South Carolina left Columbia, Missouri with more than just a 29-20 loss to No. 23 Missouri — the Gamecocks also picked up several new injury concerns.
Head coach Shane Beamer admitted after the game that there were “a lot” of injuries throughout the night, some even before kickoff.
One of the most notable absences was defensive back DQ Smith. Although he was removed from the SEC injury report prior to the game, Smith never took the field. He remained on the sideline in full uniform but without a helmet.
“DQ had a little bit of a quad contusion that flared up in pregame warmups and said he couldn’t go,” Beamer explained.
On the offensive line, Trovon Baugh was another player limited by health issues. Though he hadn’t appeared on the official injury list, the junior guard did not play.
“He’s kind of had a nagging injury this week,” Beamer said. “He was available, but he wasn’t 100 percent.”
Baugh had started the first three games of the season at right guard, but against Missouri, the Gamecocks shuffled their lineup. Nolan Hay took over at center while Boaz Stanley slid to right guard in Baugh’s place. Josiah Thompson, Shed Sarratt, and Cason Henry rounded out the rest of the starting five — at least temporarily.
On the opening series, Cason Henry left the game with a shoulder injury after just one snap and headed to the medical tent. Freshman Tree Babalade, who had filled in for Henry the week before, once again took over at right tackle for the remainder of the contest.
Beamer didn’t go into further detail on additional injuries but acknowledged that “a few guys got banged up” during the game. He is expected to provide a more detailed update during his weekly Sunday teleconference.
South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC) now turns its attention to a critical home matchup against Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Williams-Brice Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network, ahead of the team’s first bye week of the season.
