COCKYTALK SPRING PRACTICE REPORT 3/7/13 (Practice #2)

[Cock Kool-Aid]

Great report. I just wanted to add a few things that I noticed:

1. Dixon Jr looks to be the prototypical big, run-stuffing DT. If he can work his way onto the field, he could help us make up for the loss of Byron.

2. Deke Adams coaches the guys hard and I love what I see from him. He ran a really cool fumble recovery drill where all the DL have to sidestep full-speed over 4 pads laying on the ground and then grab a loose ball that he throws out in their general direction. As he throws the ball towards them, he yells either "clear" or "cloudy"- clear signifies that there's no opposing players close enough to compete for the fumble, so the player should go for the scoop and score, while cloudy means there are other players around, get down on the ball immediately and protect it. Deke also made English and Dixon redo one of the drills about 5-6 times in a row because they ran it wrong the first time.


3. Mike Davis has swag. He made a nice over-the-shoulder grab on about a 30 yd pass over, I believe, Jordan Diggs. He did a TD dance after this play.

4. Hampton looks to be our best option at PR

5. Shamier and Shaq had some nice grabs today. Shamier had the first and only long TD completion of the spring thus far from Dylan Thompson. He toasted the defense.

6. Jody Fuller had about 5-6 targets and only 1 catch. Granted, they were some inaccurate throws/tough catches... but I hope he can step up and start making those impressive catches. If he can take that next step, I believe he could be a great slot WR for us in the coming years.

7. Kwinton made a nice grab from Connor Mitch up the sideline. Despite all of the positive news on this board about Kwinton, I fear he may not be much of a factor this year. He is a rail and no aspect of his play has really seemed impressive thus far to me.

8. Another pick for Rainey. I know it's already been said repeatedly... but I just wanted to reiterate. I'm excited about his potential at LB.

[tgobbel]

As always...thanks a lot Spurt! Looking forward to the rest of the spring and this coming fall!

[sporkgod50]

Thanks Spurt and Koolaid. I love the report and the additional thoughts.

[cockypanther]

Originally Posted by Spurticus

I know a lot of fans (and the "experts") are concerned about the Gamecocks
recent success continuing and the reason is basically because of the talent
and numbers we lost on Defense this past season.... I am not as concerned
about it because we had some very talented young guys behind our
starters and we redshirted some guys that are going to make a big impact
when they do get on the field this year. I too think our defense isn't going
to be an issue this year. I think they'll grow into it as the season goes, and
do an exceptional job. I really like the defensive coaching staff with
Zo Ward. I think the fans will be very surprised at how well the defense
plays this season.

I agree with you about the defense surprising some people this year. I feel we will have another solid unit on the field. For the LB, everyone knows we lost a lot of experience but the guys filling in now are more athletic and have greater potential. Really excited to see them gell.

Oh, and thanks for the report!

[MikeTrainNC8]

Originally Posted by Cock Kool-Aid

4. Hampton looks to be our best option at PR

7. Kwinton made a nice grab from Connor Mitch up the sideline. Despite all of the positive news on this board about Kwinton, I fear he may not be much of a factor this year. He is a rail and no aspect of his play has really seemed impressive thus far to me.

Few things:

Hampton should not... NOT be our PR.. our best CB and overall DB imo, I would much rather have someone else back there.. too risky.

Interseting you say that about Smith, it was reported he was 6'4 205 now.. didn't realize he was still "rail thin". If that is the case, than what is KJ Brent (6'4 180)??

Our WR recruiting has sucked as of late it seems if all these reports are true.. We haven't signed a WR that has panned out in years it seems, who is to blame? After Alshon's Soph year, we should have had top WR's clamoring to be on the team, yet we are still waiting for that true #1 again.. Is this Bubba's fault? Are we doing a poor job evaluating WR recruits? I just don't get why it's so hard for us to get a consistent #1 option.. Ace was very good, and could have been that this year, but that recruiting class was almost 4 years ago (2010 and we are focusing on 2014)

[elcid99]

Good stuff. Shaq does need to step up, but he has some issues off the field that he is dealing with.

[Cock Kool-Aid]

Originally Posted by MikeTrainNC8

Few things:

Hampton should not... NOT be our PR.. our best CB and overall DB imo, I would much rather have someone else back there.. too risky.

Interseting you say that about Smith, it was reported he was 6'4 205 now.. didn't realize he was still "rail thin". If that is the case, than what is KJ Brent (6'4 180)??

Our WR recruiting has sucked as of late it seems if all these reports are true.. We haven't signed a WR that has panned out in years it seems, who is to blame? After Alshon's Soph year, we should have had top WR's clamoring to be on the team, yet we are still waiting for that true #1 again.. Is this Bubba's fault? Are we doing a poor job evaluating WR recruits? I just don't get why it's so hard for us to get a consistent #1 option.. Ace was very good, and could have been that this year, but that recruiting class was almost 4 years ago (2010 and we are focusing on 2014)

We are fine at WR. Sidney, Alshon, Kenny, Ace. We have continuously pumped out some really good players at that position. I have no issue with Bubba, and I can't really be upset with the recruiting either. I differ with Spurticus, as I think Shamier is poised to have a good year in 2013 and possibly Shaq too. Shamier has been the most impressive WR in the spring thus far.

I seriously doubt that KJ Brent is 6'4. He is definitely not as tall as Kwinton Smith. He looks to be a similar height to Shamier and Shaq and is much thicker than Kwinton Smith.

Vic appears to be our best option at PR from the LIMITED play I've seen.

[snoopcockycock]

kj brent is 6'4", or at least he has been listed as such from day one. it is way too early to give an accurate evaluation of the wr's. everything changes when the pads go on. we will have a much better evaluation of these guys after the first scrimmage. right now we are just happy to have something to write about. when they have a full week of pads on practice under their belts, then trends will start to show, and each of them will know what they need to work the hardest on. and even after the spring is over, they have all summer to put on weight, work on route running and the like.
ellington, jeffery, roland, smith, byrd, brent and fuller are all very talented wr's. by the time the season rolls around, we will be set at this position. until then, it will be fun watching them battle and develop this spring. with a deeper, more talented and stronger ol next season, a more complete running game and better qb play, our passing game will definitely be improved.

[rjmims6017]

Was this the last practice they held? I haven't seen any more practice reports so I'm a little curious.

[Spurticus]

Originally Posted by rjmims6017

Was this the last practice they held? I haven't seen any more practice reports so I'm a little curious.

They had two practices last week...they're on a short break right now and
will practice again on March 19th.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by Cock Kool-Aid

Great report. I just wanted to add a few things that I noticed:

1. Dixon Jr looks to be the prototypical big, run-stuffing DT. If he can work his way onto the field, he could help us make up for the loss of Byron.

2. Deke Adams coaches the guys hard and I love what I see from him. He ran a really cool fumble recovery drill where all the DL have to sidestep full-speed over 4 pads laying on the ground and then grab a loose ball that he throws out in their general direction. As he throws the ball towards them, he yells either "clear" or "cloudy"- clear signifies that there's no opposing players close enough to compete for the fumble, so the player should go for the scoop and score, while cloudy means there are other players around, get down on the ball immediately and protect it. Deke also made English and Dixon redo one of the drills about 5-6 times in a row because they ran it wrong the first time.


3. Mike Davis has swag. He made a nice over-the-shoulder grab on about a 30 yd pass over, I believe, Jordan Diggs. He did a TD dance after this play.

4. Hampton looks to be our best option at PR

5. Shamier and Shaq had some nice grabs today. Shamier had the first and only long TD completion of the spring thus far from Dylan Thompson. He toasted the defense.

6. Jody Fuller had about 5-6 targets and only 1 catch. Granted, they were some inaccurate throws/tough catches... but I hope he can step up and start making those impressive catches. If he can take that next step, I believe he could be a great slot WR for us in the coming years.

7. Kwinton made a nice grab from Connor Mitch up the sideline. Despite all of the positive news on this board about Kwinton, I fear he may not be much of a factor this year. He is a rail and no aspect of his play has really seemed impressive thus far to me.

8. Another pick for Rainey. I know it's already been said repeatedly... but I just wanted to reiterate. I'm excited about his potential at LB.

Kool, you're making me nervous about K Smith....6'4" 205 is close to Buster being 6'5" 215. Has he dropped passes thrown to him or does he not have much speed or quickness. I was really hoping he would be a contributor this year some with his height, similar to what DL Moore was supposed to be last year.

[rjmims6017]

Originally Posted by Spurticus

They had two practices last week...they're on a short break right now and
will practice again on March 19th.

Okay, thanks a lot Spurt!

[Cock Kool-Aid]

Originally Posted by b381l

Kool, you're making me nervous about K Smith....6'4" 205 is close to Buster being 6'5" 215. Has he dropped passes thrown to him or does he not have much speed or quickness. I was really hoping he would be a contributor this year some with his height, similar to what DL Moore was supposed to be last year.

He just hasn't been very impressive the first couple practices. Hasn't really done anything. He's been one of the Cockytalk darlings, so my expectations being unrealistic probably factor into my judgement.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by Cock Kool-Aid

He just hasn't been very impressive the first couple practices. Hasn't really done anything. He's been one of the Cockytalk darlings, so my expectations being unrealistic probably factor into my judgement.

Fair enough....are you going to be able to attend more practices after spring break. If so, I would appreciate you input. Thanks.

[11SWU10]

Thanks a lot Spurticus. Great job. Thanks for your time.

[Gamecockfanatic4]

I'm not worried about Smith at all, he's got talent and I think he will pass Jones by fall, heck Coaches almost pulled his red-shirt mid-season he was so impressive in practice

[Roosterboy]

Originally Posted by Cock Kool-Aid

8. Another pick for Rainey. I know it's already been said repeatedly... but I just wanted to reiterate. I'm excited about his potential at LB.

Just thinking outloud here.
Any thought of moving Rainey to Spur?
Guys seems real athletic and has size...something our other Spurs don't (Diggs will get there in another year or two...and Golightly is 180 lbs. soaking wet).

Just thinking we need to get our best 11 on the field...and as athletic as he is, Rainey seems to fit the mold that Antonio Allen and Devonte Holloman have set.

[cockypanther]

Originally Posted by Roosterboy

Just thinking outloud here.
Any thought of moving Rainey to Spur?
Guys seems real athletic and has size...something our other Spurs don't (Diggs will get there in another year or two...and Golightly is 180 lbs. soaking wet).

Just thinking we need to get our best 11 on the field...and as athletic as he is, Rainey seems to fit the mold that Antonio Allen and Devonte Holloman have set.

Diggs has some decent size already.. he is about 6ft or 6ft 1in and about 200 lbs. He could play at 205 or 210 by the time the season starts. But giving thought to Rainey playing Spur is very interesting..

[JDRAY^#]

Originally Posted by Roosterboy

Just thinking outloud here.
Any thought of moving Rainey to Spur?
Guys seems real athletic and has size...something our other Spurs don't (Diggs will get there in another year or two...and Golightly is 180 lbs. soaking wet).

Just thinking we need to get our best 11 on the field...and as athletic as he is, Rainey seems to fit the mold that Antonio Allen and Devonte Holloman have set.

It's an interesting thought, but the coaches recruited Diggs specifically for the SPUR position and I dont see them putting Rainey there when we need depth at LB. Also Rainey was recruited for LB but signed with us because we gave him an opportunity at TE.

[Spurticus]

Originally Posted by cockypanther

Diggs has some decent size already.. he is about 6ft or 6ft 1in and about 200 lbs. He could play at 205 or 210 by the time the season starts. But giving thought to Rainey playing Spur is very interesting..

Not sure what Ward's intentions are with Diggs right now, but IMO, Jordan
would be a hell of a Spur. Guy has some quickness and from what I saw
Thursday, he has the right "Attitude" for the position as well. Would like to
see a guy with a "DJ Swearinger" type personality step in to take the Spur position.
Diggs appears at first glance to be a candidate.