Offensive linemen Jonotthan Harrison and Xavier Nixon returned to practice on Wednesday. Harrison (right arm) and Nixon (upper-body injury) both left during No. 3 Florida’s 31-17 win against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Harrison suffered his injury during the Gators’ first offensive drive, and Nixon left the game during the second quarter. Sam Robey replaced Harrison at center, and D.J. Humphries came in for Nixon at left tackle.
Defensive end Dominique Easley (knee) and left guard James Wilson (eye) returned to practice on Tuesday. Easley did not play against Vanderbilt on Saturday because of swelling in his knee.
Despite his injury, Easley traveled to Nashville, Tenn., with the team. Wilson, who injured his eye during practice on Oct. 10, did not make the trip. Ian Silberman made his first career start in Wilson’s place.
“It happened in a contract drill,” coach Will Muschamp said of Wilson’s injury. “His helmet slipped down and just took a pretty good impact on the eye. I don’t have all of the medical terms for it, but they didn’t feel like he needed to be able to have contact through the weekend.”
Wide receiver Latroy Pittman’s status remains uncertain.
On Monday, Muschamp said Pittman (ankle) was questionable for Saturday’s game. Pittman injured his ankle in the second quarter against the Commodores.
“Not sure about Pittman,” Muschamp said. “That would be the one that I would have a question mark on.”
Gamecocks Pox: A hip injury may sideline South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore against Florida, Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said.
Lattimore did not practice on Wednesday, according to South Carolina’s official Twitter account.
“There’s probably a good chance Kenny (Miles) will end up starting the game,” Spurrier told The Post and Courier. “We’ll see how Marcus is by the weekend.”
Lattimore suffered the injury in No. 9 South Carolina’s 23-21 loss to No. 6 LSU on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
Lattimore, who suffered an ACL tear in his left knee last October, leads the Southeastern Conference with 129 carries in seven games this season.
Gamecocks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was limited in practice on Wednesday due to a sore foot, Spurrier said. Clowney ranks third in the SEC with 12 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks this season.
South Carolina wide receiver Bruce Ellington, offensive tackle Mike Matulis and cornerback Jimmy Legree missed practice on Wednesday due to the flu.
“We’ve had a little bit of a flu bug going around,” Spurrier said. “Some guys just been sick the last two or three days.”
Quinn considers Powell elite: Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is missing Ronald Powell this season. Quinn said Powell would have likely earned praise similar to that received by South Carolina’s Clowney and LSU’s Barkevious Mingo as one of the top defensive ends in the SEC this season.
“He would have been mentioned with those guys,” Quinn said. “The improvement from the last fall through the spring, it was really significant with Ronald.”
Coaches raved about Powell’s performance during spring practices April. Powell suffered an ACL tear in his left knee during the spring game on April 7.
“Each practice, you saw him grow and take steps forward,” Quinn said.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
South Carolina tailback Marcus Lattimore (21) runs away from Kentucky's Mike Douglas (50) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Lexington, Ky., on Sept. 29. Then No. 6 South Carolina came from behind to beat Kentucky 38-17.
