The Feed Pail: Evan Hinson focuses on football, Josh Belk calls it a career, and more

Welcome back to the feed pail, where we take a look around the internet for some choice South Carolina Gamecocks tidbits and share them back here with you. There’s a surprising amount of football news for February, along with some other odds and ends.

Former five-star Josh Belk no longer with the Gamecocks

The sought-after defensive lineman who transferred to South Carolina from Clemson and saw limited action in 2018 won’t be returning next fall, according to an announcement he posted on his Twitter account.

Belk, who’d been dealing with some injury and conditioning issues in his first year, has decided to step away from the sport entirely after revealing that he had a fractured vertebrae. Tough blow for him and for South Carolina, but it’s a decision that makes sense for his health and future. Best of luck to him moving forward.

Evan Hinson to focus on football

Here’s some news from the other end of the spectrum. After participating in 46 games on the hardwood, including being a member of the 2017 Final Four team, junior guard Evan Hinson will now give the football program his undivided attention. On the court this season, Hinson was averaging 9.5 minutes per game and just 1.3 points in a limited role, so the move makes sense. He should certainly get more opportunities for playing time as a tight end — Jacob August and K.C. Crosby have graduated, which leaves plenty of room for guys to step up. Hinson was the first football/basketball dual-sport athlete at Carolina since Bruce Ellington, which is obviously a tough pair of shoes to fill, so good luck to him as he focuses on football.

Gamecock baseball announces starting pitching rotation

The Yardcocks are just days away from getting the season started, and the team’s official Twitter revealed who will take the mound against Liberty in this weekend’s three-game series.

This is very much a new-look rotation for the Gamecocks, with Carmen Mlodzinski the only returner out of the group. Mlodzinski, a sophomore, started mid-week games for South Carolina last year before being moved into the bullpen and enjoying success there. Harley and Morgan are both newcomers to the program, with Harley a freshman and Morgan a JUCO transfer out of San Jacinto. We’ll see how they fare in their first taste of live action against the Flames.

The equestrian team is good

That might seem like a bit of an oxymoron since the equestrian team is usually good, but hey, it still doesn’t hurt to give them some props when they’re doing exceptionally well. Check out their spot in the latest poll:

There’s a big showdown this weekend against Auburn, so that’s something to keep an eye on. As usual, the SEC is a tough conference.