Juice Wells getting 'closer and closer' to making late-season return for Gamecocks
Juice Wells dashed into the end zone and let it be known to the Georgia fans that he was back. The wide receiver had just caught his first touchdown of the year to put South Carolina ahead 7-0.
In the moment, Wells probably thought he was back to his old self. But the next thing he knew, a cart was coming out to take him into the locker room. He went down with a left foot injury and didn’t come back in the game.
Well over a month since the injury, there hasn’t been much information on Wells. He’s hasn’t been out on the field for the past five games.
[Enter to win a framed ‘Forever To Thee’ print from SC artist Beth Clark]
But on Tuesday, head coach Shane Beamer said Wells is getting “closer and closer” to making a return.
“I don’t know if he’ll be quite ready for Saturday,” Beamer said. “I’m not ready to quite rule him out yet.”
It’s been an injury-filled year for Wells, who had foot surgery before the season started. He was out on the field for the opener but didn’t catch a pass. Outside of that, he’s made three catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
It hasn’t been ideal for Wells to miss this much time after passing up on the NFL Draft to come back for another year. He was one of the top receivers in the SEC last season.
While he can’t be on the field, Beamer said Wells has done a good job helping out the other players.
“He continues to be a great teammate,” Beamer said. ““He’s in every meeting, so he’s helping the receivers. He’s in the team meetings, obviously, he’s in the special teams meetings. So he’s in the meetings, he’s still listening, he’s learning, he’s giving input, and then he’s really working hard on his own, whether he’s out on the practice field with us doing stuff, or whether he’s in the training room.”
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
The itch has been there, though. With four games to go in the regular season, Wells might be able to make a return at some point.
“He’s working like crazy to get back. To not just get back, but to get back where he is, the Juice that we all remember from last season as well,” Beamer said. “So he’s a competitor. He’s hungry to get back and certainly on the right track.”
If Wells can get back, it’s a huge upgrade for South Carolina, who needs to win out to become bowl eligible. The Gamecocks take on Jacksonville State at noon on Saturday on ESPNU.
