CockyTalk Position Previews 2006

[Spurticus]

One of the two problem areas the Gamecocks were faced with after the spring practice was completed, was how much would the Offensive Line improve (if any) this fall? Would any of the True Freshmen scheduled to join the team in June bolster the Carolina line which was below par almost all of the ’05 season and having lost its two senior starters in Na’Shan Goddard and Jabarri Levy? The Offensive Line did seem to manage a very slight overall improvement through most of the spring practice period, but from my perspective, there was still a lot of work that needed to be done across the front in order to compete against some of the best defensive fronts in the nation that the Gamecocks would have to face this fall on a regular basis. Although this is still going to be an area where South Carolina will be behind most other teams we’ll face this year, the Gamecocks did manage to put together a decent starting unit from what I was able to see while fans were allowed to watch the workouts.
When the gates were shut to the public with a little over two weeks to go until kickoff, the starting unit looked like this:
Center (#60) Chris White: Chris is one of three Seniors on the Offensive Line this season and a starter from last year. Center was probably the only position last year in the interior line that didn’t have problems. Chris was the reason for that. White’s play was consistently sound the whole season and sharing the center job in ’05 with another solid center William “Hub� Brown throughout the year, the middle of the line was the most solid. Chris will share the center duty this season with Freshman Pierre Andrews (#62) and Red shirt Sophomore Jeremy Burgess (#76). Andrews worked his way into doing the bulk of the snapping job with the second unit and looked to be progressing nicely. Monday nights last open practice saw Pierre doing the center job, replacing White who was nursing a slight shoulder injury. Burgess needs a little more work as three of his shotgun snaps during controlled scrimmages and the one open scrimmage held in Williams-Brice Stadium last week, were over the head of his quarterbacks.

As good as our Center position was last year, our play at both Guard positions was THAT BAD. Poor run and pass blocking by our starters and from the 2nd and 3rd units made life difficult for our Quarterbacks and Running backs last fall. To try to bolster this weak area, Coach Steve Spurrier loaded up with big offensive linemen this winter, especially at the Guard position. The Gamecocks added Ryan Broadhead from Leesburg Georgia, Sever Brown (#63) from Clearwater Florida, Kevin Young (#64) also from Clearwater Florida, and the top offensive lineman in the state of South Carolina (#78) Garrett Anderson from Dutch Fork High School here in Columbia. Along with these add Hardee Sanders who will be seeing his first eligible season in a Gamecock uniform after redshirting last year. Broadhead greyshirted this season and will join the Gamecocks in January of ’07, but the rest of the freshmen guards may be called upon to get some immediate playing time their first year in the Garnet and Black. If not to start, at least to add some depth to a pretty thin position. As of Monday night Garrett Anderson and Kevin Young were getting the most reps with either the first or second unit, and will more than likely see plenty of action on the field starting week after next.

Our Tackle position that started out as poor as the Guard spot did last year, made a late season improvement behind seniors Goddard and Levy, but like the rest of the offensive line lacked solid backup at the 2 and 3 deep players. This year Coach Spurrier was able to get some big freshmen that will without question be the foundation of a solid offensive front in the future, however the experienced players returning at the tackle position have been the anchor of the Offensive Line play so far last week. Word was that Gurminder Thind and Jamon Merideth had worked extremely hard on their games this summer and so far it’s shown with their steady if not solid performance this fall. The guard position was being experimented with a lot over the past 10 days, but it was always Thind and Merideth lined up at right and left tackle (respectively) and have both played exceptionally well. Thind (#75) a Redshirt Sophomore from Ontario Canada came in with high expectations two years ago under the Holtz administration, but last season couldn’t seem to get his size and skills to meet those expectations. This fall he has stepped up to not only give some good play at the edge of the line, but also adds some strong leadership for the Freshman laden line. Something that will be needed more and more as the season progresses.
Jamon Merideth (#77) a Junior player from Simpsonville SC, was a player who grew into the Tackle position over the past two years. Merideth came in as a Tight End with Lou Holtz’s team, and after some light action there, was moved to Guard to fill in an injury depleted line in ’04, Jamon was recently granted an extra year of play by the NCAA via a miscommunication with the coaching staff in 2004, and last year saw most of his limited playing time behind Na’Shan Goddard but started to develop into a creditable backup late in the year. He too has added some extra muscle and speed to his game this summer and looks to be ready to assume his role as a solid starter for the Gamecocks line this fall. Adding some depth and leadership at what was a position lacking in both in 2005 will be Redshirt Senior Thomas Coleman (#55). Like Merideth and Thind, Coleman’s play seems to have elevated some since the spring and makes up what looks to be a strong position in both starting play, and backup as well. Uncertain as of now who if any of the freshmen will see any meaningful playing time here, but there is some talented kids coming on board and are working hard trying to make the depth chart this fall. Hutch Eckerson (#66) from Lumberton NC, and Heath Batchelor (#74) from Haleyville Alabama have both looked good at times this fall in the drills, and during running game practice, but seem a little inconsistent working with the full unit, and full speed in the scrimmages. The numerous sacks that take place with the second and third units have come mainly from the area these two freshman are responsible for.

It has to be said in closing that much praise has to be given to Coach John Hunt and his Grad assistants for the development of this offensive line this summer and fall. We will still be outsized and for the most part out matched by opposing defenses again this season, and we’re yet to be listed as a strong unit overall. The freshmen that will surely be counted on to play a lot this season will add an air of uncertainty to how well we’ll do against the “Big Boys� (Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Auburn etc. . ) but from the looks of our line play last week, we’re well ahead of were we were last fall at this same time. That is because Coach Hunt has put in a lot of time, and lost a lot of sleep making it happen. This is a man for whom it can definitely be said, can do so much with so little. The Gamecocks have a fantastic future building on the front line of the offense, but still is about a year away from the “Good� label. For now, I’ll take average under Coach Hunt over Good with most other coaches, knowing he’ll be leading one of, if not the best Offensive Lines in the SEC in a couple of years.

** The Roster at Offensive line is:
* #55 Thomas Coleman – R/S Senior Tackle
* #60 Chris White – R/S Senior Center
* #62 Pierre Andrews – Freshman Center
* #63 Seaver Brown – Freshman Guard
* #64 Kevin Young – Freshman Guard
* #66 Hutch Eckerson – Freshman Tackle
* # 67 James Thompson – Junior Guard
* #68 Justin Sorensen – R/S Sophomore Tackle
* #69 Seth Edwards – R/S Senior Tackle
* # 71 William “Hub� Brown – R/S Junior Guard
* #72 Hardee Sanders – R/S Freshman Guard
* #74 Heath Batchelor – Freshman Tackle
* #75 Gurminder Thind – R/S Sophomore Tackle
* #76 Jeremy Burgess – R/S Sophomore Center
* # 77 Jamon Merideth – Junior Tackle
* #78 Garrett Anderson – Freshman Tackle

[Spurticus]

In 2005, each individual position of the Gamecock’s roster could be looked at as either Hot or Cold. The units were either good-to-solid, or below average-to-bad. The Gamecock Line Backers last year was one area that was in the middle. Inconsistent in the fact that they did a good job supporting our secondary with pass coverage, but couldn’t seem to help at all in the area of run support for a below average Defensive Line (against the run). This was puzzling to all Gamecock fans because the starting unit appeared to be made up of very good personnel. Seniors Lance Laury and Ricardo Hurley were joined by Sophomore speed merchant Mike West in what looked like a sound support group. Laury was the only one of these three to make any type of impact, finishing second on the defensive team in tackles, and assists.
Being able to shut down most passing games very well last year was evident in all of our early games. But when faced with a strong running game, our defensive front was pretty much outplayed by even our most mediocre opponents, with only a decent running game. (Kentucky, Troy, Central Florida, Vanderbilt etc..) Early in the season when teams like Georgia, Alabama or Auburn weren’t having a lot of success against the Gamecock defense through the air, they simply abandoned the air attack and gave our defense a dose of good ole smash mouth running, and it paid dividends against a defensive front that couldn’t contain the bigger offensive lines.
So this season, Coaches Tyron Nix, and Dave Wommack were faced with the task of completely re-building the Line backing corp. Gone were Laury and Hurley, and Mike West was moved first to a Rover Back position, and then to his spot on the roster now as a Slot Receiver, so basically the defensive coaches were starting from the ground up. Working with second and third unit players from last season, and some new faces in the Freshman recruits and JC transfers. But from what was evident in the Spring practice, and in the first 10 days of the fall workouts, our defensive coaches have worked a miracle. The true test will be in two weeks when this team faces an opponent other than their own team’s running backs, but first glance would lead one to believe this unit will be more than ready to face that challenge with very good results.

A whole new starting unit has emerged from the ashes of last years inconsistent line backers. The middle position is now anchored by a very solid, very athletic player in the form of JC Transfer from Georgia Military College, Jasper Brinkley. Jasper joined the Gamecocks in January of this year, and hasn’t seen anything but first unit duty. Pound for Pound, Brinkley is probably the best individual defensive player on the roster. Not only did he add some exceptional speed and strength to the Linebackers unit, but he immediately took over as the Defensive Leader of the team. Jasper wears #52 and that number will strike fear in the hearts and minds of many SEC running backs and quarterbacks by games end this year. Brinkley is equally good at stuffing the run and dropping into the passing lanes to shut down any passing attack over the middle. He can get into a backfield very quickly when called upon to blitz, and makes his presence known when contact is made.

Along side Brinkley as one of the Outside Linebacker position on the first unit is Marvin Sapp (#53). Sapp is in his second season as a Gamecock OLB and had stepped into a solid second unit player last year after having been targeted for a redshirt. Sapp was one of a hand-full of defensive players that had the redshirt tag removed after the game against Alabama, and was thrown into a starters role against Troy the following week. Sapp played well when called upon to do so, and backed up Lance Laury most of the remainder of the ’05 season. Sapp’s strong point is in the running game defense. Not quite as fast as some of the other LB’s on the team, Sapp makes up for that little loss of speed with a fantastic sense of where the play is going. Marvin has shown a good ability to stop the outside running game and enough field presence to know when a pass is coming into his area to get into position to cover any running backs or tight ends in the flat.

The other OLB position had not been determined as of this past Monday and may not be decided until game day against Mississippi State, but either of the candidates for that position sharing first unit duties this fall will not disappoint us fans from the looks of things.
The right Outside position was being shared on the starting unit by True Freshman and Columbia native Rodney Paulk and returning second unit LB from last season, Cody Wells. Paulk, a recruit from Richland Northeast High school here in Columbia comes in with some extraordinary numbers from his senior season, and reports were Rodney joined the team early this summer to start running and hitting the weights. This work ethic has paid off, and Paulk has gotten the most looks for the third and final spot as a starter. Most impressive area with Paulk is his ability to cover the faster running backs and the slot backs on shorter routes. This fall, the combination of Paulk, Brinkley and Sapp have been able to limit Blake Mitchell and Chris Smelley to the check down receivers as they have all combined to shut down any openings in the middle area of the field. Paulk will wear a familiar number to older Gamecock fans who saw #45 in the early 80’s worn by James Seawright. This will not make him a success alone, but it’s good to see that a player with the potential that Paulk has bearing the number of one of South Carolina’s finest players at Linebacker. Competing with Paulk for this spot, Cody Wells has not conceded the position to Paulk yet. Mr Wells has steadily raised his game to the level from mostly third unit player from last year, to a solid backup on the field by the end of the season and this Spring. Wells must have dedicated himself to improve his performance this summer, as Cody started off the fall as the other starting OLB, and hasn’t given up the position as of yet. Cody is more of a pass defending type of player (smallish) compared to guys like Brinkley and Sapp, but that lighter frame has served him well getting into the backfield, and led the team in sacks this fall so far. He can also get that smaller frame of his into gaps to stuff the runs well, as #24 was seen making the stops in the red zone many times during the controlled scrimmages the teams ran last week.

The second unit players for the Gamecocks at linebacker are still being fought for. The Middle position is solidly manned by R/S Junior (#47) Curtis Rice. Curtis, not quite as big as the guy in front of him (Brinkley), plays the MLB position very adequately. Curtis had a very good Spring game in April, and so far has not been knocked out of the second unit position by anyone, meaning Rice should see a lot of playing time this fall spelling Brinkley, or filling in should Jasper get dinged up.
Backups vying for the outside spots are #54 Yvan Banag and #99 Dakota Walker. Both these players are sophomore players for last year’s defensive team but are line up in different positions. Banag played mainly on the Punt and Kickoff teams last season based on his speed and ability to breakup wedges and power his way to the ball carrier. However, he was placed in the defensive backfield against Missouri in the Independence Bowl as a Rover / Cornerback, and played exceptionally well. He started out as a third unit Linebacker this Spring and had some trouble getting used to the position. Since the end of Spring, Yvan has worked out hard and put on some upper body mass and climbed into the second unit. The extra weight however seems to have slowed him down a step or two, but hasn’t effected his ability to get to the ball carrier.
Walker came to the Gamecocks team last fall as a hopeful for one of the Defensive Ends spots. Before the season started last year, he was moved to one of the outside linebacker positions because of his speed and light frame (tall thinish). His speed did help him make some good plays from the OLB position last year, but he was still not the strong solid player that position needs to have. This year Walker started out the spring lined up as a Defensive End, but again quickly moved to one of the OLB’s and so far has done an outstanding job there backing up the first unit.

The remainder of the Linebackers who will filled in depth charts in practice and will see some playing time this fall are Gerrod Sinclair, Marcus Davis, Ramel Walker and Vandaral Shackelford. All these players seen a limited amount of playing time during the 11-on-11 drills, and the controlled Scrimmages the team ran last week.

The Roster for the Linebackers this year is:

#24 Cody Wells – R/S Junior
#31 Gerrod Sinclair – R/S Freshman
#32 Marcus Davis – R/S Junior
#42 Cody Lucas – R/S Senior
#45 Rodney Paulk – Freshman
#47 Curtis Rice – R/S Junior
#52 Jasper Brinkley – Junior
#53 Marvin Sapp – Sophomore
#54 Yvan Banag – Sophomore
#57 Ramel Walker – R/S Senior
#58 John Guerry – Freshman
#86 Vandaral Shackelford – Freshman
#99 Dakota Walker - Sophomore

[Spurticus]

The Gamecock Defensive Line in 2005 was a letdown in that our overall defense ranked at or near the bottom of the country in run defense, especially early in the season. The Middle of the line played well, but our primary problem was in stopping the run off the tackles and with containment on sweeps and pitches. This was not all to blame on the defensive ends as the Gamecock’s outside linebackers continued to get caught inside and sealed off by the offensive team’s tackles and tight ends. However, our Defensive Ends were having a lot of trouble fighting off blocks, and turning the wider running plays inside towards the pursuit. Like the offensive line, our defensive coaches racked their brains trying to come up with a lineup that was able to mesh as a unit. The run defense did get somewhat better later in the year, but teams like Arkansas, Florida and Clemson still continued to find a lot of yards on the edges of the Carolina Defense.
To correct this, Coach Steve Spurrier hired a familiar face to Gamecock in Brad Lawing. Lawing who coached here at USC during the later part of the Woods and Scott administration had moved on to coach the defensive front unit of the North Carolina Tar heels. Coach John Thompson, last years defensive line coach left the team shortly before the Independence Bowl game via a mutual arrangement with the university, and Lawing was brought back to help find and correct the problem that made the Gamecocks rush defense finish 113th out of 117 Division I-A teams in 2005. This will not be an easy task by Coach Lawing as the defensive line unit returns a large portion of its foundation, with only three Freshmen coming in to help bolster the weak run defense.
The Defensive line did however manage to finish near the front of the SEC in sacks, and passes batted down and that was something the Gamecocks have failed to do in the last 3 years under former coach Lou Holtz. This statistic was even more impressive when compared to the fact that South Carolina did very little blitzing with its linebackers last season and only limited blitzing off the corners with the secondary. This should be a positive part of the defensive front the team can expand on this coming season, and with a much faster, and much more active line backing unit, along with what shapes up to be a better-than-expected young secondary, the Gamecocks look to have a solid pass defense lined up this fall. If Coach Lawing can find some measure of success building a better defense on the outside part of our line (The Defensive Ends), our overall defense could be one that surprises a lot of “so called” experts who are already picking USC to finish once again, near the bottom of the conference in stopping the run.

The Middle of the Carolina Defensive Line is anchored well with several very strong returning players that saw action last season. Leading this part of the Defensive Line is redshirt Junior Stanley Doughty (#55) Sophomore Nathan Pepper who wears #95. These two saw the most action lined up across from the center at the Nose Guard (middle guard) spot. Doughty plays the spot better, being the stronger of the two, saw most of his time with the second unit team and even there, played limited snaps for the Gamecocks front line. This because Doughty carried an excessive amount of body fat that caused Stanley to tire easily, and limited the amount of time he remained on the field. The coaches have pushed Doughty to loose some of the weight, and this fall, had him along with 3 other players running the entire practice until the maximum weight set for them was met. Doughty ran the first two days of practice before joining the defensive front to run drills, and when he did get back with the unit, was immediately placed on the third team to work his way back up to the starting lineup (first team).
Nathan Pepper was thrown into action after being considered for a redshirt season, after the team’s defense had a very poor showing against Alabama. Pepper replaced Doughty as the starting nose guard, and remained in the lineup as the first unit middle guard splitting time with Doughty, and playing along side the other Defensive Tackle spot when not playing a conventional Nose Guard position. If Doughty can keep his weight in check this fall, and give the team some more time on the field before having to come out to rest, the middle guard spot should once again be very solid.
The other interior Line position is being determined from a list of mainly returning players from last year. Junior Guard Marque Hall (#79), Matt Raysor, a Junior wearing #96 and Joel Reeves (#98) also a Junior were the players who got most of the reps with the first and second team at this position last week. Along with these players, add highly recruited Freshman Kenrick Ellis #97 (who is also battling a weight problem), and last years third unit Guard #94 Lemule Jean Pierre a redshirt freshman. Ellis has the size, strength and speed to be an exceptional defensive player, but (like Doughty) seems to tire easily because of the extra weight he carries. It’s rumored that he will more than likely sit out this season as a red shirt to try to resolve this problem. Lemule Jean Pierre could be the deciding factor in this decision. Jean Pierre has improved his game tremendously since the end of spring, and was a solid second unit player this fall. If he can stay at (or increase ) that level of intensity he could add a lot of depth to the Guard position, and afford the Gamecocks the luxury of holding Ellis out this season to get him fully prepared to be the type player we signed him to be beginning next year. This will be decided by our coaches within the next 8-10 days.

It has yet to be determined if the Defensive Line play has gotten better at stopping the run, as the coaches limited the running plays during scrimmages this fall. Most runs were straight handoffs up the middle, and some dive plays mainly between the guard and tackle spots (B Gaps). This could be one of two reasons. 1. The coaches wanted to slowly develop the run defense by building the confidence of the line with some simpler plays, or 2. Coach Spurrier sees an improvement in the unit developing, and doesn’t want to show his hand too early, before beginning preparation for the Mississippi State game in closed practices. Gamecock fans (like our opponents) will have to wait until the night of August 31st to find out if our overall run defense has improved over the 2005 season.
Questions still remain about both perimeters of the Carolina defensive front. Even though the team was poor at stopping our opponent’s running game last year the team lost some very good defensive Ends in Charles Silas, and Oris Lambert, and De’Adrian Coley. Replacing these Senior players will be Junior College transfer Casper Brinkley a Junior wearing #51, and Freshmen players Eric Norwood (#85), and #81 Terrance Campbell. The returning players from last year vying for a starters spot at Defensive End will be #41 Junior Jordin Lindsey and converted linebackers, redshirt Freshman Kerry Bonds (#91), and #43 Ryan Brown a redshirt Junior.
Lindsey took over one of the starting DE spots late last year and gotten better at that position this spring and fall. Right now, he’s the only one of the defensive ends this fall that saw action solely as a first unit player. The opposite spot was not fully determined by the time coach Spurrier closed practices a week ago. The main players being looked at however were Brinkley and Brown. Both of these players have a good chance at landing the other first unit Defensive End spot and at first glance, should upgrade that spot over last year’s mediocre play.
Brinkley is a much stronger pass rusher than Brown, but Ryan has been the best of any of the front line players at showing the ability to fight off blocks and stuff the run. Stopping the run is the primary job of any position across the Defensive front. Casper is quicker off the snap and that allows him to anticipate the snap and out run the offensive tackle to get into the backfield. Which one of these two players (if either) get the nod, the other should prove to be a very solid backup as a second unit end. That is IF coach Lawing doesn’t decide to use them both at opposite spots at times. Of the other players competing for starting time at the Ends, Eric Norwood appeared to have a better shot at seeing the field this fall. Eric was a candidate for a redshirt season at the start of fall practice, but with the position being thin to start with, and with Norwood showing some very good ability during position drills, and during controlled scrimmages, coach Lawing started using Norwood on the second unit DE position and Eric played exceptionally well when he was in.
My personal feeling is that we have made a slight improvement in the defensive line overall. It appears the front line is solid two deep now, but the main thing to watch is how well the Defensive Line stops the opponent’s ground game. With little running done by the offense in practice this fall, we’ll have to wait until the Miss. St. Bulldogs test this group opening night. The real test however will be in how well they perform the second week of the season against a bigger Offensive line than themselves going against the Georgia Bulldogs. This will be one of the three biggest lines we’ll face this season, and the outcome of that game should let the fans know if Brad Lawing and the Defensive Line has put together an SEC caliber defensive line or not.
The roster for the Defensive Line this season is:

#41 Jordon Lindsey (DE) – Junior
#51 Casper Brinkley (DE) – Junior
#55 Stanley Doughty (DT) – R/S Junior
#61 Keron Rouse (DE) – Senior
#62 James Green (DT) – R/S Junior
#79 Marque Hall (DT) – Junior
#81 Terrance Campbell (DE) – Freshman
#85 Eric Norwood (DE) – Freshman
#91 Kerry Bonds (DE) – R/S Freshman
#94 Lemule Jean Pierre (DT) – R/S Freshman
#95 Nathan Pepper (DT) – Sophomore
#96 Matt Raysor (DT) – R/S Sophomore
#97 Kenrick Ellis (DT) – Freshman
#98 Joel Reeves (DT) – Junior

[Spurticus]

Of all of the individual units that make up the University of South Carolina Gamecocks football team, the one position that could be considered the “Roller Coaster” ride of 2005 was definitely the Tight Ends. With Andy Boyd the solid starter going into the season last year, South Carolina’s first year coach Steve Spurrier and Tight Ends coach Rick Stockstill immediately set out to get another big target for the Cock-n-Fire. Steve Spurrier’s big play style offenses have always utilized a good pass catching Tight End so getting Jonathan Hannah in a last minute take away from Virginia Tech was a huge surprise for Mr. Spurrier’s first recruiting class for the Gamecocks. It now seemed on paper like the Gamecocks were well set to give the Spurrier air attack some underneath fire power.
But Hannah had trouble getting adjusted to the Spurrier system, and at times during the fall, looked a little lost on the practice field, it was decided early on that Jonathan would redshirt his first season to get acclimated to the college game. So with just Boyd and a pair of mostly blocking Tight Ends making up the depth chart the Gamecocks entered the 2005 season sound, but not quite as formidable with only one pass catching threat.
The pass catching tight end capability of the offense was made evident early in the first game of the ’05 season when Andy Boyd took a drag route pass late in the first quarter of the game with Central Florida into the end zone for a touchdown. This would be Boyd’s only highlight of the year and the offense took a huge blow early as a few plays later Andy Boyd was injured and lost for the remainder of the season.
The Gamecocks were down to only two Tight Ends and neither one had caught a pass during a game, so the Cock-n-Fire was now very limited in its air attack. With some hard work during practice and more than likely some added attention from coach Rick Stockstill, the two tight ends that were on the roster did become a mild threat as receivers, but were both limited in the number of passes each one saw the rest of the year. Of these two, Robert Pavlovic became the better receiver and did manage to catch a couple of clutch passes to show the opposition some threat from there, but not nearly as tough to defend against as the offense was at the beginning of the season. David Laggis (the other TE) made his contribution to the position late in the year catching a few short passes against Florida and Clemson, and a TD catch against Missouri in the Independence Bowl.

With the season now over, it was evident early that coach Spurrier was banking on Jonathan Hannah’s development and Boyd’s recovery to provide the sought after pass catching capabilities from the Tight End spot. With Laggis and Pavlovic now adequate backups both Boyd and Hannah should be able to provide the hands the offense was looking for to help relive some of the double teaming of Sidney Rice that is sure to come this fall. So Spurrier decided not to recruit a Tight End this winter, and loaded up on Offensive and Defensive linemen, and a couple of skill position players with speed.
The gamble proved to be costly however, as just prior to the start of Spring Practice, Jonathan Hannah announced that he would not join the team this year and opted to transfer to a school nearer his NC hometown. To make matters worse, Andy Boyd’s recovery was much much slower than anticipated, and now the team was down to only the two tight ends it had finished up the ‘05 season with, and it was apparent some adjustments would need to be made. The team would make these adjustments without its Tight End coach from the previous season also. Rick Stockstill left the Gamecocks shortly after the end of the year, to take on the head coaching job and Middle Tennessee State University. To take his place, coach Spurrier hired Fred Chatham, the Tight Ends coach from Duke University.
With all this going against the Gamecocks, both Chatham and Spurrier made some very interesting moves during the Spring which as of last week, appears to have not only patched up the thin Tight End position, but may have made the spot one of the stronger portions of the offense for the fall campaign.
Redshirted Wide Receiver Jared Cook was switched to the TE position and Cook immediately increased the pass catching and scoring potential of that spot immensely. Cook who had been compared to a “scaled down version” of Sidney Rice, proved he would not only be a pass catching specialist at the TE spot, but started to work on his blocking skills in the Spring and Summer, and by the end of the open practices this fall was a solid first unit Tight End. Cook has shown a very good ability to catch passes in heavy traffic and make the occasional spectacular catch when a pass is thrown off target. This was something Andy Boyd or Robert Pavlovic could not do with any regularity.
Boyd was still recovering from his knee injury which sidelined him for the season last year and was starting to run some pass routes in the 7-on-7 drills. Andy was operating at only about 60% speed and then was taken from the field once again with a chipped bone in his elbow. Reports are that the injury will not prevent him from playing this year, but does cause him to do some additional rehabbing before being able to contribute to the offence once again. Hopes are that Boyd can get to at least 80-85% efficiency before the start of the season, but if not, Pavlovic should be able to provide solid backup for Cook. At least for now the position seems to be “As Solid” if not better than what the expectations were going into the season last year at this time. Hopefully the Gamecocks can avoid some to the bad luck setbacks that fell upon the tight ends early last year and we’ll finally get to see the Cock-n-Fire Offense hitting on all eight cylinders.

The Tight End roster for this year is:

#80 Andy Boyd – R/S Junior
#84 Jared Cook – R/S Freshman
#87 Alex McGrath – R/S Sophomore
#90 Foxy Foxworth – Freshman
#92 David Laggis – R/S Junior
#93 Robert Pavlovic – R/S Junior

[Spurticus]

When you look at all the Steve Spurrier Coached offenses of the past, especially the ones that achieved the most degree of success, a couple of things stick out as to why they were so good. The main reason is that he has always believed in having 1. An intelligent Quarterback running the offense, and 2. Speedy, Big Play Wide Receivers. As soon as coach Spurrier took over the football program here at USC, it was apparent that it this would be how he stated to build the New Gamecocks. Going after some of the biggest name QB’s still available at that time, and with very little time to recruit proved to be tough, as many of the high ranking signal callers still uncommitted, were strong leans to other teams. But there were however, some highly ranked and talented Wide Receivers still up for grabs and our coach went after some to these players fervently. Locking on to two main candidates from near his old stomping grounds, coach Spurrier got the interest of two main candidates for the position. OJ Murdock, and Carlos Thomas quickly became his two primary targets in which to build his newly tagged “Cock-n-Fire” offense around. Murdock, from Florida and Thomas from Georgia were considering playing for their local teams (the university of Florida and the university of Georgia respectively). After some heavy recruiting Spurrier was able to get both of these players to commit and added two more highly recruited pass receivers from the state of Georgia in Kenny McKinley, and Jared Cook. The seeds that would become the Spurrier offense at South Carolina had now been planted. These names would be added to the Wide Receiver roster for the 2005 season along with R/S Freshman Sidney Rice, Junior Syvelle Newton and Junior Noah Whiteside. This appeared to be on the surface, the best stable of receivers that South Carolina had ever assembled.
Of this group, the younger players found the Spurrier offense a little hard to grasp when the fall practices began. So Cook and Murdock along with Freddie Brown III were held back a season to work on their games, and the team started the season with Thomas and McKinley as the two freshmen Wide Outs that rose to the Cream of the Crop. The solid unit which started out quickly began to show some signs of sputtering, and quickly became a make-shift group just trying to survive the first season under the Spurrier watch. Thomas couldn’t get open enough, and had some problems controlling the football when he did get his hands on it. Thus received little attention from Blake Mitchell during the game later in the year. Kenny McKinley seemed to have the raw talent and had flashes of excellence, but had trouble finding the open areas in the zones a lot, and at times ran the wrong routes called from the sidelines.
Noah Whiteside, one of the upper class leaders on whom much of the pass catching burden was to be placed, performed at a reduced level of talent when he was in. Rumors were thick as to why Whiteside was such an underachiever; from the injury suffered in the Spring Game, to academic problems. Whatever the trouble, it was apparent early on that Noah would not be a major contributor to the offensive production in 2005.
This left the lion’s share of the long range pass receiving duties mainly upon two players. Sidney Rice and Syvelle Newton, both of whom handled those responsibilities flawlessly. Rice quickly rose to national prominence with a string of outstanding games from the Georgia game to the Arkansas game, catching at least one TD pass in each of those eight games, setting school records for the most TD receptions in one season and the most consecutive games with TD passes being caught (among others). Rice received freshman honors in the SEC as well as being named to the Freshman All American team.
Newton, who played mainly as a slot back receiver in 2005, was used in a variety of positions including tailback, running back and quarterback. The most severe blow to the Gamecock offense came late in the game against Vanderbilt in October. While crossing the goal line for a Touchdown that would put the Gamecocks ahead in the game for good, Newton blew out his left Achilles tendon that not only sidelined him for the remainder of the season, but threatened to end his football future. Now the passing game was down to primarily two main threats. Rice and McKinley and this was how the Gamecocks limped through the last part of the 2005 season.

Spurrier was still banking on the talent he had gathered in the previous year’s recruits, and during the winter, picked up only one more Wide Receiver. But this was no ordinary Wide Out. Moe Brown who was not heavily recruited caught Spurrier’s eye because of his speed. Besides playing football, Brown was a sprinter and huddler for his High school’s track team which held a national record for one of the Hurdle Medleys and coach Spurrier saw enough in that to offer Brown a scholarship to play for the University of South Carolina. Moe worked out this summer with Sidney Rice, and it was reported that Rice was very impressed with the way Brown caught the football and learned the offensive system. At last open practice, Brown was working with the first team offense and gaining more confidence each day.
With Cook moving to a Tight End position and Thomas moved to the Defensive backfield, the core of the position revolves around Rice, a rehabilitated Newton, a vastly improved McKinley and the afore mentioned freshman speedster Moe Brown. OJ Murdock joins the roster fresh off his redshirt season, but still has trouble getting open and / or holding onto the football. Murdock shows flashes of brilliance at times, but is highly inconsistent and thus spent most of the Spring and Fall bouncing between the second and third units. Whiteside (now a senior) continues to be mired in off the field problems that limit his chances of seeing any meaningful time during the game. Noah has incurred a three game suspension to start the 2006 season and reports say that he is teetering on the edge of academic ineligibility. Unless Whiteside can get some priorities in order, he will see little to no action with the receivers this year.
One of the best moves made by coach Spurrier with the offense in the past 12 months was to move linebacker / rover back Mike West to the offensive side of the line of scrimmage in March. West has steadily grown into a big play threat from one of the slot back spots. West not only has the speed to do a lot of damage to the defense after he catches the football, but Mike is not afraid to lower his head and shoulders and run over a defensive players if he can’t run around them. West was a solid second unit player this fall and should see lots of playing time with the offense starting next week.
Freddie Brown (a redshirt from last year) was looking like he would inherit a starting spot, or at least some meaningful playing time as a backup with his efforts this Spring. However, with Brown looking like a second or third year receiver instead of a true freshman, and West’s continued increase of reps with the offense this fall, Brown has settled into mainly a third unit receiver, and will not likely see much action in big games or if the outcome of the games are still in doubt. Brown III and other good receivers on the Gamecocks team have been overwhelmed, and outplayed by some of the talent shown by the players mentioned above.
One other receiver that did get a lot of attention from Coach Steve Spurrier and Steve Spurrier Jr. this fall was walk-on Freshman Marquise Brown. Marquise is another speedster with good hands that began the fall with the third unit WR’s, but was used some with the second team later on. Brown’s only set back right now is that he was inconsistent from day to day. Having one practice where he would catch anything he could touch, and the other days when his hands seemed to be coated with Teflon. He was being given much attention by Coach Spurrier Jr. at times, and seems to be a player that the offensive coaches have taken a liking to. I believe they see a raw talent that if developed properly, can become another missile in the Cock-n-Fire arsenal.
The Wide Receiver position seems to be one of the most solid groups on the team this year. Mixed with talented first year players and redshirt freshmen, along with some good leadership from the second and third year players and an extremely versatile Senior player, the Gamecocks seem now to have the ability to control the football at times through the air with some clutch pass catching, or able to score quickly from long range either by the deep pass, or with fast Slot Receivers that can turn a short slant across the middle into a 70+ yard TD. But as any true Gamecock fan will tell you, we know the meaning of the phrase “Looks Can Be Deceiving”. All hopes will be confirmed, or all doubt made reality in the next 3 – 4 weeks, but on the surface, the Carolina Wide Receivers have the potential to lead one to believe this year’s squad could put up record numbers on the scoreboard (this is my personal belief as well). With a solid ground game to compliment the air attack (something we couldn’t seem to muster last season), the Spurrier controlled offense looks dangerous this year. The team should still experience some inconsistency at time with three true freshmen players, and a couple of redshirt players seeing their first live action. This too with one player who will see a lot of the field this year who was playing linebacker this time last year. But, there’s enough experience and a solid foundation with this group that should overcome any problems that would destroy a game, or a season. Staying healthy is the key to any position, and this unit is no exception, but unlike a couple of other spots on the roster this fall, the Wide Receivers have a deep group to use should needs demand it. Let’s hope our core group stays healthy so we can all enjoy the scoring orgy that should start one week from tomorrow night.

This years Wide Receiver roster is:

#4 Sidney Rice – R/S Sophomore
#9 Moe Brown – Freshman
#10 Noah Whiteside – Senior
#11 Kenney McKinley – Sophomore
#13 Syvelle Newton – Senior
#15 OJ Murdock – R/S Freshman
#23 Mike West – R/S Junior
#81 Paul Haile – R/S Freshman
#82 Freddie Brown III – R/S Freshman
#83 Scott Spurrier – R/S Freshman
#85 Jamal Hayes – R/S Senior
#86 Chris Haile – Freshman
#88 Marquise Brown – Freshman
#89 Leon Gamble – R/S Sophomore

[Spurticus]

Along with our Offensive line, the Defensive backs have been the object of the most speculation as to how good or bad this group will be for the upcoming season. This was to be expected as the two most productive players from the secondary of ’05 left the team early to enter the NFL Draft. With Jonathan Josef and Ko Simpson now out of the lineup, and mainly R/S freshman and walk-on players making up the remainder of the returning roster, it’s no wonder that this unit would draw much criticism and poor predictions from the fans and the media, especially after this unit had a poor showing during the open spring practices. Coach Ron Cooper would now have to rely heavily on the few upper class players to lead a Defensive Backfield that would be made up of players that saw very little, or no action last season. Senior Cornerback Fred Bennett will be the only returning starter from last year’s squad that saw action in every game. Fred had a decent Spring, but like the rest of the Defensive Backs looked a little unsure at times when covering the faster and most of the time bigger Wide Outs. Brandon Isaac is the only other Senior in the secondary, but saw time last year mainly as a backup to Ko Simpson at the Free Safety spot. Brandon was primarily used as a second unit DB this spring.

This unit would get a very big shot in the arm this fall however, in the form of a very talented, very fast group of True Freshmen players recruited last winter. It’s never good for any team to rely heavily on True Freshmen to improve a position, but it was clear from day one of the fall practice that this group of first year DB’s was not going to be your average freshmen. Lead by Captain Munnerlyn from Alabama, and Emanuel Cook from Florida, the defensive backfield looked much more sound and a lot faster than the unit that ended the Spring. Along with these two highly recruited players, Darien Stewart another Alabama native, quickly caught the attention of Coach Cooper and Coach Spurrier and by end of the first week of practice, Stewart had surpassed Cook and Munnerlyn to secure a first unit spot in the secondary, a place he was still holding when practices were closed to the public last Monday. Munnerlyn and Cook were solid second unit players at the Cornerback and Safety position respectively. Not just freshmen filling in spots however, as these three players made play after play against the more experienced receivers on the team, and Munnerlyn was used primarily to cover second year sensation Sidney Rice and did an outstanding job doing so. Drawing much praise by coach Spurrier in the media, and even more from coach Cooper during practice. It will only benefit the young Munnerlyn because covering Rice is something no other DB in the SEC could do with any degree of success last season, so his game will only get stronger working against Sidney in practice and should be well able to handle the best our opponents can throw at him this season.
Even with Cook and Munnerlyn having excellent falls, the surprise of the new class is definitely Darien Stewart. Stewart has good speed, but his biggest assets are his quickness to the ball and a good ability to read the offense. Add to that of the group of new Defensive Backs, Stewart is the hardest hitter of the group. This should make him a very suitable replacement for the shoes he’s trying to fill.

The other returning players from last year’s secondary must have dedicated themselves to some hard work this summer as they too looked vastly improved since the end of the Garnet and Black game. The DB’s were not having a problem covering the receivers, or closing to the football when it was thrown. The main problem was one that looked more mental that physical. Or possibly a little lacking in technique. The group just couldn’t seem to keep the receivers from taking the ball away from them in closely guarded situations. The problem which was frustrating to look at, seemed “Fixable” however and it looks as if that was the case.
The rest of the returning players will be lead by the afore mentioned Brandon Isaac and converted WR, sophomore Carlos Thomas. These two play the Safety position, and will battle the true freshmen for starting spots in the secondary, but the ones who do not start, will not see the bench much this year, as they will provide solid support for the players who do make the first unit. This along with getting time with the defense in Nickle and Dime packages from time to time, in obvious passing situations. At the Corner opposite Fred Bennett, Stoney Woodson will more than likely be the player battling Munnerlyn for the starting role. Woodson looked to be the most used at that position the last part of the open practices and he too looks like he has gotten better since the Spring workouts ended and will definitely see a lot of time on the field this season. Stoney is another hard hitting corner, not possessed with great speed, but can come up as good as any player in the secondary to help with the run support. After last years disastrous season where opponents gain large chunks of yardage outside our tackles, Stoney play this fall looks like he’ll be a huge contributor in getting this corrected. Woodson’s specialty is in containment and slowing down the outside running game. He won’t be used much in man-to-man situations, but what he lacks in cover ability, he more than makes up for with his run support.
The one other possible starter or strong second unit player with the secondary will be Chris Hampton. Chris work along side Stewart on the first unit most of the time this fall, and looked to be stronger than his mostly backup role last season.

Along with youth comes uncertainty and inconsistency and this will more than likely be the case with the Defensive Backs this fall. But the one big factor the squad has going for them this year, as compared to years past is that the scheduling seems to favor development of younger players early. No game is a certain win, and I don’t want to make statements here that would imply we have “Easy” wins with any game on our schedule. However, looking at our opponents “On Paper”, 4 of our first 6 games seems to be lighter and winnable games and that should help the development of our younger DB’s before going into our remaining six games which is far tougher, with only 2 of the 6 looking like certain wins. The freshman players should gain some measure of confidence before going into the games with Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson to end the season. The secondary WILL make mistakes, but should provide some exciting if not spectacular play most of the time and in a position that looked to be shaky going into the fall practices; the group has emerged as being a very talented bunch of young men.


The roster for the Defensive Backs this year is:
· #1 Captain Munnerlyn – Freshman CB
· #5 Carlos Thomas – Sophomore S
· #8 Fred Bennett – Senior CB
· #14 Nitron Stork – R/S Sophomore CB
· #18 Jeremy Ware – R/S Freshman CB
· #19Nick Prochak – Freshman S
· #21Emanule Cook – Freshman S
· #21Greg Wright – R/S Junior CB
· #26 Brandon Isaac – Senior S
· #27 Ty Erving – R/S Junior S
· #28 Jerod June – R/S Junior ROV
· #33 Chris Hampton – Junior S
· #34 Douglas Peterson – R/S Sophomore ROV
· #36 Stoney Woodson – R/S Sophomore CB
· #39 Ranzino Valentine – R/S Junior CB
· #40 Darien Stewart – Freshman S
· #46 Aubrey McKay – R/S Junior CB
· #49 Damien Wright – R/S Freshman CB

[Spurticus]

With just a few days until the kickoff of the 2006 version of the South Carolina Gamecocks football team, another of the big questions about the offense was answered this Spring in favorable fashion. “Would the Running Game Provide Any Support For the Spurrier Air Attack?
Last years group of running backs started the Spring with some great promise for the 2005 season, but came out of Spring Practice leaving the Gamecock fans wondering if the team would even have a ground game. Fullback Antonio Lamar was ruled academically ineligible to play and shortly after that Carolinas hope for an SEC rushing title contender Demetrius Summers was dismissed from the team due to violations of team policy. When fans were saying to themselves it couldn’t get much worse . . It Did! The heart and soul of the 2004 ground game (Cory Boyd) was then suspended due to “Non-Academic” rules violations and it was rumored that he was packing for New Jersey to enter Rutgers University to finish out his college career. The team was now depending on two True Freshmen backs that would join the team in August, and a little used Senior runner in Dacus Turman. The once strong unit of Running Backs was reduced to little more than a HOPE for any yards at all in less than 2 weeks time.

The team did get some good news a couple of weeks later, in that Boyd had decided to stay with the Carolina team and take a redshirt season, and work through the suspension in hopes of getting back on the team in 2006. The Freshmen that would make up the Gamecocks backfield for the year were Bobby Wallace (Spurrier’s first recruit signed with the Gamecocks), the state of SC’s leading High school Runningback and Columbia native Mike Davis and Washington States Mr. Football for 2004, Taylor Rank. In the Fall Practices, Bobby Wallace appeared to be not only a freshman back who could stabilize the position to get us through the ’05 season, but showed that he may be a better than average runner and possibly an SEC Freshman standout. But about halfway through the fall workouts, Mike Davis began a steady climb to prominence as a Gamecock runner and by the time the ’05 season kicked off, Davis was the starting running back, a position he held through the year. Rank was forced to sit out the year with ankle and shoulder injuries so Davis, Wallace and Turman were the ground game last season with the fullbacks seeing action only as blockers for what few goal line plays the team had last fall.
This “makeshift” ground attack’s ability to muster any decent yardage was hampered even more by an offensive line that was neither big, nor deep. The 2005 offensive front did the best it could under the circumstances, but was completely outsized and outmanned each week. This along with the inexperience of the runners saw the Gamecock running game at or near the bottom in the country through the entire season last year.

Could the Gamecocks put together a running game this fall with the remnants of that disastrous season? Coach Spurrier must have thought so as he recruited no running backs this winter, with the exception of DB / RB Emanuel Cook. The first order of business in erecting a ground game shortly before the Bowl loss to Missouri when coach Spurrier fired Running Backs coach Madre Hill, and replaced him with one of his former Gator players Robert Gillespie. Steve Spurrier counted on Cory Boyd’s return and the one year battle tested Wallace and Davis, along with contributions from R/S freshman Taylor Rank to increase the production from the Gamecocks backfield in 2006. He instead loaded up on bigger offensive linemen to build for the future of the running game with these young men as a foundation.
As is usually the case, Spurrier’s decision appears to have been the correct call. This spring, Cory Boyd rejoined the team with a totally new attitude towards his game. It was evident early that Cory had used the time under suspension to improve his game and build some extra body mass. Mike Davis looked much quicker also and by the end of the spring, it came down to a two man race to see who would be the starting running back for the Gamecocks this fall. Wallace still looks to be a very valuable asset with his quickness, as well as better hands that can be utilized out of the backfield as a check-down receiver, or running out of a slot. There was one scare with this unit at the end of April, when once again a shoulder injury sidelined third unit runner Taylor Rank. Rank then made a statement about transferring to a college closer to his home state. After some thought and discussion however, Taylor decided to stay with the squad this year.
During the summer workouts, word began to spread that both Cory Boyd and Mike Davis had taken over as team leaders and Boyd was rumored to be giving some heart-to-heart meetings with some of the players that didn’t seem to place as much emphasis in their workouts as was going to be needed for the team to improve. Davis was a leader by example according to coach Spurrier and it got him some very high praise from the second year coach of the Gamecocks. The Running Backs came into the fall practice looking much faster, much stronger and a lot more determined to shake off the poor showing of last years non existent ground attack.
This unit remains unchanged by addition of Freshmen as the entire roster of the backfield (Tailbacks and Fullbacks) is the same as it was when the Spring Practices ended. The most exciting thing with this unit without question is that it’s basically the same players as last year’s team (with the exception of Boyd). This season however, the group is playing behind a slightly improved Offensive Line and making much better reads and quicker decisions. This along with the fact that Spurrier experimented with some Two Back Sets this spring and fall that will give the Gamecocks a much more diverse play selection and make them a more formidable unit overall. This will in turn help slow down the pass rush that was non stop last season, as the opponents seemed willing to neglect the weak running game of the Gamecocks and came full speed at our Quarterback almost non stop every game.
The position that was the most inexperienced, and lowest production squad last year, now looks to be the teams most solid without adding any Freshman to its roster and without changing any of its personnel.
Along with the much improved Tailback position, coach Spurrier is just now beginning to make some comments to the press about a couple of his Fullbacks. With only three days left before the team begins its second season under coach Spurrier, he has made mention a couple of times that walk-on and redshirt Freshman Lanard Stafford has made some exceptionally good plays in the closed practices and may well see some meaningful playing time with the Gamecocks outside being a goal line, and short yardage lead blocker. The other two fullbacks that saw action this fall were walk-on Junior Bryan Kingrey and Freshman Clark Gaston who joined the team this spring.

If this unit can look as good on the playing field for the ‘Cocks this fall, the South Carolina offense will have taken one GIANT step forward in becoming a more “Spurrier” type of offense that will start pushing some of the Perennial Juggernauts (Florida, Georgia, Tennessee) in the Eastern Conference for that title. Unlike some of the other squads with the team, the first game of the season with Mississippi State should provide the Gamecock fans with some idea of just how good the Running Backs will be this year. The Bulldogs have a very good defensive team that is anchored by its talented front line and linebackers. If the Gamecocks can sustain a steady ground game Thursday night, it will signal that this unit may be able to finish among the top in the SEC as MSU will be one of, if not the best overall defenses the Cocks will face this year, especially on their front line. Here’s hoping that Coach Gillespie and the Running Backs can provide that solid ground game that should propel the offense towards a much more productive year in 2006.

The roster for the Backfield this year is:


#3 Cory Boyd – R/S Junior (TB)
#20 Taylor Rank – R/S Freshman (TB)
#22 Bobby Wallace – Sophomore (TB)
#25 Mike Davis – Sophomore (TB)
#39 Lanard Stafford – R/S Junior (FB)
#44 Clark Gaston – Freshman (FB)
#46 Bryan Kingrey – Junior (FB)

[Spurticus]

No single player is draws more attention with fans of college football than does the Quarterback. And certainly here in Columbia SC, that is no exception. Mainly because we now have as our head coach, the person most other fans would consider the best QB Coach of recent times. Surely with the right kind of player under center and with Steve Spurrier teaching them the offense, the Gamecocks could become a very productive force in the SEC.
This season all of us fans waited with much anticipation for the arrival of our newest Quarterback recruit, Alabama’s Chris Smelley. Chris put up some fantastic numbers in High school, but was most recruited for his ability to read a defense and make the necessary adjustments before the snap and make the audible corrections. He was also reported to have called most of his plays during the game and if true, should make Mr. Smelley a valuable addition to the future of the Gamecock’s football program.
The 2nd year starter this season however is R/S Junior Blake Mitchell. Mitchell is a Lou Holtz recruit that saw little action under the previous team administration and was at the point of transferring at the end of the 2004 season. The arrival of Steve Spurrier shortly after the end of that year caused Blake to re-think his decision and the rest is Gamecock History (in the making). Blake quickly took over the offensive leadership, beating out redshirt Freshman Antonio Heffner and true Freshmen Cade Thompson & Tommy Beecher, as well as Walk-on Junior Brett Nichols for that job.
Blake’s first year as the leader of the Spurrier Offense had its rough spots. Mitchell was working behind a small front line that was thin in its depth chart and allowed the defensive fronts to put way too much pressure on the quarterbacks, way too often. Still Blake found a good measure of success ranking near the top of the SEC in passing efficiency most of the year. This was due mainly to the outstanding ability of his main target, Wide Receiver Sidney Rice.
Mitchell had little competition for the starter’s job this spring as Heffner transferred at the end of last season and Thompson, Beecher and Nichols made little improvements in the performances over the year. But when Smelley showed up at camp this fall it only took him about a week to get his timing and footwork down and started to impress coach Spurrier and David Reeves to the point of moving him ahead of the other three quarterbacks named above, and into a solid second unit player by the end of open practices. Reports from Spurrier in closed practice press conferences are that Smelley’s play continues to improve and Mitchell now feels the pressure of having someone with pushing him hard for the starting Quarterback position. Little has been said about Blake by our coaches in the last week and / half except that Mitchell will start the season as the number one quarterback. Blake looks to have improved his game, as well as adding some much needed upper body strength over last year. The pressure from Smelley should boost Mitchell’s performance some this season and if that happens to be the case, this may be a breakout season for the Gamecock Offense.
Smelley’s upper body is a little underdeveloped by most SEC Quarterback’s standards, but that is normal for a true freshman player. His arm strength is not quite as good as Mitchell’s but he possesses above average talent with “touch” on his passes. He’s also very precise in scanning the field and can make quick decisions under pressure. The biggest edge he has over that of Blake’s game is his ability to scramble, or move around in the pocket. Smelley didn’t seem eager to tuck the ball away and run when the heat got too high, but several times he was able to move laterally to avoid the rush and buy some extra time in finding open receivers downfield. There was a hint in Spurrier’s post practice media conferences last week that even though Smelley looked good this fall and had put up better numbers than any of the quarterbacks during the controlled scrimmages, he had also been used with the second unit offense working primarily against the second and third unit defenses. This would lead one to believe that Mr. Spurrier is still not 100% convinced that Smelley is ready to take over as the Gamecocks starter. So even in the fact that Steve Spurrier has said that Smelley is now the backup to Blake Mitchell and that he may play some this fall, it is still my personal opinion that if the Gamecocks offense can score enough points to keep the game at a comfortable margin of victory, coach Spurrier would be reluctant to send Smelley in the game just to get reps and build experience and confidence. A few little hints from Spurrier in recent days has me believing that if he uses a quarterback for that purpose, he would send in Syvelle Newton to run the offense, or go with Nichols, Thompson or Beecher to finish out a game with the substitutes in. However, if Mitchell fails to produce results in a close contest when the game is still very much in doubt, look for coach Spurrier to use bring in the freshman to see if he can boost the offense. If this happens, then Smelley could see some meaningful time under center and its not out of the question in that scenario for Chris to move ahead of Blake as the starter by the end of the year. It’s my feeling that Smelley (as good as he seems to be now) would be a MUCH better Quarterback with about 15 extra pounds of mass, and some additional upper body strength. I’d like to see that type of quarterback available for four years. (my opinion only).

Whoever is leading the offense this fall will still have to deal with only a slightly improved offensive line over last year and that again would favor a quarterback with experience at facing the kind of defensive pressure that will result from an undersized front. Mitchell was molded in that kind of kiln last year and did an exception job under the circumstances. This will make Blake Mitchell a more confident and more capable Quarterback and if the line can give him a split second more time to read the defenses this year, Mitchell could solidify his position as the starter especially if the Cocks can real off wins in their first three games before their most formidable early schedule opponent comes to town (Auburn).

In closing it’s nice to be able to say for the first time in several years that there is at least a race for the starter’s job at Quarterback, and the winner of that race will be a strong leader of the offense. But more can be said in that the player who assumes the second unit spot will provide very strong support from the backup position. This is something the Gamecocks have not had since the mid 80’s.

The roster for the Quarterbacks this year is:


#6 Tommy Beecher – R/S Freshman
#7 Cade Thompson – R/S Freshman
#12 Blake Mitchell – R/S Junior
#16 Brett Nichols – R/S Senior
#17 Chris Smelley - Freshman

[Spurticus]

I wanted to post a Position Preview of the Special Teams this week but with so little being done on the practice fields it would all be speculation. Spurrier said a couple of times that Coach Chatham is working hard with the special teams in the stadium which makes me believe that we have some weapons he doesn’t want to get in the public eye until game time. So with the Position Previews finished, I’m giving you guys my take on what the Gamecocks look like overall (to me anyway). This is just me doing a lot of guessing, and comparison from what I saw last season. This is just for fun and maybe a topic for some discussion because what I know about the game of football could be hidden under a gnat’s armpit. But just for some casual reading; Here We Go:

Doing a comparison of last years team on a scale of 1 to 10

The Offensive Line – 2005 (4.0)
Prediction for 2006 - (4.5) As much as I’d like to think the line will be vastly improved, it’s hard to see that in the performance of this spring and fall. I think the Guard play will be better, but the tackles will be trying to replace Na’Shan Goddard and Jabari Levy and may finish the season in better shape, but I don’t see them improving that position right off the bat. Jamon Meredith and Gurminder Thind will be the replacements and should do OK, but (IMO) it won’t be a big difference there. The starting line will be (once again) outsized by almost every opponent we play. Over a period of 12 weeks (hopefully 13), this will take a toll on the guys up front. Our best hope is that some of the big freshmen we have on the depth chart can play well enough to relieve the starters and that we can stay healthy enough to survive the year.
(OFFENSIVE LINE . . . . Very Slight Improvement, but not enough to brag about)

Quarterbacks 2005 – (6.0)
Prediction for 2006 – (7.0) I know it’s only a small improvement, but a little above average last year with a slight boost this season should make this position sound this year. The biggest thing here is that now, we have a viable backup ready in case we need him, and a man capable of making Blake Mitchell a little nervous. A 7.0 Quarterback under the guidance of Steve Spurrier is a VERY dangerous thing. Hopefully that will be the case this year too.
(QUARTERBACK . . . . . Upgrade)

Running Backs 2005 – (4.5)
Prediction for 2006 - (6.5) Only giving this position a 6.5 because they’ll be running behind a small offensive line. The individual personnel at each position is a big improvement all the way across the board. With Cory Boyd back even better than when he left in ’04, and Mike Davis looking like a true SEC Caliber running back, the guys here are vastly improved. Most of what they get on the ground though may have to be done on individual effort alone (at least early in the season). Still the production from the backs will be much better than that of last year when the ground game struggled to stay away from the “Worst Team in the Country” award for 2005.
(RUNNING BACKS . . . . . Definite Upgrade)

Wide Receivers 2005 – (5.5)
Prediction for 2006 - (7.5) This will be a fun group to watch this year. This may not be the quintessential Spurrier Receiving Corp, but it’s as close to it as we’ve ever seen here in Columbia. The group is fast and sure handed and most of them are capable of turning a short catch into an electrifying long TD run. Sidney Rice will once again be the clear and definite leader of this unit, but Kenny McKinley and Mike West add some extra excitement to the game. These guys along with freshman speed demon Moe Brown and Senior Superman Syvelle Newton will combine to make Sidney Rice even more of a threat to rack up some Nation Leading numbers, as teams will not be able to double up Rice without paying a cost for doing so. Even the third unit Receivers will add some spark as lots of reps were given in practice to guys like Marquise Brown and Jamal Hayes. And not to overlook slow starters Freddie Brown or OJ Murdock. These guys could catch on fire at any time and give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares. I’ll add in the Tight Ends to this unit as the Spurrier offense if clicking correctly will feature the TE. This year we have a Tight End who could split out wide as an additional WR or play in tight for some underneath damage on drag or delay routes in front of the linebackers. Jared Cook has the hands of a Wide out, and can find those openings underneath and do some major damage to opposing secondarys this year. And with Andy Boyd back in the lineup along with a much improved Robert Pavlovic, it should give us three very capable weapons to use in the shorter range passing game if the defenses figure out how to slow down the wide outs.
(WIDE OUTS / TIGHT ENDS . . . . . . . Upgrade +)

Defensive Line – 2005 (5.0)
Prediction for 2006 - (6.0) This may be a stretch but overall I did see an improvement in the play of the Defensive front this fall. The team will still be on the small side on the ends, but with the quicker players in Casper Brinkley, Ryan Brown and Jordin Lindsey did seem to be able to prevent any continuous running from the offense outside the tackles, which is something our opponents thrived on last year. We seem to have this a little bit more under control and this is mainly because of first year DL coach Brad Lawing. So far, Lawing has been able to get the most out of the smaller players and it looks like the bleeding of ’05 (trying to stop the runs) has been stopped. The biggest concern here is in our depth (or lack of it). We may be forced to use some Freshmen here whether we would like to or not. If we do, Eric Norwood seems to be one that may see some action at the end spot. He was very active and caught on to the drills and footwork quickly.
Inside we should be solid at the Tackle / Nose Guard this year and with some extra depth as well. Nathan Pepper elevated his game over that of the previous year, and the spring and looks to be a solid first unit player. Stanley Doughty and Margue Hall will add some tough play inside if they can keep their weight issues in check, and stay on the field more that they did last fall. If we can get by without having to use freshman monster Kennrick Ellis it would give us a very strong line for the opposition to deal with for the next few years. Ellis too battled a weight problem this fall, and may sit out a year to get that under control. The starters and second unit should be enough to allow the coaches to do this if that’s the route they take.
(DEFENSIVE LINE. . . . . . . Upgrade)

Linebackers 2005 – (5.0)
Prediction for 2006 – (6.5) This group will be all new from 2005, but MUCH better than last year’s disappointing support unit. When your leading tackler on the team comes from your secondary that is a sure sign of a weak linebacking corp. This would not have been so bad if the same group could have shut down the running game, but the LBs from last year had a tough time containing the opponents outside rushing plays. Enter middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley. Jasper is the prototypical middle linebacker for the SEC. He plays both run and pass equally well, and has proven to be an immediate and outspoken leader of the defensive front. Brinkley along with Marvin Sapp have pretty much locked down two thirds of the starting spots. The other starting spot is being contested by some equally impressive players. True Freshman Rodney Paulk and R/S Junior Cody Wells. These two have battled for the other OLB spot and the winner will be determined Thursday Night when the team takes the field in Starkville Mississippi. Most improved about the linebackers overall from last year is in the depth of the group. Whoever doesn’t start the other OLB spot between Paulk and Wells will lend some added depth there. Yvan Banag has improved his game some moving from a Rover last year to the OLB position. Dakota Walker seems to have settled in as an OLB after being moved several times from Linebacker to Defensive End. The weakness will be when Jasper Brinkley needs a breather inside. Curtis Rice plays well when he is given the chance to play, but the performance level drop-off is very noticeable there. But if Brinkley can stay healthy, the overall play from the linebackers should provide some excitement on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage this year.
(LINEBACKERS . . . . . Definite Upgrade)
Secondary for 2005 – (7.5)
Prediction for 2006 – (8.0) This may be the one position where my view is totally distorted by the speed of the players in our secondary, but from what I saw this fall, the defensive backs for 2006 may be the Gamecocks secret weapon this year. Most people (and I’m guessing our opponents) are thinking this will be our weakest link. How can you loose players the caliber of Ko Simpson and Jonathan Josef and improve the position!? I feel very strongly that the Gamecocks have been able to do this. The addition of Freshmen sensations Emanuel Cook, Captain Munnerlyn and Darien Stewart, along with the much improved play from Senior Leader Fred Bennett and late comer from last year Stoney Woodson will not only keep this unit from sinking into mediocrity, but will actually improve this unit overall (IMHO). Another reason I feel the secondary will excel this fall is in the afore mentioned play of our linebackers and slightly improved DE spots. As long as they can contain the outside running game, and allow our secondary to concentrate on the receivers first without having to come up to quickly to add run support, the play from the Defensive Backs should be able to contain the opponents receiving team very nicely.
Another big plus for this young group of pass defenders is in the fact that they spent the last 4 weeks defending against Sidney Rice, Kenny McKinley, and Syvelle Newton with very good results. This will only give them extra confidence when having to go up against opposing offenses that aren’t as talented at as many spots all at the same time. This will make them much more capable at shutting down teams with only one or two big play receivers to worry about. They have all shown an uncanny ability to close quickly to the ball to knock it away, or pick it off. I think this group will provide some scoring from the defense too.
(SECONDARY . . . . . Upgrade +)


Can’t say that much about the Special Teams as they weren’t seem much (with the exception of the field goal units). That part however should be a definite upgrade as well. Ryan Succop was hitting very consistently from the 55 yard line in. He was long last year, but slightly wide right or left. He seems to have that zeroed in now. So that part of the ST will be better.

As a final note, Here are some things I think we’ll see Thursday Night, along with my prediction for the year.

I think Jared Cook will have a big game. My feeling is that Croom will try to rush hard to exploit the weaker offensive line. I also thing the MSU Defensive Coordinator will do his best to shut down Sidney Rice, and these two combined should give the Tight End a lot of room to roam underneath the dropping linebackers and behind the rushing front line.
Look for Spurrier to try to create a Big Play early. This year that can come from more positions than just the wide outs going long, but Spurrier is well known for hitting a big play early when on the road to try to silence the home crowd while pumping up his team.
Look for the secondary to make a big play early in the game. Croom will bank on our DBs being very young and will try to take advantage of this early in the game. This will be a mistake!
I don’t think we’ll have a 100 yard rusher in this game. MSU has a VERY good defensive front and they may keep the Bulldogs in the game. I do think that with Boyd and Davis combined efforts, we should get at least 100 yards out from them, and that will be a lot better than what we were able to do last year. We didn’t have our first 100 yard ground game until we played Clemson.
Look for Mr. Spurrier to use the Wide Receivers the way most coaches use Running backs. I think you’ll see fresh players in and out and maybe whole units coming in at times. Running into the secondary and wearing down the DBs. This could provide some fireworks for guys like Rice, McKinley or Moe Brown later in the game.And with the game just two days away, I want to go on record saying that I think the Gamecocks will finish 8-4 this season and in a tie for the SEC East with Florida. I won’t make a far range prediction as to who will win it all, as it will more than likely come down to who wins that game in November. But it could give us the title if we win that game as I think Florida will be the toughest opponent we’ll face this season.

IF WE PUT UP 30 + POINTS ON MISSISSIPPI STATE THURSDAY NIGHT, I think this team can win 10 games. I believe this will be one of the two toughest defenses will see this year. Clemson being the other.
If this happens:
Our biggest chance for an upset this year will be against Auburn here in Columbia.
Our biggest chance to be upset will come against Arkansas. I truly feel like this will be the sleeper team in the SEC this year.

There you have it. Agree or Disagree. That’s what I think. All opposing views invited.