South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia might finally play in a real game tonight.

With a shoulder injury to starter Tommy Beecher, Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier will go with Chris Smelley at quarterback at Vanderbilt. That also means Garcia slipped in to the No. 2 spot for tonight's game in Nashville, Tenn.

Spurrier says if Smelley gets hurt, his redshirt freshman quarterback could indeed see his first serious action in college for the Gamecocks (1-0).

That would be a big step forward for a player who Spurrier repeatedly said was a solid No. 3 on the depth chart.

Garcia has had his troubles in less than two seasons on campus. He enrolled in January 2007 and was considered Spurrier's best quarterback prospect since taking over the Gamecocks four seasons ago.

Garcia's spent more time in Spurrier's doghouse than in the Gamecocks' huddle though after three run-ins with law enforcement and a suspension for the past two spring practices.

He could play, Spurrier said, if Smelley "gets bumped on the head and comes out dizzy. Yeah, we'll put Stephen out and let him go."

Beecher missed two days of practice with a sore shoulder. He threw four interceptions in his debut as a starter until getting knocked out with what Spurrier at first called a head injury.

Smelley came on to lead three TD drives in the fourth quarter of a 34-0 win over North Carolina State last Thursday night.

Vanderbilt should also be without a key offensive player tonight.

Starting senior running back Jeff Jennings will likely be out of action after sustaining a shoulder injury in last week's season-opening victory at Miami (Ohio).

In Jennings' absence junior Jared Hawkins and sophomore Gaston Miller are expected to receive most of the carries.

Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson rushed 20 times for a career-high 166 yards last week, and coach Bobby Johnson has no plans to ease Nickson's workload even against an Southeastern Conference opponent.

"We'll try to make him a thrower and not let him run around too much," Spurrier said.

"They only attempted 16 throws the other night, so they did most of their damage running the ball."