South Carolina Safety D.J. Swearinger Suspended for Saturday’s Game

Aug 30, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks free safety D. J. Swearinger (36) defends Vanderbilt Commodores wide receiver Jordan Matthews (87) during the second half at Vanderbilt Stadium. The Gamecocks beat the Commodores 17-13. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

When South Carolina hits the field against Missouri, they won’t have one of their top defensive playmakers with D.J. Swearinger being suspended for a game by the SEC. Swearinger was suspended for a hit he put on a UAB player in last week’s game. Swearinger was penalized for the hit in the game, and obviously the SEC thought it was a severe enough infraction to ban him for a huge conference game.

Swearinger has been productive thus far, totaling 10 tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovered for a touchdown. He has been a key piece of the 7th ranked Gamecocks who have a star-studded defense.

They should be able to win this game even without him, but it does leave a void on the back end of their defense. There was some disagreement between Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier and the SEC about what was and was not legal, or what is legal going forward. Spurrier finds it odd that players can launch at another’s knees, but anything above the waist is forbidden. There was some gray area with another hit in a Vanderbilt game that sparked the disagreement.

South Carolina will take on Missouri this Saturday at 3:30 PM ET, their first conference home game of the season.