South Carolina’s Kevin Harris on track to make 2021 debut against East Carolina
South Carolina running back Kevin Harris is set to make his season debut for the Gamecocks on Saturday at East Carolina.
“He’ll play,” head coach Shane Beamer said Tuesday. “He looked good out there today. He’ll help. It’s another back in the room.”
Harris missed USC’s 46-0 win over Eastern Illinois due to an illness but has returned to practice this week at full speed.
After emerging as USC’s bellcow back last season and leading the SEC in regular season rushing yards, Harris had a minor back procedure this summer that limited his activity in fall camp.
Before the season opener, Beamer had expressed optimism that Harris would be ready for Week 1. Instead, redshirt senior ZaQuandre White drew the start and split carries with freshmen MarShawn Lloyd and Juju McDowell. Each back carried the ball at least 12 times, with Lloyd leading the way with 14 carries. White made a compelling case for more playing time with an explosive 63-yard touchdown run.
Beamer said each of those backs will continue to get work, even with the return of Harris.
“Kevin will have a role on Saturday, but it’s not like all of a sudden Kevin Harris is back and they’re kicked to the curb,” Beamer said. “We have a dynamic room.”
The head coach has harped on competition as being a “core value” of the Gamecocks program, and USC appears content to roll with a hot-hand committee approach in the backfield.
Beamer said that he hadn’t heard of any snap count limits for Harris on Saturday and praised the way junior back handled his rehab from his summer surgery.
“This summer you think everything’s moving along, and he’s got to have that surgical procedure that can be seen as a setback,” Beamer said. “But he and I have talked all along — these things are just helping you become an even better player in 2021 than what you were in 2020.
“Let’s get you where your body feels better than it ever has, and go play. And I think that’s been his mindset all along. He had a big, big smile on this face out there today at practice, and it was good to see them out there in full pads and running the football like we know he can.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 1:29 PM.
