South Carolina heads into Saturday’s 4:15 p.m. matchup with Kentucky carrying a fresh list of availability concerns, and one notable absence that’s already locked in.
Defensive end Dylan Stewart, who was suspended from the team on Sunday, will not play against the Wildcats. He’s listed among South Carolina’s outs on the SEC’s initial availability report, which came out Wednesday night. The Gamecocks also have several other players ruled out: DB Jalewis Solomon, WR Jayden Sellers, LB AJ Holloway, DE Kobby Sakyi-Prah and OT Josiah Thompson.
One more name is still up in the air. Defensive tackle Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy is listed as questionable, leaving South Carolina uncertain about whether he’ll be available against Kentucky.
There was at least one encouraging note for the Gamecocks on the injury front. Defensive tackle Kelby Collins was not listed on the report after leaving the Alabama game with an injury.
South Carolina is coming off consecutive losses to SEC opponents to close September and enters the weekend at 2-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Kentucky arrives at Williams-Brice Stadium at 3-1 and 1-1.
The SEC’s availability report system is now in its third season and applies only to conference games, meaning each school has to follow the reporting rules for nine of its 12 regular-season games. Teams must submit their first report by 8 p.m. on Wednesday and keep updating it daily, with the final version due 90 minutes before kickoff. Player statuses can be listed as available, probable, questionable, doubtful or out before game day, then shift to available, game time decision or out on game day.
Schools that miss the deadlines or provide inaccurate information can face fines ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 in football.
In Other News...
South Carolina Faces Real Pressure As Kentucky Brings A Bigger Concern
South Carolina gets Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a little more urgency than the records alone might suggest. The Gamecocks are 2-2 and still looking for their first SEC win, while Kentucky arrives at 3-1 and already has a conference victory, setting up a matchup that feels bigger than a standard early-October league game. The 4:15 p.m. kickoff on SEC Network comes with the usual game-week backdrop of injury updates, betting lines and weather watching, but the broader pressure is simple enough: South Carolina needs to steady itself in the league race.
Kentucky brings a different kind of concern into Columbia, because this is the sort of opponent that can make a team pay if it is still sorting through its own issues. The odds list South Carolina as a slight favorite, which tells you oddsmakers still see a path for the Gamecocks at home, but the margin is thin enough to leave plenty of room for anxiety. With conference play already off to a shaky start, the interest is not just in whether South Carolina can win, but in whether this is the game where it begins to look more like the team it expected to be. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Has A Growing QB Concern At The Worst Time
The quarterback picture across the conference has become harder to ignore, and it only gets sharper for South Carolina when LaNorris Sellers is part of the conversation. The Gamecocks have leaned on his talent and development all season, and as other teams sort through their own quarterback issues, Sellers remains one of the more important young passers to track heading into the stretch run.
Jayden Maiava, Marcel Reed and Ashton Daniels are all dealing with their own pressure points as their teams look for steadier play, but South Carolinas interest in the group goes beyond casual scoreboard watching. The Gamecocks are trying to keep their own momentum going while the leagues quarterback ranks shift around them, and the next round of games will tell a lot about which of these passers can clean things up before the stakes get even higher. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas Emerging Back Could Change One Big Offensive Problem
Jabree Coleman has quietly worked his way into a meaningful role for South Carolina, giving the Gamecocks a second option at running back as the offense looks for more balance. Over four games, Coleman has piled up 147 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 8.6 yards per rush, and the early returns match the internal buzz around him. Coaches and teammates have pointed to his natural feel for the position, his intelligence and the kind of work ethic that tends to earn more opportunities.
For a South Carolina offense that has been searching for more consistency on the ground, Colemans emergence is more than a nice depth chart development. His role is expected to keep growing, particularly when the conditions line up for a run-heavy approach, and that gives the Gamecocks a potential answer to one of their bigger offensive issues. The question now is how far his workload can go as the season moves on and the staff looks for the right way to keep him involved. [Read more 🡒]