DeAndre Jules injury update: Shane Beamer gives latest on status vs. Vanderbilt

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer had some unfortunate news on the injury status of defensive tackle DeAndre Jules on Tuesday. Jules has missed the past three games for the Gamecocks after being injured against Ole Miss.

He had previously been a key reserve, rotating in on the defensive line for quality reps. Speaking in his weekly press conference, Beamer revealed that Jules is unlikely to play against Vanderbilt on Saturday.

“He’s a little closer. I doubt he’s gonna be ready this weekend,” Beamer said. “We’ll see, but we’re not anticipating that at this point.”

A sixth-year transfer from Pittsburgh, Jules has recorded nine tackles this season at South Carolina. His injury, though unfortunate, has allowed opportunities for other players to step into the past few games.

Nick Barrett has been one of those players, recently recording a pair of tackles in last week’s upset win against Texas A&M. Beamer expects him and others to continue holding things down up front for the defense while Jules recovers.

“We felt like we got a pretty good squad in there with Tonka (Hemingway) and TJ and Boogie and Monkell (Goodwine) and Jules and Nick Barrett,” he said. “Then (Rondarius) Porter has really given us some nice reps in there as well. So that’s a solid group. We always rotate four guys for sure, sometimes six. It’s better than what we had last year when we were basically on a three-man rotation.

“But yes, Nick’s role is dependent on Jules and a lot of those guys. But even if Jules was out, it’s not necessarily a ‘Nick’s gonna play a ton of reps.’ It’s very game plan-specific with him at this point.”

Kickoff for Saturday’s contest between South Carolina and Vanderbilt is set for 4:15 p.m. ET and will be televised on the SEC Network.