Gamecocks try to unravel mystery of Samuel's nagging hamstring issues
It’s a mystery even legendary fictional detective Sherlock Holmes might not be able to unravel.
Redshirt sophomore Deebo Samuel’s hamstring issues date back to his high school days in Inman, and since his signing with the Gamecocks in February 2014, they have reared their ugly head time and again.
Samuel has appeared in just seven of USC’s 16 games since the beginning of the 2015 season, when he initially transitioned from redshirt to the active roster. He has 16 receptions for 227 yards and one touchdown, nine catches coming in the final two games of the 2015 season against The Citadel and Clemson.
Samuel began the current campaign as the top returning receiver on the Gamecock roster. However, he aggravated the hamstring on USC’s first offensive snap at Mississippi State, persevered through the rest of that game before sitting out the East Carolina and Kentucky contests.
Losing a receiver expected to make a significant impact this season is undoubtedly frustrating for Gamecock head coach Will Muschamp, who has seen his wide receiver corps depleted by transfers and injuries since taking the job in December.
Without Samuel, South Carolina’s downfield passing game has been virtual nonexistent.
“Having Deebo Samuel healthy was going to be a huge part of what we needed to do,” Muschamp said. “He's played one (full) game. We've had a hard time with the consistency at the receiver position for a young quarterback. (We) just want to develop the timing that you need to have in order to be successful.”
Samuel is expected to be available to play in Saturday’s home open against Texas A&M, but the final decision won’t be made until the Gamecocks have finished preparations for the Aggies on Thursday or Friday.
In the meantime, team doctors are closely monitoring Samuel and seeking answers as to why his hamstring has given him so many problems over the past few years.
“When we get him back, we'll just try and continue to manage him,” Muschamp said. “We've got the catapult system which measures workload and all of the different factors. It's our first year doing it. Generally, you're able to make better decisions moving forward on workload and fatigue and those things.”
Samuel’s moment of truth for Saturday’s home game against Texas A&M comes Thursday after practice when Muschamp consults with team doctors about Samuel’s condition.
“He ran well (Tuesday), so I fully expect him to continue to improve as the week goes,” Muschamp said. “But I'm also not going to put a player out there that's going to risk further injury. That will be based on our medical staff and the input they give me after Thursday's practice. We'll make a decision from there.”
After redshirting in 2014, the first sign of trouble regarding Samuel’s hamstring came in the very first game he appeared in for the Gamecocks. Samuel started the season opener against North Carolina, but a hamstring injury sent him to the sidelines. After playing against Kentucky and Georgia, Samuel missed seven straight games as he nursed the hamstring before returning to action against The Citadel.
Samuel worked through spring practice without a hitch, but again encountered problems when August arrived. Muschamp hinted Tuesday a different approach might be needed.
“It is obviously something that started in high school for him, and it's continued since he's been here,” Muschamp said. “We have to change what we're doing. We can't continue to do the same things and expect different results. We never had an issue throughout spring.
“His workloads in spring were much higher than they have been in camp or during the season. So those are things we have to continue to work through and we're exhausting every measure possible to find out what we need to do for the young man because he's very frustrated as well.”
NOTES:
-- Defensively, the Gamecocks must deal with the Texas A&M offense and crowd noise on Saturday, so communication will be critically important. “We’re going to have to have our best day Saturday because it’s going to be at our place,” Muschamp said. “It’s going to be loud. When you’re on the road defensively you don’t worry about it as much. When we’re on defense, we need to communicate and it’s going to be loud. Not as much on offense. Because of their tempo and because of our crowd noise, we need to have our best day on Saturday.”
-- Cornerback Jamarcus King, tied for fifth on the Gamecocks with 19 tackles, has seen his playing time steadily increase in the last two games. He had a huge interception in the end zone against East Carolina. Last weekend, he made five tackles with a forced fumble at Kentucky. “He’s really stepped forward from a maturity standpoint of understanding how important practice is,” Muschamp said of King. “You can’t just turn it on and off. He’s a guy that has really bought into those things as far as practice is concerned which is why his play has improved. He has also done a really good job with his film study. He’s improved his physicality as far as his tackling, which certainly showed up (last) Saturday night.”
WEEK 5 SEC SCHEDULE (Oct. 1):
Alcorn State at Arkansas, noon (SEC Network Alt. Channel)
Florida at Vanderbilt, noon (SEC Network)
Tennessee at Georgia, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Alt. Channel)
Texas A&M at South Carolina, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Kentucky at Alabama, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Memphis at Ole Miss, 7 p.m. (TBA)
Missouri at LSU, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
