Beamer Discusses Gamecocks Bye Week Approach With Banged Up Players
There might not be a single college football program in the country right now that's more thankful to have a bye week this week than South Carolina. The Gamecocks are currently sitting at 2-3 on the season and have also seen multiple players on both sides of the football either leave or miss games due to injury at some point during September.
In particular, position groups like the offensive line and nickel cornerback position have really felt the brunt of the injury bug. While, of course, having time away from the field to rest and recover is essential, Shane Beamer also made it known during his weekly appearance on the SEC's teleconference call that it's also vital to make sure even guys who are banged up get a particular volume of reps during the shortened week of practice.
"There's nobody on our team that we've said, 'Okay, we're not going to let this guy get any work this week.' Because I told him in the locker room at the Tennessee game, this is a week we've got to work, and we have to get better, but you also want to be smart," Beamer emphasized. "Defensively, Tonka [Hemingway] and Boogie [Huntley] on the defensive line are pretty banged up, so they got some work this week, but it wasn't like they were taking every rep. It's an opportunity for our young defensive tackles to get work this week.
As I alluded to earlier, South Carolina has also dealt with some injuries on the offensive side of the ball. That group includes a couple of important starters for the Gamecocks.
"Trey Knox, a tight end, he practiced this week. He's pretty beat up, so we limited what he did but then gave some of our younger tight ends opportunities to get better. Spencer Rattler practiced every day this week. He took a little bit of a beating the other night, but we were able to get other quarterbacks some work as well. So everyone practiced, [there was] nobody that we said, 'Hey, take these three days off and rest up.', but certainly, we were smart with our guys too in getting them work, but also getting them healthy."
The availability of some of these players, as mentioned above, will be critical for Beamer and his staff, as in week seven, they'll play just their third home game of the season, one some would deem a "must-win" game, against Billy Napier's Florida Gators.
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