Josh Belk has 'improved a lot' since arriving on campus

The Gamecocks spent a lot of the offseason hoping that Josh Belk would get cleared so he could help South Carolina this season.

Belk was cleared right before the season started and has been game planning with the team since then. Head Coach Will Muschamp said he's doing "really well" getting his body back in shape to really contribute.

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"He's done a really nice job on his nutrition with Kristin Coggin our nutritionist with him a lot. As far as his conditioning, he's improved a lot," Muschamp said on his weekly call-in show. "I'm proud of his effort. He understands the thing he has to do to get back into shape, and that's what he's doing."

Belk's played in both of the team's games to date but, with the team's first road game looming this Saturday, his playing status is up in the air.

The Gamecocks kick off Saturday at 4 p.m. against Vanderbilt on the SEC Network.

"He's got a little bit of an ankle injury right now that's set him back a couple days," Muschamp said. "It's nothing serious, but he'll be back certainly next week. I don't know about his playing status for Saturday as far as that's concerned."

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Belk enrolled this summer after spending spring practice at Clemson before deciding to transfer to South Carolina.

He came in at more than 350 pounds and missed the first few days of practice waiting to get cleared physically.

Since arriving on campus, Belk's worked with the nutrition staff to slim down and get his body ready to play SEC football.

When healthy, Muschamp said he's excited about what Belk and his size can bring to the Gamecocks' defensive front.

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"He'll be an inside technique for us. He's an outstanding zero nose as far as holding the point inside. I wish he was a guy we could have gone through spring with and been able to really learn more of the defense and what we're doing and stay in shape. He's going to be a really good player for us."

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