How South Carolina weathered illness running through the roster before a big game
South Carolina’s football staff didn’t talk about the attrition last week. But to hear Will Muschamp tell it now, the Gamecocks were running practices a little short on bodies heading into the Alabama game.
“I think it was 14 last Tuesday that didn’t practice,” USC coach Will Muschamp said. “I think we had about 10 or 12 on Wednesday, we probably had six or eight on Thursday. We had some more guys on Friday.”
The illness that ran through the team was still affecting the Gamecocks as late as this Tuesday, with a few players still feeling off. The coach said he hoped it was on the way out, and it took some work from the training staff and head trainer Clint Haggard.
“We came in last week, and I think they’ve already been in this week to wipe the building,” Muschamp said. “We’ve already done that twice now. And I think they’re doing it again at the end of the week. So that’s something that, again, Clint and his staff does a fantastic job of being on top all the things we need to do to to keep our guys healthy.”
The act of “wiping the building” involves spraying down surfaces with an anywhere surface cleaner from Clorox (to be clear, not bleach).
Bouts of illness such as this hit sports teams at times. Players are cloistered together often, using the same equipment, the same weight rooms, sharing locker and meeting rooms.
The Gamecocks this year opened their new football facility, which was aimed at centralizing all the team’s activities.
A 2014 Final Four team saw a bug running through the roster spur a losing streak. West Virginia had issues with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease last summer.
Muschamp said it’s the first time he’s had something like this hit a team he’s coached. The team also has Keir Thomas sidelined with an infection in his ankle, but that was the result of a surgery.
The hope is everything will be behind the team by the time they kick off against Missouri at 4 p.m. Saturday. It caused a few headaches a week ago.
“The older the player, the better the situation because they don’t need as much practice time sometimes,” Muschamp said. “We all need practice time but they don’t need as much maybe as a younger player. You got to make sure they get the installation and and and we spend extra time with them to make sure that they get all the installation and the things that they need to do.”
NEXT
Who: South Carolina at Missouri
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri
TV: SEC Network Alternate
Line: Missouri by 9.5