COLUMBIA - Jarriel King spent Saturday here instead of with his South Carolina teammates in Arkansas.

The left tackle wasn’t on the travel roster. He’s trying to recover from a concussion he suffered two weeks ago at Tennessee.

“I tried to relax and get a lot of stress off my back,” King said.

The North Charleston native said he didn’t even know he had a concussion until he passed out after the team got back from Knoxville. He was rushed to the hospital.

“Honestly, I cannot remember too much,” said King, who had started every game but one at either left tackle or left guard. “It was scary waking up and not knowing what had happened and thinking about that it could’ve been worse.”

King hasn’t been cleared for contact, but he expects he will be before Saturday’s game against No. 1 Florida.

Line coach Eric Wolford said King and Kyle Nunn would battle for the left tackle job.

The rest of the line will remain the same, Wolford said.

West Ashley’s Garrett Chisolm will get another start at left guard. Lem Jeanpierre will start at center, T.J. Johnson at right guard and Hutch Eckerson at right tackle.

Injury report

Defensive back Akeem Auguste was in yellow Monday, suffering from a mild shoulder injury. Spurrier didn’t seem to think the injury was very serious.

After starting at free safety against Arkansas, Auguste will move back to corner. Chris Culliver (shoulder) was back at practice, working again at free safety.

Defensive end Cliff Matthews was “running around,” Spurrier said. Spurrier said Matthews’ left shoulder will be evaluated later in the week.

The junior, who has five sacks, wasn’t expected back until the Nov. 28 Clemson game.

False starts?

The Gamecocks’ line was hit with four false start calls Saturday. But Wolford isn’t sure all of them were actually penalties.

“I don’t need to get fined,” Wolford joked. “I don’t have the money like Urban Meyer does.”

On back-to-back plays, Arkansas’ defensive movement appeared to cause South Carolina to jump.

On one of the calls, a Hogs defensive end was across the line of scrimmage.

“I think some people are jumping around and trying to entice some people to jump and taking advantage of the rule,” Wolford said. “That will have to be addressed after the season. But there’s certain teams that are doing that.”

Ultimately, he said his guys can’t flinch.

“At the end of the day it’s still your job not to move,” he said.

Wounded Warrior

The Gamecocks, teaming up with sponsor Under Armour, will have camouflage splashed throughout their uniform Saturday as part of the Wounded Warrior Project.

Spurrier said the team watched a video Monday about the program.

Then a former soldier, Steven Diaz, spoke to the team. He spent 20 months in a Maryland hospital after being injured in battle.

“They were patching his body back together,” Spurrier said. “He’s doing pretty well now.”

Spurrier said Diaz will be an honorary captain for Saturday’s game.

Lanning for Groza

Junior Spencer Lanning was named Monday one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given to the best kicker in the country.

Lanning, who’s in his first year with the gig, has made 15 of 17 field goals this season.

He missed his first kick of the year and then went 15-for-16. That miss was a 50-yarder at Alabama.

Extra points

The Gamecocks cut practice Monday after a little more than an hour. “Yeah, we shortened it up a little bit,” Spurrier said. “Late in the year, we’re trying to freshen up our guys some.” ... Spurrier credited Shelley Smith and her women’s soccer team, which won the school’s first SEC title since 2004.

The Gamecocks will host the first two rounds of the NCAAs, beginning Friday against Davidson.

 

You must be logged in to comment.