South Carolina’s injury report this week will answer a couple of the questions Shane Beamer has been hearing over and over again.
The SEC’s new policy means the Gamecocks will have to put out a detailed update before Saturday’s conference opener against Mississippi State, and that matters because two of the biggest names on the roster - Dylan Stewart and Jacarrius Peak - are still working back from injuries. Beamer said on Sept. 15 he was going to get ahead of the inevitable question.
“I'll save you a question, we have an injury report that we put out on Wednesday nights per SEC policy, so we'll have a report or an update on injuries (Sept. 16), so don't want you to waste your time asking,” Beamer said.
South Carolina is 2-0 and hosts 2-0 Mississippi State on Sept. 19 at 4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network in Williams-Brice Stadium.
The league’s report schedule calls for updates on Wednesdays at 8:10 p.m. ET, then again on Thursdays, Fridays and the morning of game day Saturday.
Stewart, the star edge rusher, has been out since injuring his back midway through last season and spending the spring and summer resting. Peak, the transfer left tackle from NC State, hurt his knee playing basketball in a team event in February soon after arriving. Beamer said on Sept. 8 that both had returned to full-contact work in full pads, but neither suited up for the 45-9 win over Towson in Week 2.
Freshman Darius Gray has handled the first two starts at left tackle, and he has done the job. Still, Peak’s arrival was no accident - Beamer went after him because of what he can do when healthy. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers made it clear he’s eager to see that version of Peak in a game.
"He's a good player," Sellers said. "I watched the tape when he was in the portal, went with Beamer and picked him up from the airport so I mean, I know the kind of guy he is ... he's just a competitor so I look forward to that, if he plays."
Beamer also addressed the idea of bringing injured players back slowly, saying the work in practice is what will tell the staff where they stand.
"Let's see what they do in practice leading into the game," Beamer said. "Certainly games are different than practices but we try to make our practices harder than the games with the tempo, where the games are hopefully easier, regardless of who the opponent is, but yeah, there's a ramp up, and that ramp up starts in practice."
Stewart hasn’t played since Nov. 29, and Peak hasn’t played since Dec. 19.
Beamer also gave an update on kicker Ethan Sanchez, the former Houston kicker South Carolina added on Sept. 3. Sanchez has yet to appear in either of the first two games, and Beamer said the issue is still unresolved.
“He's not able to play," Beamer said. "We're trying to get a little bit more clarity on some things and working through that.
So optimistic he'll be able to play here as we go forward, but didn't feel comfortable putting him in the game last Saturday. That's why he wasn't dressed.
But like I said, we're working through that, and hopefully we'll get a little bit more clarity on that.”
Sanchez was one of the players granted a temporary restraining order by a Dallas judge on Aug. 27 for a fifth year of eligibility. Beamer said the team had cleared his addition with the SEC, as well as with school leadership, before bringing him in.
"We've obviously cleared it with the SEC that they would be OK with it, as well as my bosses and our administration, and everyone signed off on it today, including the SEC," Beamer said after signing him.
Meanwhile, Max Kelley handled the kicking duties in the first two games. He did not attempt a field goal in Week 1, then went 1-of-2 in Week 2, missing from 45 yards and making from 33.
In Other News...
South Carolinas NIL Spending Picture Just Got Much Clearer
The latest look at college footballs money race arrived this week, and it offered a sharper picture of where the SEC sits heading into 2026. The Athletics analysis of estimated roster budgets for every Power 5 team put the conference front and center, with three of the five most expensive rosters and 11 of the top 20 nationally, a reminder that the arms race is no longer subtle.
For South Carolina, the numbers around the league matter because they help define the lane the Gamecocks are recruiting and competing in. Texas was reported to be atop the SEC with an estimated roster budget between $45 million and $55 million, a figure that underscores how steep the climb can be for anyone trying to keep pace with the conferences biggest spenders. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas Roster Just Changed In A Way Fans Will Notice
The way South Carolina fans read a football roster is about to look a little different, and its part of a bigger NCAA shift that arrives with the 2026-27 season. The new 5 for 5 model gives Division I athletes five years of eligibility in a five-year window, which effectively wipes out the old redshirt label and pushes programs to present players in a cleaner, more current format.
At South Carolina, that means the Gamecocks are updating roster classifications to list players by their current year of eligibility instead of leaning on redshirt terms, following guidance from College Sports Communicators. Clemson is making the same adjustment, but for Gamecock followers its a small change with a familiar ripple effect: the depth chart and roster page will still tell the same basic story, just with a new language that better fits where college football is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Shane Beamers Mississippi State Story Still Hits South Carolina Fans Hard
Before Shane Beamer ever became the face of South Carolina football, his personal story took a memorable turn in Starkville. He met his wife, Emily, while coaching at Mississippi State, and the two crossed paths after a rough night in 2004 when Beamer ran out of gas following a game loss. Emily, a Mississippi State graduate and native, came into the relationship with deep ties to Bulldogs country, but the connection that started there eventually followed Beamer through the next stops in his coaching life.
Now, with Beamer leading the Gamecocks, the familys allegiances have shifted with him, and that Mississippi State chapter still lingers as part of the backstory South Carolina fans have embraced. It is the kind of personal detail that makes his path feel bigger than a coaching rsum, a reminder that careers and lives in football often turn on small, unexpected moments. [Read more 🡒]