Report: Gamecocks freshman D-lineman suffers knee injury

Not long after South Carolina defensive line coach Lance Thompson lamented the Gamecocks lack of depth on the defensive line, that depth took a hit Tuesday with the report that freshman Tyreek Johnson has suffered a torn ACL.

Johnson, a true freshman from Sumter, was an midyear enrollee who participated in spring practice with the Gamecocks. The injury, which was reported Tuesday by TheBigSpur, would cost Johnson the entire 2018 season.

“I’m not very comfortable at all right now with the depth, but I’m very encouraged with the kids we have that we can develop them to play some winning football for us,” South Carolina defensive line coach Lance Thompson said after Tuesday’s morning practice. “I’d like to have six or seven guys, but I’d like to eat three cheeseburgers too.”

Thompson did not mention an injury to Johnson. In the spring, South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp called Johnson a “guy who’s going to help us this year.”

Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 270-pounder from Lakewood High School in Sumter, originally signed in the Class of 2017 but took a greyshirt season. He was considered an option as a backup at defensive tackle this season.

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 8:24 PM.