5 Gamecocks suspended for season opener. Kevin Harris won’t play
South Carolina will be without at least five players in its season opener due to suspension.
USC play-by-play host Todd Ellis said on his pregame radio show that safety R.J. Roderick was one of five players who will miss Saturday’s season opener against Eastern Illinois. He did not name the other players dealing with a suspension.
“Several suspensions, folks I won’t name all of those,” Ellis said. “One of them is RJ Roderick is suspended for this ball game. Five players overall, none of those other ones expected to play much.”
It’s not wildly uncommon for players to be suspended for season openers for varying reasons such as missing class, skipping a meeting, etc.
South Carolina will also be without running back Kevin Harris per Ellis. Harris underwent an offseason procedure on his back, but was spotted in practice last week going through non-contact drills. It’s unclear when he might return to full health.
Starting quarterback Luke Doty, who has been battling back from a sprained left foot, was spotted pregame in warming up in full uniform.
USC head coach Shane Beamer declared former graduate assistant Zeb Noland the starter in Doty’s place earlier this week. Noland previously played at North Dakota State and Iowa State before landing as a graduate assistant at South Carolina. He was first spotted at practice two weeks ago and has since been added to the roster.
Noland beat out FCS transfer Jason Brown, freshman Colten Gauthier and walk-on Connor Jordan for the starting gig.
Like Doty, cornerback Cam Smith ran through individual drills pregame. Smith has been recovering from a broken bone in his foot. Beamer told reporters this wee that Smith had returned to practice and the staff was hopeful he could play.
Defensive lineman Rick Sandidge is expected to miss Saturday’s game. Sandidge suffered an undisclosed injury during South Carolina’s first scrimmage of the fall. Beamer has said that it’s expected he’ll miss a significant amount of time. Sandidge was on a scooter and in a cast prior to Saturday’s contest.
Reciever Trey Adkins, who was put on scholarship this summer after walking-on, participated in pregame warmups after suffering a leg injury during fall camp. Adkins returned to practice last week according to Beamer and was wearing a knee brace on his left leg Saturday.
How to watch South Carolina football game
Who: Eastern Illinois Panthers (0-1) at South Carolina (0-0)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559, full-capacity allowed for the first time since 2019)
TV: Not on traditional TV
Stream: SEC Network Plus/ESPN+
Line: USC by 40.5
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 6:34 PM with the headline "5 Gamecocks suspended for season opener. Kevin Harris won’t play."
