South Carolina receiver out for Saturday night's game at No. 21 Tennessee

South Carolina’s offense will be shorthanded when it plays at No. 21 Tennessee Saturday night. Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer announced Tuesday that senior Juice Wells will be out against the Vols at Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) and South Carolina (2-2, 1-1) are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff on SEC Network.

“Juice Wells will not play this week for us,” Beamer said. “He will be out.”

Wells has three catches for 37 yards and a touchdown in three games this season. He was limited to start the season after undergoing foot surgery during the preseason. 

He caught a touchdown pass two weeks ago at Georgia, but had to leave the game with what was feared to be a broken bone in his foot. He didn’t return against Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens, where South Carolina led 14-3 at halftime before losing 24-14.

Juice Wells led South Carolina in receiving against Tennessee last season

Wells led South Carolina in receiving in its win over Tennessee last season, catching 11 passes for 117 yards. He did not play in South Carolina’s 37-30 win over Mississippi State Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. 

Beamer did confirm that wide receiver Ahmarean Brown will play at Tennessee. Brown has nine catches for 86 yards so far this season.

“A.B. is back,” Beamer said on Tuesday. “He practiced today, and like I said, Jakai Moore’s got a little bit of a banged-up shoulder, but should be fine on Saturday night.”

Defensive backs David Spaulding (five tackles, one interception) and O’Donnell Fortune (20 tackles, one sack) will play against the Vols.

“Spaulding is fine,” Beamer added. “Fortune had a banged-up knee last week, he practiced today. He’s fine unless something changes between now and then. Bradley Dunn has got an ankle sprain, he will be out this weekend also.”

South Carolina at No. 21 Tennessee, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

South Carolina started the season with a 31-17 loss to North Carolina in Charlotte. The Gamecocks beat Furman 47-21 at home on September 9, before the loss at Georgia and home win over Mississippi State. 

Through four games, Spencer Rattler has completed 95 of 128 passes (.742) for 1,242 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Mario Anderson leads South Carolina in rushing with 34 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown, just ahead of Dakereon Joyner, who has 38 carries for 99 yards and four touchdowns. 

Xavier Legette leads the Gamecocks in receiving with 27 catches for 556 yards and three touchdowns.

“You got Rattler,” Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner said Tuesday when asked about the South Carolina offense. “You got No. 5 (Joyner), the running back that they do everything with. He’s a wildcat guy. He played a lot last year against us in the Wildcat position. He can do a lot of good things. No. 17 (Legette) the wide receiver, is a dynamic player. 

“They’ve got good football players like everybody in our conference. We’ve gotta do a really good job of defending them. We’ve gotta play sound, Tennessee football, and everybody’s gotta do their jobs.”