Gamecocks still thin in secondary as spring game week arrives
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer is still working through the process of how he’ll split up his team for Saturday’s Garnet and Black Spring Game.
A huge determining factor in who will be on each team will be the health status of his roster.
As was the case for the last couple of weeks, the secondary remains the hardest-hit area on the team with several guys missing Tuesday’s scrimmage.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys banged up right now, so we were limited, particularly in the secondary, with how many guys were out there today,” Beamer said. “So we got a lot of (other) guys some work, which is great for them.”
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The Gamecocks’ head coach did not get into specifics but we know that defensive backs Marcellas Dial, Keenan Nelson Jr., and Peyton Williams have all missed some practice time this spring while David Spaulding has missed the entire spring.
To add to the current issues there, projecting starting cornerback O’Donnell Fortune was sick Tuesday so he didn’t scrimmage.
As South Carolina gets closer to Saturday, Beamer will have a better idea of who will be available for the scrimmage, which he plans to set up as a true split-squad simulated game with a winner and loser, just as he did last season.
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“Once we meet as a staff today at 4:00, we’ll meet today like we always do on practice days and get an update on the health of the team and figure out how we can best set up the spring game in regards to who is going to be available and not available on Saturday night,” Beamer added.
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Defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway, offensive tackle Cason Henry, linebacker Mo Kaba and EDGE Jordan Strachan, and Spaulding have all been held out for the entire spring.
All five are rehabbing surgeries and will be 100 percent for the 2023 season.
The 2023 South Carolina Garnet & Black Spring Football Game will be back under the lights at Williams-Brice Stadium, with game time set for 7 pm on Saturday, April 15.
The game will be part of the second annual “Big Gamecock Weekend,” which includes a weekend full of Gamecock athletic events.
