COLUMBIA - There appears to be some explanation for South Carolina free safety Chris Culliver’s off night at Tennessee.

Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said Monday night that Culliver injured his shoulder during pregame warm-ups.

Ward said he saw the injury happen and asked about it, but Culliver said he was OK. During the course of the game, it became obvious that he wasn’t.

Culliver was apprehensive, out of position and reluctant to make contact.

“When you see the film you can see he never tried to tackle with his left shoulder because he felt like it was going to come out, the one that he had surgery on back in the spring,” Ward said. “That’s why he tackled real poorly.”

Despite a request from multiple media outlets, including The Post and Courier, Culliver was not made available Monday to reporters.

Coach Steve Spurrier, who didn’t mention the shoulder Sunday on his teleconference, said Monday that it was his understanding that Culliver had some kind of medical issue hampering him.

“His attempts were sad,” Spurrier said. “Hopefully we’ll get that straightened out.”

Ward said he might’ve known something was wrong with the junior, but he assumed the wet Neyland Stadium field was the cause of some of his poor angles.

“If it had been a dry day, I could’ve said that, that he was taking bad angles running on a wet field,” Ward said. “But when you go back and watch the video, you can see it clear as day.”

Ward blamed himself for not being more observant as he initially watched from the press box. But he said Culliver should’ve been more upfront with letting coaches and trainers know about the shoulder.

“You’ve got to let us know,” Ward said. “He hurt us more than he helped us, being out there. If he couldn’t tackle with his left shoulder, he should’ve told us that. He felt like it was going to come out.”

Line look

West Ashley’s Garrett Chisolm will likely get his first career start this week, Spurrier and offensive line coach Eric Wolford said Monday. Chisolm, a walk-on, got extensive action in the second half at Tennessee.

He’ll likely start at left guard, with Lem Jeanpierre moving to center and replacing Garrett Anderson.

Jarriel King might not start because of “concussion-like symptoms” that forced him to be sent home from practice Monday. If he can’t go, Kyle Nunn would get the start at left tackle.

Rip Van Auguste

Ward said corner Akeem Auguste didn’t start Saturday because he slept through a meeting Saturday afternoon. Sophomore C.C. Whitlock started in his place, although Auguste did play quite a bit against the Vols.

“It was strictly because we had a 3 o’clock meeting (Saturday), and he slept through it,” Ward said. “He missed it. I don’t play that. If you’re not at the meetings on time, you don’t play. He understands that.”

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com and check out the South Carolina blog at www.postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks.

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