Juice Wells, Jalen Brooks miss Gamecocks football practice

Bowl practices have begun.

No. 19 South Carolina held its first session of the postseason on Saturday as it preps for a Gator Bowl matchup with No. 21 Notre Dame on Dec. 30 in Jacksonville.

Here are the news and notes from the day:

• Receivers Antwane “Juice” Wells and Jalen Brooks weren’t spotted on the field during the portion of practice open to reporters. Well was in a minor car accident and is awaiting a ride back to Columbia, a South Carolina spokesperson confirmed to The State. Brooks — who finished second on the team with 504 yards on 33 catches — is out of eligibility after starting his career at Wingate.

• A handful of other pieces were missing from practice. Starting offensive tackle Dylan Wonnum and backup running back Lovasea Carroll were not at practice during the observation period. Wonnum started 10 games for the Gamecocks this year and has been a stalwart along the line the last five years. Carroll came to South Carolina this year after transferring from Georgia, where he played defensive back during his lone season in Athens.

• Florida transfer tight end Nick Elksnis took in practice on Thursday. Elksnis was originally a three-star recruit and the No. 431 player in the 2019 class, per the 247Sports Composite. The Jacksonville native was initially committed to Penn State before choosing Florida.

• South Carolina’s tight ends room remains thin with the departures of Jaheim Bell and Austin Stogner and Traevon Kenion’s retirement from football. The Gamecocks were down to converted running back D.J. Twitty, walk-on Dave Adams, offensive lineman/tight end Wyatt Campbell and Nate Adkins.

• Offensive line coach Greg Adkins was back working with his group on Thursday. Adkins has been working in a more off the field role after battling health issues earlier this year. Analyst Lonnie Teasley, who was not spotted at practice, had been handling offensive line coaching duties in the interim.

• Chapin product Zavier Short worked with the wide receivers on Thursday. Short, who came to South Carolina as a tight end, was initially committed to Appalachian State before flipping late in the process.

• Running back Christian Beal-Smith looked to be slightly limited in practice. Beal-Smith has battled injuries most of the season and missed four games this year already. He had his right foot heavily taped while on the field on Thursday.

• Walk-on quarterback Jalen Daniels did not appear to be at practice. Daniels was one of three signal-callers to join the Gamecocks this year along with four-star Tanner Bailey and three-star Braden Davis. Daniels came to South Carolina, in part, through Spencer Rattler, who he shares a private quarterback coach with.