Shane Beamer addresses offensive line situation following Jaylen Nichols injury

South Carolina lost a critical piece to its offensive line in the spring game in left tackle Jaylen Nichols.

According to Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer, Nichols suffered a “significant injury” and will miss at least the start of the 2023 season.

Nichols started the final five games of the 2022 season at left tackle and made seven starts on the year.

Beamer was asked about the plan for the offensive line after Nichols’ injury at the Midlands Welcome Home Tour event earlier this week.

Specifically, Beamer was asked if Jakai Moore might be an option at left tackle. Moore, who is a redshirt senior, appeared in all 13 games last season. He made five starts at left tackle and three starts at left guard in 2022.

“We’ve got quite a few guys that have some position flexibility that worked out there during spring practice,” Beamer said. “That’s the way we always try and do things is the more you can do, the better. So whether it’s playing guard and tackle, whether it’s playing left side and right side, whether it’s playing center and guard, we try and work guys all over the place.”

Beamer didn’t get into specifics as far as who else might be in the mix, but he did say that the Gamecocks still have plenty of options.

“I’d say there’s a handful of guys that certainly can do that and that would be something that we’ll continue to work over the summer, as well,” Beamer said.

Shane Beamer shares importance of having depth chart entering summer

Beamer was forced to shuffle the South Carolina depth chart because of Nichols’ injury, but leading up to the spring game, he spoke about the importance of having a depth chart entering the summer.

When the South Carolina spring game concluded on April 15, the next task for Beamer was straightforward. He was going to spend the beginning of the next week meeting with every player on his roster.

His reason was simple: To share with each player where they stood on the depth chart. Speaking ahead of the spring game, Beamer shared the value of having a depth chart set so one can be transparent with players about where they stand — and what they need to do to get a bigger role.

“I’ll have every single player on our team coming through my office to meet with me individually. And in those meetings, I’ll talk to them about, ‘Here’s where your role is right now. And here’s where you need to improve and what needs to happen for you to have even more of a role or whatnot.’ So, certainly, we want to be very honest and clear with our guys in regards to where they stand, right now,” Beamer said. “But absolutely, from a coaching standpoint, planning standpoint, I believe it’s important to know.”