Auguste, Carson out indefinitely with injuries
The week started on a sour note for South Carolina’s football team with the school’s announcement of two injuries that will keep players off the field for an undetermined amount of time.
The most significant news pertained to senior cornerback Akeem Auguste, who for the last two seasons has been penciled in as a starter only to be derailed by injury. Auguste missed 12 of last season’s 13 games due to a foot injury. His foot was healthy entering preseason camp, but he injured his groin muscle in the first week of practice.
Auguste aggravated the injury during Saturday’s scrimmage and now will be out at least a month after having a procedure on his right thigh, according to the school’s announcement. Auguste will be evaluated by team doctor Jeff Guy in four to five weeks. The Gamecocks will play Vanderbilt, East Carolina and UAB before that time.
“It’s frustrating,” said Mark Guandolo, Auguste’s coach at Chaminade-Madonna High School in Florida. “He needs to get on the field.”
Auguste’s injury means junior Jimmy Legree and redshirt freshman Ahmad Christian will have to man the starting job for at least three games. Legree will take the position by default this week as Christian remains sidelined by a concussion suffered in Wednesday’s practice.
“I have total confidence in Jimmy,” defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said.
Auguste has played in 36 games, starting 19, and has 118 tackles and nine pass breakups in his career. Legree, a converted safety, has played in 23 games and started two. He has 12 career tackles. Christian was a three-star prospect coming out of Jacksonville, Fla. He redshirted last year and was named the team’s most improved defensive back this spring.
Freshman running back Shon Carson also suffered an injury setback this weekend, injuring his left wrist in practice Friday. He had surgery on Monday morning at Palmetto Hospital. The surgery was performed by Dr. John Walsh.
There was no immediate word on how much time Carson might miss. He also took a medical redshirt last season after tearing his ACL in the second game of the season. Carson’s injury won’t have nearly the impact of Auguste’s as he was behind both Marcus Lattimore and Kenny Miles on the depth chart. However, it does further deplete the depth in the offensive backfield. Sophomore Brandon Wilds is sidelined by a sprained ankle.
Carson posted a picture of his braced and bandaged wrist on the photo-sharing website Instagram on Sunday with the caption, “ain’t nothing going right for me.”
“He didn’t think much of it until it started swelling up,” Carson’s father Greg Carson told Sportstalksc.com “He scrimmaged on Saturday and caught a pass or two, but it was swollen. It might have been some type of dislocation. He’s disappointed. He just doesn’t want things to go like it did last season. A wrist can be a funny thing.”
Cornerback depth chart
With Akeem Auguste out indefinitely, here's a look at the cornerback depth chart.
... Victor Hampton (starter)
... Jimmy Legree (starter)
... Ahmad Christian
... Jared Shaw or Jessie Dukes
.. And in no order, Chaz Elder, Chris Moody, Sidney Rhodes, David Wilkins
Running back depth chart
With Shon Carson out indefinitely, here's a look at the running back depth chart.
... Marcus Lattimore (starter)
... Kenny Miles
... Brandon Wilds (injured)
... Mike Davis
... Joshua Blue
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This story was originally published August 20, 2012 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Auguste, Carson out indefinitely with injuries."