South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer confirmed Saturday the news that his fan base learned earlier in the day: projected starting quarterback Luke Doty suffered a foot injury in Friday afternoon's practice, Beamer said, adding that Doty is considered questionable for the Gamecocks' season opener.
In a freak accident, Doty's foot was inadvertently stepped on by an offensive lineman as the second-year quarterback climbed the pocket while looking down field.
"He got stepped on in practice yesterday in one of the very last periods on a redzone play," Beamer explained following Saturday's scrimmage. "He got stepped on, continued on, ran the ball in actually. After practice, the foot started bothering him. He got a ton of tests done this morning. Right now it's a sprain in that foot. Thank God it's not as bad as we thought. He is questionable I would say right now for the first game."
Gamecock Central and multiple other outlets reported on Saturday afternoon that Doty suffered a midfoot fracture with minor ligament tears on the play.
Doty suffered the injury in Friday's practice before learning his diagnosis Saturday following multiple tests.
Those results will also be sent to specialists who will chart a course of treatment early this upcoming week.
"It is not season-ending and he's in great spirits," Beamer continued. "He was out here today at the scrimmage and then left to get some rehab work done to get it started, to accelerate that process. We will re-evaluate here in a couple of weeks but Luke's in great spirits and optimistic he will be able to play in the first game. But if not it will be shortly after that."
Doty exited the spring as South Carolina's No. 1 quarterback and had done nothing so far in the summer or preseason camp to relinquish that position, holding off transfer QB Jason Brown and true freshman Colten Gauthier.
A former four-star prospect from Myrtle Beach, S.C., Doty took over as the Gamecocks' first-team quarterback for the final 2.5 games last season, starting the final two games at QB after beginning the season at receiver.
Doty completed 43-of-71 passes (60.6 percent) for 405 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions and rushed 41 times for 91 yards with a long of 17.
If Doty misses game action, Brown or Gauthier will likely start the Gamecocks' season opener again Eastern Illinois on Sept. 4 at Williams-Brice Stadium.
----
• Not a subscriber? Learn more about Gamecock Central here!
• Watch our live show and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Gamecock Central's FREE news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on whatever podcast platform you prefer!
• Follow us on Twitter: @GamecockCentral, @GCChrisClark, @WesMitchellGC, @CollynTaylor.
• Follow Gamecock Central on Instagram @GamecockCentral.
