Gamecocks freshman tailback could be a week away from returning to the field
South Carolina freshman tailback Kevin Harris was in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, despite an injury that was diagnosed as season-ending when it happened.
Now it appears he could be back next week.
Will Muschamp announced Harris, who tore a ligament in his groin, could be back as soon as the Appalachian State game Nov. 9. The burly runner was a player the staff liked in the offseason, and he ran for more than 140 yards the only game in which he got carries.
“Kevin will be is probably a week out,” Muschamp said.
Muschamp also said running back Rico Dowdle, offensive tackle Dylan Wonnum and linebacker Damani Staley, who all missed the Tennessee game, will still be out this week against Vanderbilt. Left tackle Sadarius Hutcherson (ankle) and linebacker Ernest Jones (elbow) should be ready to go.
Veteran tailback A.J. Turner has been battling a hamstring injury and Muschamp said it didn’t look good on Sunday.
The team could also possibly get defensive lineman Keir Thomas back after an infection in his ankle kept him out all season. There was some discussion about Thomas taking a redshirt year, and if he returns against Appalachian State, he’d be in position to do that, even if the team makes a bowl.
“They ran him some today,” Muschamp said. “And they’re going to run him again tomorrow. I wouldn’t count on him for this Saturday, bud maybe next Saturday. You know he’s been doing a lot of moving around. He put the pads on last week, just to sort of carry the pads to be honest with you, wasn’t much more than that, as far as working out is concerned. We’ll continue to look at that.”
Thomas was a starter at different defensive line spots in 2017 and 2018. The Miami product is versatile enough to play end and tackle.
Harris showed well in the spring and slimmed down in his summer conditioning. He played in two games, putting up 147 yards and three scores on six carries in garbage time against Charleston Southern. He spent some time at fullback early in the season.
As a high school senior, he ran for 1,556 yards and 22 touchdowns.
His return would bolster a group hit by injuries. Dowdle was starting, while Turner had moved back to running back after starting the season on defense. Without those two, it was Tavien Feaster and Mon Denson carrying the load (with Denson getting dinged up against Tennessee), backed up by Deshaun Fenwick and walk-on Caleb Kinlaw.
This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 6:45 PM.
