South Carolina football injury report: How offensive line losses impacting Texas A&M game

COLUMBIA — South Carolina football could be without all three of its starting wide receivers against Texas A&M on Saturday and the Gamecocks also have five offensive linemen questionable as of Tuesday.

Star receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells will miss his fifth consecutive game since suffering a foot injury in Week 3 against Georgia. Coach Shane Beamer said Wells wants to return and is working hard in rehab, but he said there is only “a chance” the senior will return before the end of the season. Senior Ahmarean Brown is also doubtful this week with a hamstring injury.

Beamer included Xavier Legette, the breakout star of the 2023 season, among a huge slate of injured players that are questionable when the Gamecocks (2-5, 1-4 SEC) play at Texas A&M (4-3, 2-2) on Saturday (noon, SEC Network). Legette currently ranks No. 3 in the SEC with 736 receiving yards, but he exited the Missouri game last week with an upper-body injury late in the first quarter.

South Carolina is also grappling with a plague of injuries on the offensive line. Three starters — right tackle Vershon Lee, right guard Trovon Baugh and left tackle Tree Babalade — are all questionable against the Aggies, and Lee missed the Missouri game with a knee injury. His absence was clearly felt by the Gamecocks, who gave up six sacks and eight tackles for loss to the Tigers.

South Carolina has now placed 11 different offensive linemen under an injury designation since the start of 2023, and three of those players suffered season-ending injuries. Beamer said he has never seen a single position group deal with this many issues in his years coaching, but he attributed the situation more to bad luck than to any internal issue with the team’s strength and conditioning or athletic training.

“You’re constantly looking at everything that you’re doing coaching — X’s and O’s, schedule, how we practice, how we travel,” Beamer said. “It’s concerning to have that many injuries at one position … but it’s not like you can put your finger on it either. Cason Henry got rolled up on against UNC, and it doesn’t matter how you train, practice, lift weights, whatever. It’s going to happen.”

Beamer said the slew of injuries on the line is also creating problems in practice as the team lacks depth to run its scout team. Freshman tight end Lukas Vozeh and running back Kamron Sandlin have stepped into offensive line roles on the scout team, which doesn’t offer the same level of competition for the starters that a true lineman might provide.

Beamer reached out to two NFL coaches in the AFC over the weekend seeking advice on managing a short-handed roster. The NFL has a 53-man limit on team size.

“The biggest challenge is just being able to get the physical work that you need,” Beamer said. “I think about it a lot, what we do in practice, and we need to put in good work … We don’t do a ton of scout team work, but you have to do some of it to be able to prepare for the week, and when you’re down on linemen like we are, it’s really impossible.”

INJURY TIMELINE: Breaking down South Carolina football’s slew of offensive line injuries, lineup changes

South Carolina has given up 31 sacks through seven games, which ranks No. 127 out of 130 FBS programs. While Beamer said the team attempted to design plays that would protect quarterback Spencer Rattler in the pocket against Missouri, he said it ultimately comes down to execution from the offensive line — starters or otherwise.

“We tried to get the ball out of his hands quicker. We tried to move the pocket, we threw some screens to running backs just to try and slow down the pass rush. We double-teamed people and things like that,” Beamer said. “At some point, you’ve got to do your job. At some point you’ve got to be able to protect. Our five offensive linemen, they’re on scholarship too, and they need to be able to get it done.”

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