Tavien Feaster to miss South Carolina’s game with App. State, Shi Smith questionable
South Carolina football will be without its top rusher this week against Appalachian State.
Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp announced Thursday on his weekly call-in show running back Tavien Feaster didn’t practice Thursday. The former Clemson tailback has been dealing with a groin issue all week and missed practice on Tuesday as well.
“Feaster will be out for this game,” Muschamp said. “I think we have a shot to get him back next week.”
Muschamp also said wide receiver Shi Smith is questionable after a hamstring sidelined him last week. Smith is second on the team in catches and receiving yards.
“We’re going to see what he can do (Firday),” Muschamp said. “But he is questionable at this time.“
The Gamecocks will get tailback Rico Dowdle back this week after missing nearly three full games with a knee injury. The Gamecocks have Mon Denson, Kevin Harris and Deshaun Fenwick as reserves.
Feaster leads the Gamecocks with 625 yards and five rushing touchdowns. He took on a bigger role when Rico Dowdle injured his knee early against Florida and missed the following two games.
Feaster was once a top-30 national recruit and ran for more than 1,300 yards in three years in the Upstate.
Muschamp said Dowdle took every snap in practice, as did Dylan Wonnum, who missed the past five games with an ankle injury. Damani Staley will also be back.
Offensive tackle Jaylen Nichols (ankle) will likely be out another week.
If Smith can’t go, the team will be operating with a skeleton crew at wide receiver. The team lost No. 3 Josh Vann last week and has yet to find a consistent third receiver. That’s along with tight end Nick Muse, basically a co-starter, who was lost for the year with a torn ACL.
This story was originally published November 7, 2019 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Tavien Feaster to miss South Carolina’s game with App. State, Shi Smith questionable."
