South Carolina hurting in the secondary as it heads into season-opener against NC State

South Carolina appears to have made it through camp unscathed in any significant sense, but the Gamecocks could be missing a couple of guys who would otherwise see time on the field in the opener, even if they are not major contributors.

Will Muschamp offered an update on his team’s injury status this week, and the noteworthy part of this is attrition in the secondary: safety Steven Montac is heading into game week listed as questionable, per Muschamp, while corner Tavyn Jackson might not be ready until Week 3.

Via Collyn Taylor of GamecocksOnline.com, this is what Muschamp said during his most recent radio show about Montac:

"Steven Montac is going to be questionable going into the game," he said. "I'm not sure where he is with the foot sprain. it's nothing surgery requires, but he's a guy we really need back in the secondary."

Montac is not a projected starter for the Gamecocks this fall but he played in 11 games with six starts as as sophomore last season. He was 12th on the team with 39 tackles. He may not be a starter but he definitely figures into the rotation at defensive back when he’s healthy.

Freshman corner Tavyn Jackson is expected to miss at least the first couple of weeks of the season with a hamstring injury, and again while this is not necessarily a significant blow to the Gamecocks, Jackson is expected to be a contributor this season.

South Carolina can survive these injuries early in the season but this puts a strain on their depth in the secondary—we’ll find out just how much of a problem this is in a little over a week.