Travian Robertson update: Shane Beamer releases statement after South Carolina assistant hospitalized

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has released a statement on defensive line coach Travian Robertson’s condition. Robertson was involved in a car accident Friday and is in the hospital.

Beamer confirmed Robertson is in stable condition and the goal is for him to make a full recovery. Full details on the crash remain scarce, but the statement is in line with a text message Beamer sent to The State saying Robertson was doing alright.

The State also reported Robertson was in a room in the trauma ICU at Prisma Health Richland Hospital. In his statement, Beamer asked for prayers for the former South Carolina defensive lineman’s family as he recovers.

“Travian Robertson was involved in a car accident this morning. He is currently in the hospital in stable condition, Beamer said. “We expect him to make a full recovery and be back out on the field soon. Please keep the families of those involved in the accident in your prayers and respect the Robertson family’s privacy during this time.”

Robertson is preparing for his third year as the defensive line coach at his alma mater. He previously worked at Georgia State and Division II Albany State following a brief career in the NFL.

South Carolina brought in two defensive line transfers this cycle, including Georgia Southern’s Troy Pikes. Travian Robertson had high praise for Pikes earlier this month and explained why the Gamecocks made a run at him in the portal.

“His film popped when we looked at him,” Robertson said. “What I liked about him was his ability to move. He’s got what Tonka and TJ had, the basketball background. He was highly recruited. I love the way he moves. He played in some SEC games at Southern. He could fit in. I met with him and immediately came back and told Clayton, I like this guy.”

South Carolina enters this season looking to build on last year’s 9-4 record, and notably has its quarterback returning. LaNorris Sellers is generating plenty of buzz after a breakout 2024 campaign, and the Gamecocks came in at No. 5 in the SEC preseason poll.

South Carolina also sits at No. 13 in the preseason AP Top 25. Beamer addressed those expectations and said it provides a good source of motivation for his team to live up to that billing.

“I’d rather be ranked high and have those expectations than not,” Beamer said. “I mean as a coach, when you’re not ranked high like we were last year, it’s great because you can use that as fuel and motivation. But we want to be a team that’s consistently ranked high in the top 10, top 15 going into every single season because it means we did some good stuff the year before and we’re expected to do stuff again.”