Despite Luke Doty being on the sideline and in full pads again for the second-straight week, there was never a real chance he would see any action against ECU.
Still coming off the foot injury sidelining him from practice the last three weeks and the first two games of the season, Shane Beamer said the staff didn’t feel comfortable putting him on the field.
“We didn’t (feel comfortable). Percentage-wise, I think he’s good but the soreness is the issue with him right now," Beamer said. "He’d be good for a few plays but after that some of that soreness would kick in. With some of the stuff going on with ECU defensively we didn’t feel great putting him out there."
Doty injured his foot about two weeks into training camp and didn’t practice in the lead up to the season opener.
He returned this week to the practice field but it wasn’t enough time to shake off the rust, which had built up over a few weeks of football inactivity on his foot.
"We feel fully confident he’ll be 100 percent next week and knocked off some of the soreness and he just has to continue to get healthier and healthier," Beamer said.
In his stead once again Zeb Noland started and struggled mightily early but rounded into a little bit better of a performance in the second half.
He’d end with a respectable stat line, completing 13-of-24 for 189 yards, an average of 7.9 yards per attempt with a touchdown and an interception, and engineered three straight scoring drives to end the game in what was a 20-17 Gamecock win.
Despite some of the early struggles, Beamer said there wasn’t much, if any, thought to replacing Noland with anyone else.
“No, we didn’t. We kept trying to figure out ways to move the ball. In field position, we just could never get out of a hole and we just felt if we could get a first down and get going we’d be OK. Zeb would be the first to tell you he missed some wide-open receivers today. There were some protection issues we have to be better at handling," Beamer said.
"We were turning some guys free. The biggest thing is if we can get the run game going and give Zeb time to throw he’d execute. He’s a gamer, man. he made plays in the fourth quarter with some of the throws and some of the one-on-one catches our receivers made.”
The big question now is if Doty will be able to return for the Gamecocks’ SEC opener next weekend in Georgia against the No. 2 Bulldogs.
Time will tell, and it will obviously depend on what the quarterback looks like in practice this week.
South Carolina will practice Sunday before an off day Monday. Georgia preparations begin Tuesday with practices Wednesday and Thursday as well.
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