South Carolina’s long wait for Dylan Stewart and Jacarrius Peak may be nearing an end, and the next few days should tell the story.
Both players were held out of preseason camp, sat out the first two games and now appear on track to make their season debuts Saturday against Mississippi State. The Gamecocks handled Kent State and Towson without much trouble, which made the Week 3 SEC opener the natural target for their return all along.
Head coach Shane Beamer still stopped short Tuesday of saying either player would definitely be available. He pointed fans and media to the SEC’s injury report, which is due out Wednesday night for the first time.
A week earlier, Beamer had already suggested the door was open. On Tuesday, he expanded on what he expects from players coming back after a long absence and how their workload might be handled.
“A lot of that depends on what they do in practice,” Beamer told reporters.
He said the build-up to game action starts with what a player can handle during the week.
“Let’s see what they do in practice leading into the game,” he said. “There’s a ramp-up and that ramp-up starts in practice.”
The SEC’s first availability report is scheduled to come out around 8 p.m. Wednesday, then will be updated Thursday night, Friday night and again 90 minutes before Saturday’s 4:15 p.m. kickoff. Players can be listed as probable, questionable, doubtful or ruled out, and Beamer and his staff could wait all the way until pregame warmups before making a final call.
Stewart, a junior edge rusher, has been dealing with a back injury that dates to the 2025 season. Peak, a transfer from N.C. State, has been recovering from a knee injury he suffered in a team-sponsored 3-on-3 basketball tournament in February.
Their return would come after a positive checkpoint last week, when both players practiced in full pads and took contact for the first time.
South Carolina has managed just fine without them so far. The defense has piled up five sacks and held Kent State and Towson to 121 rushing yards combined. Up front, the offensive line has given up only two sacks and helped power an SEC-best 683 rushing yards.
If Peak is cleared, one of the biggest questions will be where he lines up. He started every game at left tackle for NC State last season, and that would likely push freshman Darius Gray to another spot. Gray has been excellent early, but Beamer and the staff have said he can play every position on the offensive line, which makes that move look like the most likely one.
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