Shane Beamer updates timeline on Juice Wells injury

The South Carolina Gamecocks are looking to save the 2023 season and earn a bowl bid. Currently, the Gamecocks sit on the wrong side of .500 at 3-6. On Saturday, South Carolina will host Vanderbilt in hopes of picking up their fourth win on the season, and they may have the services of one of their top offensive weapons back for the Week 11 matchup.

On Tuesday, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer provided an update on the status of star wide receiver Antwane ‘Juice’ Wells, who has been sidelined much of the season with a left foot injury.

“I would say he’s OK,” said Beamer. “If it gets to the point these next three games where Juice is able to play, I’ll let you know. I don’t want to come in here every single week; ‘He’s basically out until I tell you otherwise and don’t anticipate him playing this week.’ I’m not trying to B.S you. There’s a chance that he could play. It’s just kind of where he is mentally and where he is physically and where we are with things.

“He told you guys on the teleconference Sunday he ran, (and) he ran well. He was out at practice today, and he didn’t practice today, but he was out there. So, he continues to get closer and closer, but he’s out right now. That can change tomorrow; that can change next week. I don’t really know. It’s kind of a day-to-day type of thing.”

Wells has played in just three games for South Carolina this season, racking up just three catches for 37 yards and one touchdown. If Wells is to go on Saturday, just his presence alone would be a massive boost for the Gamecocks as they fight for their bowl-season lives.

Shane Beamer not focusing on bowl eligibility in South Carolina locker room

At 2-6 going into the final month of the season, head coach Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks are fighting to become bowl-eligible. To get there, though, South Carolina can’t afford to lose another game. 

Despite being in that situation, Beamer explained that the Gamecocks aren’t focusing on bowl eligibility within the team’s locker room.

“We talked about it a little bit this morning,” Shane Beamer said. “To me, our mindset, like I understand when you go outside this building all they’re talking about is you got to get bowl-eligible, you’ve got to win four more. They know that.” 

With a non-conference game against Jacksonville State on Saturday, that’s where the Gamecocks are focused, rather than a potential bowl game down the road.

“We talked about it this morning that look, we are not going to talk about it in this building every single week. We understand what we have to do. We need to win four games to get bowl eligible. But the first thing, you have to figure out a way to beat Jacksonville State this week,” Beamer said. 

“So, let’s not think about the anxiety of what we have to do. You can’t get the fourth win in a row until you get one of them. I know it’s cliche but it’s process. It is focusing on this week and what we have to do to be the very best we can be and be better than we were last week in order to play well against Jacksonville State and hopefully win the game. After that, we will worry about the next one and truly take it one week at a time because if you are thinking about things four weeks down the road, you are not thinking about this week and that is when you are going to get woke up pretty quickly, if you are not.”

Shane Beamer is in his third season at South Carolina. In each of his first two seasons, Beamer managed to go to a bowl game, with a 1-1 record in those bowl games.