Final decision on Nunez?
As the injuries mounted at the wide receiver position and South Carolina struggled to throw the ball downfield, the question was left hanging over the Gamecocks like a cascade of low-lying clouds.
Will Lorenzo Nunez play this season?
Tuesday, we got our answer.
Will Muschamp all but ruled out Nunez for this season during his weekly press conference Tuesday previewing the upcoming Georgia game, saying the sophomore agreed spending valuable time on the football field learning the nuances of playing receiver along with getting bigger and stronger in the weight room were more important than wasting a year of eligibility and contributing little to the cause.
“Right now, the best thing for him is to have a year in the weight room,” Muschamp said Tuesday. “(He’s) coming off the knee injury and (he) missed really all of spring and summer as far lifting and running. It was a little bit more serious than maybe we thought, originally.
“Right now, he’s changing his body in the weight room. He’s working with us on the offense as far as the route-running and those things are concerned. He’s made tremendous improvements. He will continue to improve. The best thing for him right now is to redshirt. He wants that and we want that as well.”
The return of Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards from the injury list (both missed the Texas A&M due to hamstring injuries; Samuel has sat out last three games) makes redshirting Nunez less of a concern.
“They were good. Looked great today,” Muschamp said of Samuel and Edwards on Tuesday.
NOTES:
-- The subject of the playbook when Brandon McIlwain is quarterbacking the offense compared to when Perry Orth is in the game remains a hot topic. Muschamp said on Tuesday: “We will have some things dialed up when Brandon is in the game that fit him a little better than maybe what Perry does differently a little bit better,” Muschamp said. “Against East Carolina, Brandon threw the deep ball very well. We had some things dialed up in Lexington that we didn’t hit. We lacked explosive plays. We had a couple situations the other night (vs. Texas A&M) where we didn’t get shots down the field. We didn’t get two of them off. We got one off and he had to get rid of it out of bounds. We did take some shots vertically. We didn’t hit them. Certainly, Perry did a really good job when he came in the game.”
-- Even with Samuel and Edwards back in action on Saturday, Muschamp said he intends to keep Javon Charleston at wide receiver: “Right now, he is going to stay on offense. We’ve gotten enough flexibility (at defensive back). Steven Montac can play safety, he can play corner, he can play nickel or dime inside positions. D.J. Smith could be an emergency fifth corner if we had to play another guy at corner. By cross-training guys, we have enough flexibility with different guys at different spots. We should be okay unless we lose somebody else (to injury). Then we might have to move him back to the secondary.”
--. Muschamp on safety Chaz Elder, who returned from a rib injury and played “solid” against Texas A&M: “He had a pretty serious injury on the ribs there and he’ll continue to improve and we need him to play better. He’ll be the first one to tell you that. It’s good to get him back on the field. He’s a very good communicator. He really handles motion and formation adjustments very well for us.”
SEC WEEK 6 SCHEDULE (Sat., Oct. 8)
Auburn at Mississippi State, noon (SEC Network)
LSU at Florida, noon (ESPN)
Tennessee at Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Vanderbilt at Kentucky, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Alabama at Arkansas, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Georgia at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
BYE: Ole Miss (3-2), Missouri (2-3).
