South Carolina came out of its 38-10 win over S.C. State with far more injuries than head coach Shane Beamer wanted to see. Immediately after the game, Beamer admitted the list of banged-up players was “too long to name.”
But less than a day later, his tone shifted to something more hopeful.
“Looking at it from a health standpoint, we’re better today than I thought we might be last night when I met with you guys,” Beamer said during his Sunday teleconference. “Feel pretty optimistic on everyone as we sit here today in regards to being able to play Saturday night against Vanderbilt. Brady Hunt is the only one that we’re doing some testing on today, and still getting some of the results back from that, so keeping our fingers crossed and prayers for him that we get a good report here this afternoon. But everybody else is trending to being able to play this weekend.”
Hunt, South Carolina’s senior tight end, was limited to just six snaps before leaving the game.
The Gamecocks were also shorthanded at nickel. Starter Jalon Kilgore did not suit up, still slowed by a nagging hamstring issue that has bothered him since Week 1. His absence forced the staff to lean on depth, but that position quickly took more hits.
Brandon Cisse, who had stepped into the starting nickel role, exited early after colliding with a teammate. Freshman Jaquel Holman replaced him, but later left with his arm in a sling. That pushed redshirt freshman Kelvin Hunter into extended duty — and he responded by tying for second on the team with four tackles.
Vicari Swain, the star of the night with two punt return touchdowns, also left the game in the second half after what Beamer called being “banged up.” Left tackle Josiah Thompson was among those who joined the injury list as well.
This all came on top of the Gamecocks already being without two key defensive players, Judge Collier and JT Geer. Collier managed just nine snaps in the opener against Virginia Tech before exiting, later seen on crutches. Geer left the same game with an apparent shoulder injury.
Still, Beamer suggested both could be back for the SEC opener. “I expect both players to return in time for the Vanderbilt game,” he said during Carolina Calls.
South Carolina (2-0) will host Vanderbilt next Saturday, September 13, at Williams-Brice Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network.
