Shane Beamer shares latest on Travian Robertson’s outlook, return timeline
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer provided an update on the health of defensive line coach Travian Robertson, who was involved in a fatal car crash on Friday.
Robertson was driving his 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe east on U.S. 76 early Friday morning when a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder, traveling east, crossed over the center line and hit Robertson’s car head on, according to a spokesman for the S.C. Highway Patrol.
The driver of the Pathfinder — Kelly Johnson, a 35-year-old Columbia resident — died at the scene.
Robertson was taken to Prisma Health Richland Hospital. As of Wednesday morning, he was still in a room inside the hospital’s trauma ICU, a source with knowledge of the situation told The State.
“Truthfully, he’s very lucky to be alive,” Shane Beamer said on Wednesday. “(We ask) for continued thoughts and prayers for he and his family. But he is going to be OK. It’s nothing long term. It’s just physically, he’s not able to be down on the sidelines at a game right now.”
Beamer confirmed that Robertson will not be on the field when South Carolina begins its 2025 season on Sunday in Atlanta against Virginia Tech.
“He had some pretty serious stuff happen to him in that wreck,” Beamer said. “He will be back soon. He’s eager to get back out here and will be as soon as possible.”
Taking over for Robertson on Sunday will be assistant D-line coach Jordan Dove, who served as a graduate assistant for two years before being promoted this year.
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 1:17 PM.
