Shane Beamer reveals major injury updates ahead of South Carolina-UNC

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer had a fairly rosy update on his squad ahead of the season opener against North Carolina on Saturday. With kickoff days away, the only players out are ones who were already hampered by injury.

Edge rusher Jatius Geer, tight end Connor Cox and linebacker Bam Martin-Scott are out for the opener, Beamer said on his weekly call-in radio show. He added that they should be back next week.

Otherwise, the health picture is strong.

“Fantastic shape,” Beamer said.

It’s not a surprise to learn that trio of South Carolina players are out for the opener, given that Beamer said their status was still in question on Wednesday.

“I would say they’re still questionable,” Beamer said.

Beamer is looking forward to rekindling a regional rivalry

Conference realignment is taking a toll on rivalries in college football. Bedlam is likely done between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Oregon and Washington heading to the Big Ten could take down their in-state matchups as well. Teams just miles away from each other will not appear on each other’s schedule.

Beamer feels strongly about playing local opponents, calling it one of the best aspects of college sports. Of course, there is the Clemson game the Gamecocks play and take seriously on an annual basis. And then Beamer will see his team kick the season off against North Carolina, the third matchup in five years.

Regional rivalries are an important part of the sport for Beamer, something he plans to keep alive.

“I think it’s one of the things that makes college football great — these regional rivalries,” Beamer said during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “We obviously have one in-state each and every year in Clemson at the end of the season that I don’t ever want to lose. When you are able to play other teams regionally — when I was here before as an assistant coach, we played NC State, we played North Carolina.

“We got Virginia Tech coming up on the schedule in a few years. I think it’s great. It’s great for the fans. The players get excited about it. Again, I love so many things about college athletics. The pageantry, the regional rivalries, and all that are right there at the top.”

Looking at the future South Carolina schedule, Beamer is putting what he’s preaching into practice. There are plenty of regional games on the future nonconference schedule. Beamer mentioned Virginia Tech but NC State and more UNC games appear.

Even Group of Five opponents such as Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, and Wofford are present. South Carolina has clearly put an emphasis on facing off against teams not too far from Columbia.