The situation that could give Gamecocks defensive veteran another year in Columbia
With Will Muschamp’s announcement Tuesday defensive lineman Keir Thomas won’t return for at least another two weeks, things change to a degree for the senior.
He’ll very likely have the option to spend one more season at USC.
Muschamp said the recovery from an infection in Thomas’ ankle following surgery is still going slowly. He put on pads last week just to move around in them, but he’s not that close to returning because of the layoff. And that puts his plans in doubt.
“Right now I don’t know,” Muschamp said. “He’s working out. And I think the frustrating part for all of us, starting with him, is just because of the infection, the amount of time we had to shut him down. We’re talking about almost over two months, that takes him a while to get back in, cardio shape, get back in football shape, get back in lifting shape
“We moved him around a bit, but he didn’t necessarily practice, per se, with us.”
The Gamecocks have four more games in the regular season, and a theoretical bowl if they can pull off a difficult 3-1 down the stretch.
That means that assuming Thomas doesn’t play this week, he’ll have a redshirt option to return for 2020 if he so chooses.
Thomas was one of Muschamp’s first big recruits in his transition class, committing to the team on Christmas. He became an undersized rotation player as a freshman out of necessity, and then started most of the 2017 and 2018 seasons either at end or tackle.
He led USC defensive linemen in tackles both seasons.
Should he return for a fifth year, he’d bolster a defensive front set for a lot of transition. Starting tackles Javon Kinlaw and Kobe Smith, plus starting Buck D.J. Wonnum will be off the the NFL. Younger players such as Zacch Pickens and Rick Sandidge will likely be called upon to step in, and Thomas would add an extremely veteran presence.
“You lose really quality leaders and seniors inside,” Muschamp said. “Javon and Kobe, two guys that are having fantastic senior years. Obviously Dennis Wonnum is a guy that’s been elected team captain in previous years. So there’s no question his leadership ability will be very valuable for us if that’s what ends up happening.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 1:19 PM.
