interesting to see if the spread for Saturday afternoon moves at all with the news of both Gamecocks returning. Currently, South Carolina is listed as a 4-point favorite.
For now, it sounds like both guys will finally make their first return back in front of a raucous Williams-Brice Stadium crowd. Sounds pretty fitting to me.
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