Shane Beamer provides updates on Stone Blanton, Vershon Lee injuries

South Carolina led Florida by two scores during the final quarter but wasn’t able to finish. Losing to the Gators at home 41-39, the physical matchup saw both sides lose pieces to injury that could have played a role in the game’s final outcome.

Both linebacker Stone Blanton and offensive lineman Vershon Lee were forced to leave the game early due to their respective ailments. Head coach Shane Beamer updated their statuses after the loss.

“Stone had a thigh bruise. I think he will be fine. Vershon had a little bit of a knee. We will get a look at that tomorrow,” Beamer said postgame. “[Lee] tried to go in the second half and didn’t feel like he could do what he needed to do. Give him credit. What a dude to move from our starting center to be our starting right tackle today. He is everything that you want in this program. Thankful for him.

“The other was — I’m proud of Mario [Anderson]. He had an ankle injury in the first half that he really fought through to play with in the second half. Not many guys would have been able to do it. Proud of him from that standpoint.”

Down multiple players throughout the lineup, the Gamecocks were not able to hold on and win the game and dropped to 2-4 on the season, and 1-3 in SEC play.

After the loss, Beamer said that his message to his team in the postgame locker room was that he was proud of his guys for laying it all out there. Despite coming up short, Beamer let his team know that they didn’t make enough plays, while Florida made them when it counted.

“My message also is I know how this group will respond. They always have,” Beamer continued. “They will come right back to work tomorrow. We have a team meeting at 3 o’clock like we do every Sunday. They will show up at 3 o’clock ready to get back to work. Have a great practice tomorrow night as we always do.

“We have to respond. We have a big challenge going on the road next week to Missouri. We have to perform and that is life. You put a lot into stuff, and it is all about how you respond.”

Week 8’s kickoff between the Gamecocks and Tigers is scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network.