Freshman running back ready to play vs. Vanderbilt after speedy recovery
A little over a month ago, South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp announced freshman running back Kevin Harris was done for the year with a torn ligament, ending a promising start for the hard-nosed runner who put up 147 yards on six carries against Charleston Southern.
This Thursday, Muschamp confirmed that Harris has made a full recovery and will play this weekend against Vanderbilt. He had previously said Harris might be ready to play against Appalachian State next Saturday.
“Kevin Harris will play this weekend. He practiced a little bit on Tuesday, but he practiced most of the practice on Wednesday, and then looked good again today. So he’s coming off a sports hernia in five weeks, so that says a lot about his toughness,” Muschamp said on his weekly “Carolina Calls” radio show.
And with fellow running backs Rico Dowdle (knee) and A.J. Turner (hamstring) out for this weekend’s game with injuries, Harris won’t be lining up at fullback, as he sometimes had early in the year.
“No, feature back,” Muschamp said of Harris’ role.
In that role, he’ll back up seniors Tavien Feaster and Mon Denson, who split carries last week against Tennessee.
Muschamp also reiterated Thursday that backup quarterback Dakereon Joyner is as healthy as he’s been in “two or three weeks” since suffering a hamstring injury. He also said Joyner was cleared medically to play the last two weeks, but he didn’t feel comfortable putting him in the game.
As for starter Ryan Hilinski, who Muschamp has repeatedly said is not injured despite concerns regarding a nagging knee sprain suffered against Georgia, he and Muschamp had a talk this week, the coach said.
“Ryan’s really progressing well. He and I had a great talk on Tuesday, just about handling adversity and handling how things go, and as you know you know, it’s a tough, tough situation to be in, but a guy that continues to battle. A very talented player and I’m glad he’s our quarterback,” Muschamp said.
Also during Thursday’s show, Muschamp repeated his injury report from earlier in the week — Dowdle and Turner are both out, as are offensive lineman Dylan Wonnum (ankle) and linebacker Damani Staley (turf toe). Muschamp added that he hopes to have Dowdle, Wonnum and Staley back for next Saturday’s game against App State.
This story was originally published October 31, 2019 at 8:03 PM.
