SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

South Carolina freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski has bumps and bruises from the Gamecocks' loss to Missouri Saturday, but head coach Will Muschamp said the sore elbow that forced Hilinski to miss practice time last week is fine.

"He’s fine. The elbow is fine," Muschamp said Sunday during his weekly teleconference. "We practiced tonight. He moved around fine. His chest was sore and he got rolled up a little bit on his ankle (against Missouri). Other than that, he’s fine."

Hilinski went 13-for-30 for 166 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 34-14 loss to Mizzou. The freshman, who showed pinpoint accuracy in his first two games, had several misfires that led to speculation that the elbow was still bothering him.

Muschamp was asked if the elbow contributed to Hilinski's day or if it was more about the protection up front or just an off day for the freshman.

"I think a combination," Muschamp said. "Ryan feels very strong that his elbow is fine. We’ve asked him multiple times about that. Just maybe a little off and (Missouri) played well. We didn’t create a lot of separation at the top of some routes, didn’t protect as well as we needed to protect. It’s a combination of a lot of things."

Hilinski and the Gamecocks are set to face Kentucky Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 7:30.