South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp was clear about this: Ernest Jones will play Saturday against Akron.
Whether the freshman linebacker will play in the Gamecocks’ bowl game is a much more complicated question.
Jones has already played three games, meaning he can get one more before losing his redshirt. He and Josh Belk are the only Gamecocks who still have that in doubt, and Muschamp has already said Belk will play and burn the year of eligibility.
But Jones’ status remains up in the air.