This is certainly, at bare minimum, an interesting development that bears monitoring.
South Carolina’s Mike Davis has been unable to practice the past two days because of a rib injury. Both the running back and his position coach have told the media that, essentially, there’s nothing to worry about.
That’s not the tone his head coach took as Steve Spurrier, already dealing with the loss of a starting offensive lineman, intimated Wednesday that the star back could miss the opener against Texas A&M because of the injury.
“Mike Davis has been hurt, he hasn’t practiced all week,” Spurrier told the Sportstalk radio network by way of The State. “I don’t know if he’d even be able to start or not. But we got Brandon Wilds, he’s ready to go. Shon Carson, Dave Williams, so we’re in good shape there. ...
“He hasn’t practiced much, so we’ll see how much he’s ready to play for the game.”
It could just be a case of the OBC playing mind games with his opponents a week ahead of their season-opening date with the Aggies that also doubles as the conference opener for both. Or, it could be very real concern.
Whatever the case, a healthy Davis is an all-important key for whatever success the Gamecocks have this season.
One of the more underrated players in not only the SEC but in college football as a whole, Davis led USC with 1,183 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s also a weapon out of the backfield as his 34 receptions for 352 yards were good for fourth on the team.
Carson’s 256 yards and Wilds’ 221 yards last season made them the second- and third-leading rushers among running backs.