Was Jacarrius Peak’s injury from hoops or USC’s Chicken Curse? What Beamer said
In the annuls of bizarre injuries that make South Carolina fans positive the Chicken Curse is alive and well, there was a new addition last week.
South Carolina transfer offensive lineman Jacarrius Peak chose the Gamecocks over Alabama, signaling hope that USC was serious about rebuilding an O-line that’s given up over 40 sacks in each of the last three seasons.
Peak was the highest-ranked transfer to choose South Carolina this offseason, signing with USC after starting in 34-straight games for NC State. A 6-foot-4, 310-pound redshirt senior, Peak felt like a lock to be the Gamecocks’ starting left tackle in 2026.
And perhaps that will still be the case, but it took a hit last week when Peak suffered a knee injury. South Carolina released a statement on Sunday confirming that Peak will miss all spring practice, but said it expects Peak to return for the season.
“He’s going to be OK,” Beamer said Tuesday. “It’s not a catastrophic, season-ending injury where it’s all doom and gloom, and here we go again. It was an unfortunate injury. I hate to say it, it probably won’t be the last injury that this team faces in 2026 that’s just life.
“It happens in the NFL, it happens in college, it happens in high school, and like in every situation, we’ll support Jacarrius, help him through this, he’ll be better for it, and it’ll give other opportunities to other offensive linemen in that room to continue to get more and more reps here as we go through spring practice.”
South Carolina’s Chicken Curse
Could Peak return for the 2026 season? Absolutely. But it is worth noting that knee injuries can be fickle and the timeline — for better or worse — could change. If things progress well, it’ll be welcome news for a South Carolina team needing to bounce back after going 4-8. If Peak ends up missing time — well, blame that curse.
It is not just that Peak — arguably one of South Carolina’s most-important pieces who surely earned a hefty NIL check — got hurt but that the injury occurred during a 3-on-3 basketball tournament that the Gamecocks put on every year for their team as a way to have fun and build team chemistry.
“Yes, he did sustain his injury playing basketball,” Beamer said. “The same 3-on-3 basketball tournament that we’ve done three years in a row now, that fortunately we haven’t had an injury in three years, and unfortunately had one this year.”
Last baseball season, in another wild story that invoked tales of the Chicken Curse, Gamecocks starting pitcher Dylan Eskew missed time after being hit in the head with a home-run ball while in the bullpen during batting practice. Peak’s injury does not rise to that level of oddity, but it nonetheless another you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me moment in Carolina fandom.
Why were Gamecocks football players playing basketball?
While one can easily question — especially in an era where heavy financial investments are made into these guys — why South Carolina was having its football players play in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, consider:
- You can never completely avoid injuries. Peak could have gotten hurt during a spring practice.
- The Gamecocks football team has participated in team-sanctioned basketball and softball tournaments for years without a known major injury.
- Peak would’ve been one of the last guys expected to be hurt on a court. He’s one of the freakiest athletes in America, according to The Athletic, has no trouble changing direction and, importantly, played basketball in high school.
- It is not uncommon for Gamecock football players to shoot hoops or play pick-up at the Strom Thurmond rec center. Is it better or worse that this was an event put on by USC football? Opinions will vary.
Shane Beamer can’t ‘bubble wrap’ his players
Beamer added he can’t be expected to “bubble wrap” his players and keep them completely out of harms way before South Carolina’s 2026 season opener vs Kent State.
“I don’t think we’re the only football program in the country that has 18- to 21-year-old young men that play basketball in the offseason,” Beamer said. “I know there’s other football programs ... that have actual basketball courts at their football facility. So maybe they’re just telling their players they’re only allowed to play horse in the offseason? I don’t know.
“But they come to my house, they play basketball in the driveway. If they weren’t playing basketball in a 3-on-3 competition with as a team in an organized setting, I have a hard time believing that they wouldn’t be playing basketball other places.”
South Carolina certainly isn’t the only team to that plays other sports like basketball in the offseason. Beamer said his players came to him after the 2024 season and told him team bonding activities, like basketball, brought the team closer together and were a reason for success on the field.
“I, as the head coach, believe in fostering that team camaraderie,” Beamer said. “I believe that we get a lot out of it. It’s fun what we do as a team, but it’s also really beneficial for us as coaches to be able to watch these guys compete. ... I get it, you open yourself up to criticism, but it’s a big part of what we do here in this program. We’ll continue to look at how we do things going forward.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 12:50 PM.
