Robby Ashford transferred from Auburn to South Carolina with a purpose this offseason, and he was ready and available if Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer called on him during Saturday night’s season opener against Old Dominion.

But Beamer didn’t.

Redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers struggled in the passing game during his 1st collegiate start, going just 10-of-23 for a measly 114 yards and no scores, although Sellers did run for 68 yards on 22 carries and 1 touchdown. That 3-yard TD run with 6:11 left in the game gave South Carolina the lead, and the Gamecocks held on from there in an unimpressive 23-19 home victory over the Monarchs from the Sun Belt Conference.

Despite Saturday night’s struggles and despite South Carolina’s coaches reportedly liking Ashford’s ability, Beamer said they didn’t consider putting Ashford in the game.

Beamer was asked about playing Ashford in the coach’s weekly ‘Gamecock Football with Coach Beamer’ TV show that airs on Sundays after each South Carolina game.

“We didn’t,” Beamer said to show host Todd Ellis when asked if the coaches considered inserting Ashford into the lineup. “LaNorris will be the first to tell you he has some things to clean up. I thought he did a great job, did what he needed to do to help us win. He certainly missed some throws, and we’ll get that cleaned up, but that’s not always on the quarterback. I thought he did a great job running the football.”

After transferring to South Carolina, Ashford went through spring practice with the Gamecocks and cemented himself as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart behind Sellers.

“Robby is a guy that’s gonna help us win football games. There’s no doubt about it,” Beamer told Ellis.