Cam Smith's absence from South Carolina's lineup will be a short one, according to Shane Beamer.

The Gamecocks' head coach said Sunday night Smith, who didn't travel Saturday to Knoxville, is expected back when Vanderbilt comes to town Oct. 16.

Smith was taken out of the Troy game with a head injury and missed his first game of the season because of his injury this week, a 45-20 loss to the Vols.

Beamer mentioned Smith didn't feel comfortable playing and the coaching staff didn't want to put him on the field if he didn't feel comfortable playing.

This season Smith has 15 tackles, one for loss, and five pass breakups.

With him out, Tennessee's Hendon Hooker threw 23 times for 225 yards (9.8 yards per attempt) with three scores.

"It's tough when you're playing a tempo team when you don't have your starting corner in Cam Smith and don't have your starting defensive back in RJ Roderick for the first half," Beamer said.

Other than that, the Gamecocks escaped relatively injury free with a few guys still "beat up and banged up," which is to be expected halfway through a season on any roster in the country, including South Carolina's.

The Gamecocks host Vanderbilt at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network

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