South Carolina fell to Tennessee, 31-27 on Saturday, with one of its standouts in the secondary missing for the latter portions of the contest. Cornerback Israel Mukuamu, a 2nd-team All-SEC pick on defense, sustained an injury to his groin was unable to return.

On Thursday, during Will Muschamp’s weekly “Carolina Calls” coach’s show, Gamecocks fans received some good news about the junior defensive back heading into a Week 2 game against No. 3 Florida in Gainesville.

“We expect him to play Saturday,” Muschamp said, according to The Athletic’s Josh Kendall.

Mukuamu had a standout season in 2019, recording 59 tackles and 4 interceptions. His most memorable game was a double-overtime upset win at Georgia, where he intercepted Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm 3 times.

Muschamp also updated the status of linebacker Jahmar Brown, ruled “day-to-day” with a knee injury. Fellow linebacker Sherrod Greene, though, is out for the game against the Gators and will miss “at least 4-6 weeks” with an injury similar to the one former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained last year “but “less serious”.

The Gamecocks and Gators meet at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday afternoon at noon ET on ESPN.