Shane Beamer Waiting To Announce Starting QB For Florida Matchup, As Noland Continues To Rehab

Shane Beamer did not feel comfortable announcing who the starting quarterback will be for the Saturday night matchup between South Carolina and Florida. It is starting to sound like we won't know who the starter is until Saturday night.

Beamer was speaking at his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, but declined to announce whether Jason Brown or Zeb Noland would be taking the first snap. The Gamecocks are currently waiting to see how Noland progresses with his knee injury. He did mention that they would need to see more mobility from Noland, if he wants to be able to play on Saturday.

"He and Jason both and Colten (Gauthier) and Connor (Jordan), all the quarterbacks, they need to practice well and compete and show that they're the best person for the job on Saturday night," Beamer said.

Two weeks ago, Noland started for the Gamecocks against Texas A&M, and he went 7 for 12 for 30 yards. He was replaced in the game by transfer Jason Brown, who went 8-14 for 84 yards and one touchdown. Brown also threw two interceptions in the 44-14 loss in College Station.

Noland is currently still rehabbing his meniscus, which was surgically repaired during the bye week. As for practicing, he was out on the field Tuesday, according to Beamer, but it wasn't in a full capacity. It will be interesting to see how Beamer handles the reps, but he did speak about what the staff will need to see out of Noland.

"From just a health standpoint with Zeb, I think the biggest thing is just the mobility," Beamer said. "I mean, he can sit in the pocket and throw. He did that today, but there's a difference between that and then being able if you get flushed out the pocket, or you've got to scramble or you've got to run, how effective he would be doing that with his knee.

"He got the surgery last weekend. He stayed around here all weekend to rehab and get better, so he's really far along with the rehab," Beamer added.

As he we get closer to Saturday, Zeb will have to give the coaching staff a little more confidence in his ability to scramble, if he wants to play on Saturday against the Gators.

"For us, to me, he needs to be able to do more in practice tomorrow than what he did today. Today was good but just keep taking steps throughout the week of practice."

All eyes in South Carolina are on the Gamecocks, as they look to continue adding to the problems of the Florida football team.