Connor Shaw medically cleared to play

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South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw, who suffered a concussion in last week's 44-28 loss to Arkansas, has been cleared medically and is expected to play Saturday against Florida.

Shaw, a sophomore, has started the last four games for the Gamecocks (No. 13 BCS, No. 15 AP). He was knocked out of the Arkansas game with just over five minutes to play after being sacked by Jake Bequette and fumbling inside the Gamecocks' 5-yard line.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Shaw lay motionless on the field for a few minutes after being leveled by Bequette, who came barreling in from the left side and blasted Shaw running full steam.

Shaw eventually was able to walk off the field under his own power, but was replaced by redshirt freshman Dylan Thompson for the final few minutes.

The Gamecocks already were dangerously thin at the quarterback position; fifth-year senior Stephen Garcia was kicked off the team last month.

The plan is for Shaw not to practice Tuesday in pads, but as long as there are no additional setbacks this week, he will be back in the lineup against the Gators.

Another question for the Gamecocks is the condition of safety DeVonte Holloman, who also suffered a concussion last week. He has not been cleared to practice and is questionable to play against the Gators.

South Carolina needs to beat Florida on Saturday to remain in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division race.

The Gamecocks (7-2, 5-2) also need Georgia to lose to either Auburn this weekend or Kentucky the following weekend. If South Carolina and Georgia finish in a tie, the Gamecocks own the head-to-head tiebreaker based on their 45-42 win over the Bulldogs in September.

Chris Low covers SEC football for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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• ESPN.com SEC blogger
• Joined ESPN.com in 2007
• Wrote for The (Nashville) Tennessean