Tennessee availability report unchanged Thursday ahead of South Carolina trip
Tennessee left its SEC availability report exactly as it was on Thursday, a quiet update ahead of Saturday's trip to South Carolina. The list has been getting shorter in recent weeks, and for the first time this season it includes no player whose status for the weekend remains uncertain at this stage of game-week preparation.
Seven Volunteers are listed as out, and all seven have been lost for the season. The group is offensive lineman Wendell Moe Jr., safety Dylan Lewis, cornerback Jadais Richard, linebacker Jaedon Harmon, tight end Ethan Davis, safety Edrees Farooq and wide receiver Joakim Dodson. Moe is the most recent addition, after a lower-body injury suffered against Texas. Dodson hurt a knee in the second half of the season-opening win over Furman, Davis tore an ACL at Georgia Tech on Sept. 12, and Lewis was hurt in the win over Kennesaw State on Sept. 19. Farooq, Harmon and Richard were already sidelined before the season began.
South Carolina's report did move. Defensive back Quay'Sheed Scott was doubtful on Wednesday and offensive lineman Carter Miller was questionable, and the Gamecocks have since added running back Jawarn Howell as questionable. Howell has carried the ball 18 times through the first six weeks. Wide receiver Jayden Sellers, linebacker Kobby Sakyi-Prah and offensive linemen Josiah Thompson and Seth Smith are out. Head coach Shane Beamer said Wednesday that Scott was the one real question for his team, that Scott was moving in the right direction, and that the other players who missed the Florida game were expected back.
No. 11 Tennessee is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, while South Carolina is 3-3 and 1-3 in the league. Kickoff in Columbia is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, in what will be Tennessee's eighth straight game. The Vols were scheduled to practice Thursday and Friday before traveling Friday afternoon, and the availability report will be updated again Friday, with a final pregame version released 90 minutes before kickoff.