South Carolina starters at quarterback, receiver ‘day-to-day’ due to injuries
South Carolina starting quarterback Jake Bentley and starting wide receiver Bryan Edwards are “day-to-day” due to injuries suffered Saturday night in a 24-10 loss to Kentucky.
Bentley has an injured knee that is “nothing serious,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said Sunday night. Muschamp also indicated that Edwards injury is not serious. Muschamp plans to address both players’ status for Saturday’s Missouri game on Tuesday, he said.
Bentley has completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 928 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions this season. He is sixth in the SEC in passing with 232 yards per game. His passer rating (133.1) ranks 11th in the league. He was 13-for-28 for 145 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions against the Wildcats on Saturday night.
“He missed some things from the read standpoint,” Muschamp said of his starting quarterback. “There are some reads we need to be able to hit, but we have to help him down the field, too. We had some opportunities we didn’t take advantage of.”
Muschamp pointed out that South Carolina had six dropped passes in the game. Asked if he thought about replacing Bentley prior to the injury, Muschamp responded, “It’s not just one position, but we certainly cannot be careless with the football, and that’s the bottom line. We have to do a better job of protecting the football as a whole. Any position, if you don’t take care of the football, we’ll make a change.”
Backup quarterback Michael Scarnecchia, a 6-foot-3, 216-pound senior from Fleming Island, Fla., had only thrown one pass entering this season. He replaced Bentley in the fourth quarter against Kentucky and completed 4-of-6 passes for 45 yards.
“The short time he was in, he was effective,” Muschamp said. “At that time of the game, it was a one-dimensional game and they were teeing off pretty good which makes it harder.”
Bentley stayed on the sideline after his injury and appeared in the post-game news conference without a significant limp. He injured his knee sliding on a rushing attempt and felt it start to tighten up after that play. He indicated at the time he did not think the injury was serious.
Edwards had three catches for 25 yards and dropped two passes against Kentucky. He tweeted after the game that it was his worst collegiate game. He left in the second half and did not return to the game.
The Gamecocks left Kentucky with a long injury list. Along with Bentley and Edwards, safeties J.T. Ibe (knee) and Jamyest Williams (shoulder) were injured against the Wildcats and are questionable for Saturday’s noon game against the Tigers. Tight end K.C. Crosby (finger), linebacker Eldridge Thompson (shoulder), defensive tackle Josh Belk (ankle) and running back Ty’Son Williams (ankle) did not play against Kentucky and are questionable for next week’s game. It’s possible wide receiver Chad Terrell (knee) could return to the field Saturday.
This story was originally published September 30, 2018 at 7:09 PM.