Kaba and Strachan Suffer Season-Ending Injuries

University of South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer announced today that linebacker Mohamed Kaba and defensive end Jordan Strachan suffered ACL injuries in Saturday’s contest at Arkansas and would miss the remainder of the 2022 season.

“I’m extremely disappointed and heart-broken for both of these young men,” said Coach Beamer. “They both worked really hard to prepare for this season and were off to great starts for us. Their best football is still in front of them.”

Kaba, a 6-2, 239-pound junior from Clinton, N.C., started each of the first two games at the Mike linebacker position. He recorded eight tackles, including a half-tackle for loss and was credited with one pass breakup. He appeared in 24 games with five starts over the past three seasons. A member of the 2020 SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman team, Kaba was recognized as the 2022 Most Improved Player of the Spring for the defense and the Jim Carlen Special Teams Player of the Spring.

Strachan, a 6-5, 245-pound sixth-year senior from Kingsland, Ga., was in his second season with the Gamecocks after transferring from Georgia State. He recorded 10 tackles through the season’s first two games, and was the team’s leader with 3.0 tackles for loss, including one sack. He led the country with a Georgia State record 10.5 sacks during the 2020 season and logged 14.5 career sacks.

The Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1 SEC) will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 17, when they host the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 SEC) in a noon kick at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN.