october 7, 2015 • Volume 37 • Issue 18 • $1.50
Nunez, Gamecocks look to regroup with LSU coming to town Postmaster: Time sensitive material. Please expedite
Publication mailed from Columbia on Monday, October 5
2 • Spurs & Feathers
Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Gamecock Club information/upcoming events
Published by Aiken Communications, Inc.
Contact Us: 326 Rutland Drive N.W. PO Box 456 Aiken, SC, 29801 To subscribe: Please call 800-559-2311; annual subscription price is $50 Ellen Priest Publisher Aiken Communications, Inc. Tim O’Briant General Manager tobriant@spursandfeathers.com (803) 335-1400 Ext. 500 Brian Hand Executive Editor bhand@spursandfeathers.com (803) 335-1399 Ext. 506 Ed Girardeau Contributing Editor/ Advertising Account Executive ed@spursandfeathers.com (803) 646-9807 Dee Taylor Advertising Director (803) 644-2371 Kathy Boyette Advertising Sales Manager (803) 295-3654 kboyette@spursandfeathers.com Brooks Rogers Advertising Representative (803) 446-4022 brooks@spursandfeathers.com Reporter Kyle Heck kheck@spursandfeathers.com Photographers Juan Blas, Allen Sharpe and Jenny Dilworth Mary Watson Graphic Designer Cover Design Brian Hand (photo by Charles Goodin) Postal Information: SPURS & FEATHERS (USPS 12779) (ISSN 7454368X) is published 23 times annually. The frequency is monthly from December to February, bi-weekly in March, monthly in April, bi-weekly in May, biweekly in June, monthly in July and August and weekly from September through December 2. SPURS & FEATHERS also publishes two slick-paper magazine issues — one in April and one in August. The annual subscription price is $50 for non Gamecock Club members. Members of the Gamecock Club receive a discounted subscription as a member benefit. Spurs & Feathers is published by Aiken Communications, Inc., 326 Rutland Drive NW, Aiken, SC, 29801-4010. Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, SC Postmaster: Send changes to SPURS & FEATHERS, PO Box 456, Aiken, SC, 29802.
Edgefield County Golf Tournament WHERE: Pine Ridge Club, 425 Pine Ridge Road, Edgefield, S.C. WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 24 DETAILS: Four-man captain’s choice with shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. ENTRY FEE: $50 per person, $200 per team (includes lunch) Field is limited to the first 20 paid teams Prizes awarded for first and second place teams There will also be door prizes Mulligans may be purchased at registration Contact Frank Davis at 803-275-7056 or Don Smoak at 803-2754605 Email Frank at lfrankdavis@bellsouth.net The deadline is Oct. 21. Lexington County Gamecock Club “Dinner with Dawn” “Dinner with Dawn”, a Midlands Event hosted by Lexington County Gamecock Club will be held on Thursday, October 22nd, at Saluda Shoals River Center, Columbia, SC. Doors will open at 6:30 pm and the program will begin at 7:15 pm. This event will feature Coach Dawn Staley, coaches and staff from the University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball Program and the Emcee for the evening will be Judi Gatson of WIS-TV. A bar serving various beers and wine will be available using cash or credit card. A menu of baked chicken, roasted herb potatoes, vegetable medley, salad, apple pie, coffee, tea and water will be catered by Diimmler’s Catering. Tickets are available through Eventbrite at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/dinner-with-dawna-midlands-event-hosted-by-lexington-countygamecock-club-tickets-18831710152?aff=es2 or go to www.eventbrite.com and search for Dawn Staley. For further information or questions, please contact staleydinner@yahoo.com SAVE THE DATE: The Florence County Gamecock Club will hold their Fall Gamecock Rally on Thursday, October 29 at the Floyd Conference Center at Carolina’s Hospital. As soon as the coaches coming and information is finalized, they will let everyone know the program plans. Vanderbilt game parking information from Gamecock Club
Please be reminded that Gamecock Club members who park in the Garnet, Black, White, Blue and Green sections of the Fairgrounds parking lots have reserved parking spaces for six of the seven home football games in 2015. Parking for the Vanderbilt game on October 17 will be handled on first-come, first-serve basis, with no reserved parking that day for either those attending the game or the State Fair. The South Carolina State Fair has implemented a parking fee of $5 per day while the fair is in progress. This fee is cash only and will be enforced for the Vanderbilt football game. Gamecock Club members are reminded that season parking in Carolina Fair Park continues to be based on six home football games. Fans are encouraged to come early for the Vanderbilt game to get your vehicle parked and avoid the heavy traffic congestion around the stadium and fairgrounds that exists when the Fair is in town.
Market Your Business to the Gamecock Nation! Advertise in Spurs & Feathers and www.spursandfeathers.com Call me today! Kathy Boyette, USC Class of 1989 Advertising Sales Manager (803) 295-3654 kboyette@spursandfeathers.com
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Spurs & Feathers • 3
October 7, 2015
photo by juan blas
Gamecock fans are devoted and they care by brian hand Executive Editor
It’s always a treat for us at Spurs & Feathers to attend as many of the Gamecock Club football preview parties during the summer as we can. The summer of 2015 was no different. One event particularly stood out this past summer and it was not just because of the steak dinner at the annual Darlington County Gamecock Club summer pool party at the home of Eldon and Debra Henderson on Thursday, June 25. Instead it was a story that former Gamecock standout Preston Thorne told to all of those in attendance on the evening. Thorne recalled a story when as a recruit he was at the South Carolina-Clemson game in 1999. The loss to Clemson that day
dropped the Gamecocks to 0-11 on the year. But despite the loss still he knew he wanted to be a Gamecock to change the culture of the program and to reward the fans for their passion to the program. “One thing that always stood out to me as a recruit was being able to see the fans still cheering after 11 losses and they’d just lost a rivalry game, but there was still over 80,000 people in the stands and that really stood out to me,” Thorne said. “That support has never wavered.” And it never will. That’s what is special about Gamecock fans. Win, lose or draw, they support their team. That’s why the Head Ball Coach made sure to acknowledge the fans for coming out and supporting the Gamecocks in their home win over UCF recently. “I want to thank the fans for hanging in
there with us,” South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said through a release from South Carolina Athletics Media Relations one day after the win over UCF. “We were lousy and really stunk it up in the first half, but the fan support was super and we really appreciate it.” Lately, it has been tough for Gamecock fans everywhere with the start to the 2015 season. And people on social media, on message boards and even in person have reacted accordingly and so much of that has to do with the fact that they thought stories such as Thorne’s from the 1999 season were gone forever after the back-to-back-to-back 11-win seasons. Let’s be honest, it’s not 1999. But there is no doubt that there is a great deal that needs to be fixed right now. The Head Ball Coach
knows that. The coaching staff knows that. The administration knows that. And most importantly the players know that. Nevertheless, there is an uphill climb ahead for South Carolina. They’ll go back to the practice fields once again looking to figure out what is ailing them and shock the world by closing strong. Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t. But they won’t stop working. And like Thorne remembers from 16 years ago, Gamecock fans will still be there for the noon kickoff against LSU on Saturday, Oct. 10. It’s what being a Gamecock is all about and it’s also why most athletic programs across the country would trade places with South Carolina administrators any day of the week because Gamecock fans everywhere provide the University with the best attributes possible: they are devoted and they care.
4 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
photo by Charles Goodin, courtesy of South Carolina Athletics Media Relations
Moore shines for South Carolina defense yet again by kyle heck Reporter
so far this season, Moore said South Carolina just has to keep its eyes on the road ahead. “Like I’ve said before, we just have to keep Overshadowed by the disappointment of a moving and look forward to the next week 24-10 loss at Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 3, and just keep trusting the coaches’ scheme,” was the overall good performance from the Moore said. South Carolina defense against the Tigers. As one of the leaders on the team, Moore Despite the offense turning the ball over knows he has to help freshman quarterback three times in the third quarter, the Gamecock Lorenzo Nuñez recover from his rough outdefense kept the team in the game by limiting ing on Saturday. Nuñez completed 15-of-24 Missouri to 299 yards of total offense. passes for 172 yards and a touchdown, but The performance was once again led by also threw three costly interceptions in the linebacker Skai Moore. The junior was all third quarter. over the field and finished the game with a “He’s very young,” Moore said. “He can game-high 12 tackles. only get better from here. Like I said before, With that showing, Moore now has a team- he’s a good talent and he just has to get more high 52 tackles on the year in just five games. confidence and get used to the system a little The next closest player one the team is senior bit better.” safety Isaiah Johnson, who has 30 stops. The loss to the Tigers marked the first time While South Carolina lost the game, the that the Gamecocks have started 0-3 in the game at Missouri marked the second straight SEC since the 2005 season, Steve Spurrier’s week that the Gamecocks held the opposing first with the Gamecocks. Since the players on team to less than 300 yards of total offense. the team aren’t used to the struggles they’re “In a SEC game, it probably was,” Moore enduring, Moore knows he has to lead by said when asked if this was the team’s best example when it comes to staying together as overall defensive perfora squad. mance. “We can definitely “You just have to keep build on it and do better together,” Moore said. “You because we should’ve got a can’t be pointing fingers at ‘W.’” anyone. It’s a team effort. You Skai Moore With the Gamecocks (2-3, lose as a team and win as a KeenanSuggs 0-3 SEC) struggling to find team. We just have to keep Player of the Week some momentum as a team fighting as a team.”
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Spurs & Feathers • 5
October 7, 2015
Gamecocks drop SEC road game at Missouri BY KYLE HECK Reporter
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long drive of their own. Lock capped it off with another touchdown pass to Brown, this time from nine-yards out and Missouri took South Carolina couldn’t overcome three a 17-10 lead with just under five minutes third quarter turnovers and a strong overall left in the first half. Lock’s second touchperformance from the Missouri defense as down pass of the day capped off an 11-play, the Gamecocks dropped a 24-10 decision at 65-yard drive that took 4:32 off of the clock. Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Gamecocks had an opportunity to The Missouri defensive line got consischip into that lead before halftime, but Fry tent pressure on freshman quarterback missed a 45-yard field goal wide right and Lorenzo Nuñez most of the day and that the Tigers went into halftime with a 17-10 led to mistakes from the youngster. Still, lead. the Gamecocks were in the game into the After a solid first half where he completed fourth quarter, but could not muster the of- 10-of-14 passes for 141 yards and a touchfense to stage a comeback this time in the down, Nuñez had a rough third quarter, other Columbia. throwing three interceptions. The Game“Missouri outplayed us, that’s all you cock defense forced three and outs after the can say,” head coach Steve Spurrier said. first two turnovers, but the Tigers were able “They ran the ball better. We had three to capitalize on the third interception after turnovers in the third quarter that hurt and I taking over at the South Carolina 31-yard don’t think we (forced) any turnovers. They line. played smarter than us.” Freshman tailback Ish Witter recorded After both teams went three and out on a one-yard touchdown run on the ensuing their first drives of the game, Missouri (4possession and the Tigers took a 24-10 lead 1, 1-1 SEC) struck first midway through late in the third quarter. the first quarter. After receiving the ball “I just made a bad read,” Nuñez said. “I near midfield, the Tigers chipped their think the first one I threw to Pharoh, I just way down the field and freshman quarterdidn’t put enough on it. The other two were back Drew Lock found wide receiver Nate bad reads by me. We just didn’t do our job Brown for an eight-yard touchdown to put today and that hurt us a lot.” Missouri up 7-0. The touchdown pass comThe Gamecocks would try their best to get pleted an 11-play, 51-yard drive that took back in the game, but were hurt by a huge 4:09 off the clock. call on a touchdown in the fourth quarter. South Carolina (2-3, 0-3 SEC) would cut Nuñez found tailback Rod Talley running into the lead late in the first quarter with across the middle for a 25-yard touchdown a 34-yard field goal from Elliott Fry. The strike that would’ve cut the Missouri lead Gamecocks were able to get into field goal down to seven. However, the score was neterritory thanks to a tremendous catch from gated when Cooper was called for offensive Pharoh Cooper. With a defender draped all pass interference. over him, Cooper caught a 35-yard pass “I didn’t see any tape of it, but (Cooper) from Nuñez and got a foot in bounds to set goes in there and hooks up and he said the South Carolina up at the Missouri 13-yard guy ran around him,” Spurrier said. “We’ll line. just have to look at it. That was a tough call. Missouri would push its lead back out We got several calls I don’t know the head to seven early in the second quarter with official would say were good or not.” a 21-yard field goal by Andrew Baggett. Nuñez finished the game completing 15The Tigers got to the three-yard line, but a of-24 passes for 172 yards, a touchdown and nice pass breakup in the end zone by safety three interceptions. Chris Moody completed a goal line stand He also once again led the Gamecocks in for the Gamecocks. rushing with 60 yards. South Carolina tied the game with a long Cooper led all receivers with 102 yards on drive early in the second quarter. The nine receptions. Gamecocks used 14 plays to go 75 yards in On defense, linebacker Skai Moore con4:22 and it was capped off with an unusual tinued his strong season by racking up a touchdown. With South Carolina facing a game-high and career-high tying 12 tackles. second and goal from the eight-yard line, Missouri had the slimmest of advantages Nuñez lofted a pass toward the end zone. in total yards, gaining 299 to South CaroTigers cornerback Aarion Penton went for lina’s 298. the interception, but the ball bounced off of However, the three turnovers proved to be his hands and right into tailback Shon Car- the difference. son’s, who ran into the end zone for what “Turnovers are what really lost us the was an eight-yard touchdown reception that game,” Cooper said. “We cannot have turntied things at 10 apiece with 9:20 left in the overs every possession we have. (Nuñez) is first half. a young guy, a freshman, so he just has to However, the Tigers answered back with a relax back there.”
6 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Spurs & Feathers working with postal officials to eliminate delays
A large number of Spurs & Feathers subscribers have reported delayed delivery of the newspaper in the mail over the last several weeks. Spurs & Feathers general manager Tim O’Briant has reported these increasing delivery issues to the U.S. Postal Service. Tom Ouellette, a Washington, D.C., spokesman for the USPS, said the issues are being taken seriously. “The issue was recently brought to our attention and the U.S. Postal Service is already investigating the matter,” Ouellette said Thursday, Sept. 24. “Rest assured we remain totally committed to identifying and correcting errant processes in our operations as early as possible. Customers with service or delivery concerns are encouraged to contact USPS either by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS or visiting our website at usps.com/help. We will continue to strive to provide the best service to our customers.” O’Briant said he is glad there is an investigation ongoing, but he and other Gamecock fans are losing patience with the Post Office. “We’re dealing with thousands of newspa-
pers going all over the country in the mail, so there have always been some issues,” O’Briant said. “This summer, we’ve seen far more delays and missed deliveries and had more customer complaints. That’s a real concern.” O’Briant said recent USPS staffing cuts and the shuttering of bulk mail processing centers has caused delivery slow downs across the board, according to a recent report from the USPS Inspector General. “We want nothing more than to have Gamecock Nation get Spurs & Feathers on time, every time,” O’Briant said. “At this point I’m working with postal officials and trying to find out how the delays can be eliminated.” Spurs & Feathers is delivered in bulk and mailed each Monday morning from Columbia. “The only thing that’s changed is the amount of time it’s taking the Post Office to get it to my house and everybody else,” O’Briant said. “Last year I was getting it in Aiken on Tuesday or Wednesday and now I’m lucky to get it on Saturday.”
Spurs & Feathers • 7
October 7, 2015
Previewing the LSU football team by kyle heck Reporter
Because of the formidable rushing attack led by Fournette, the Tigers have not thrown the ball often this year. Sophomore Heisman hopeful tailback Leonard Fourquarterback Brandon Harris had just two nette and the LSU Tigers roll into Williams- passing touchdowns heading into the Eastern Brice Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 10 for the Michigan game. However, he has the talent first time since the 2008 season. That year, to throw if called upon and is also a threat the No. 13 Tigers scored a touchdown with a to run himself. Sophomore Malachi Dupre little over four minutes remaining to hold off and junior Travin Dural are the leaders of the South Carolina, 24-17, in quarterback Stereceiving corp. phen Garcia’s first career start. LSU has a reputation of playing a lot of This year’s meeting in Columbia will feayoung players and while that is the case this ture another freshman signal-caller for the year as well, there are a surprising amount of Gamecocks in Lorenzo Nunez. However, the upperclassmen in the Tiger defense. Gamecocks main concern will be on No. 7 in As of the most recent depth chart, nine of the opposing backfield. the 11 defensive starters were upperclassFournette, the former No. 1 overall recruit men. Junior linebacker Kendell Beckwith in the nation, is on an absolute tear to start is the leader of the defense while classmate the 2015 season. Going into LSU’s game with Tre’Davious White is another veteran guy Eastern Michigan, Fournette was leading and a lockdown cornerback. the nation with more than 210 rushing yards However, the most impactful players on the per game. Unsurprisingly, The Tigers are defense may just be a couple of the young one of the best rushing teams in the SEC and guys Tigers head coach Les Miles loves to country. play. As with every good rushing attack, it starts Sophomore defensive tackle Davon Godup front with the offensive line and LSU has chaux spends a lot of time in the opposing a lot of talented players there. Right tackle team’s backfield and had three sacks in LSU’s Vadal Alexander is the anchor of the group first three games. Sophomore safety Jamal and is one of the best tackles in the country. Adams is also an extremely talented player
photo by allen sharpe
and has a knack for making a play on the ball while it’s in the air. Another player to watch out for is true freshman defensive back Kevin Toliver II, who has been rotating at one of the cornerback spots with Dwayne Thomas. Toliver was a five-star prospect coming out of high school and was a consensus top-five player at his position. White has also been a threat on special teams for the Tigers. In a game at Syracuse,
he took a punt back 69 yards for a touchdown. LSU leads the overall series with the Gamecocks by a 17-2-1 margin and owns a fivegame winning streak against the Gamecocks. South Carolina’s only win against the Tigers in Columbia came all the way back in 1930. The Gamecocks last win against LSU came in 1994 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Kickoff is scheduled for noon and can be seen nationally on ESPN.
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8 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Schmidt comfortable, confident and excited by kyle heck Reporter
It’s an understatement to say that South Carolina pitcher Clarke Schmidt had a tough summer. His brother Clate, a pitcher for Clemson, was diagnosed with a form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, something that absolutely stunned the Schmidt family. “When you’re a 19-year-old kid, you don’t expect your best friend and your brother to find out he has cancer,” Clarke said. “So it blew me back and I didn’t know how to take it at first, but all I could do was support him in every way possible.” Clarke stayed with his brother all throughout the chemo treatments and after a couple of months of that, Clate revealed that he was cancer free. He still had to endure about three more weeks of radiation treatments, but is currently well on his way back to playing baseball for the Tigers. The situation brought the two rival teams together to support Clate and his battle. “When my brother first announced he had cancer, I honestly think he had more support from Gamecock fans than Clemson fans,” Clarke said. “Not bashing Clemson fans, but it was amazing to see a rivalry come together and two teams come together for one issue like that. We were very blessed.” The experience was something that changed Clarke’s life forever. “It really makes me value baseball a lot more, value brotherhood, value anything I have in life,” Clarke said. “We’re so blessed and at any moment in time, something could be taken away from you. For my brother, baseball was taken away from him for a little bit, but now he has it back. It just makes me that much more grateful for everything I have in life. “When you find out your brother has cancer, it kind of puts it into perspective that losing is not everything and baseball isn’t everything and there’s more to life than baseball.” However, with his brother cancer-free, go out there and do our jobs and be better Clarke has been able to turn his focus than we were last year,” Clarke said. “I back to baseball. Fall practice is in full think everyone is working harder. It’s a swing and he and his teamreal different atmosphere mates are looking to rein the locker room and the bound from a disappointing weight room.” season last year. As a freshman last sea“I wouldn’t say it’s moson, Clarke helped to tivation, but it’s definitely replace an injured Wil in the back of your heads Crowe by stepping into All Gamecock baseball saying that, ‘wow, we can’t the weekend rotation and coverage sponsored by let what happen last year performing admirably. He DiPrato’s happen this year,’ so let’s recorded a 2-2 record to go
photo by allen sharpe
with a 4.81 ERA. Now one year older, Clarke is hoping to take a step forward and cement his place as one of the best pitchers on the team. “Obviously my personal goal is to be a weekend starter and be an impact guy,” Clarke said. “From a personal basis, last year I know I was a weekend starter at the time and I would go out there and get through my starts. This year, my main goal is to have quality starts every time I go out there and help the team win in any way possible. I think I can do that.”
Clarke said pitching against teams like LSU last season gave him confidence that he belongs in the SEC. After a strong offseason, he is ready to bring that momentum into the fall and beyond. “Coming in as a freshman, you kind of get blown back by everything and it kind of takes you a step back,” Clarke said. “But coming in here as a sophomore, I feel real comfortable and I have a lot of confidence going into the fall from a physical standpoint and from a confidence standpoint so I’m really excited.”
Spurs & Feathers • 9
October 7, 2015
photo by allen sharpe
Snyder: Just keep playing
program for three decades. Suffice to say, there Again, it’s about players, and LSU has better have been more agonies of defeat than thrills of ones and more of them. Our hope must be that victory! the Gamecocks continue to improve week by This brings me to the game I watched Satweek. urday. The better team won, there’s not much It’s a great time to be a Gamecock! more you can say. It was a matchup of freshmen quarterbacks and Missouri’s guy had a better Fabulous Tailgating Facility day. The Gamecocks had their opportunities offensively, but couldn’t cash them in. Despite three interceptions, Lorenzo Nunez’s numbers were solid, 15-of-24, for 192 yards, with 60 net yards rushing. He had a freshman day, and he is our guy moving forward. The defense forced five Tiger punts and held 31 South Stadium Road - $68,000 them to under 300 yards of total offense. It’s just another example that statistics don’t win football games. Being at home allowed me to watch some of Carolina’s future opponents play, and it will be 7 Deeded Parking Spaces - Private Covered Pavillion a tough road ahead for the Cocks. Full Water & Electrical Hookup - Bathroom Pavillion Tailgate for the day or bring a RV & stay for the weekend! The first challenge, of course, is LSU, and to Owner Financing Available be honest, it will require a super-human effort FOR SALE BY OWNER to keep superman Tiger running back, Leonard Mike Cashwell Fournette, from his fourth-straight 200-yard Harris Cashwell 843-514-7495 rushing game.
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Streaks, by their very nature, eventually end. celebrity. “Ah, there’s the Jim Valvano car So when I sat down in my den to watch the live wash. There’s the Jim Valvano grocery.” Coach broadcast of the South Carolina-Missouri foot- V just flashed that smile that was uniquely his. ball game this past Saturday, a thirty-two year, The thing that impressed me most about the 375-game streak ended for me. man that day, was that he was honoring a comThe seventh game of the 1983 season was mitment that he had obviously made before against LSU in Baton Rouge, a televised night State beat Houston 54-52, to win the title. As game in (the real) Death Valley. It was the first I recall, he was coming to speak to a group of game I had missed since the 82 season, but the maybe 30 7-to-10-year olds. reason I didn’t make the trip, actually became His message to the kids that day was simple, one of the special memories of my writing “Just keep playing. Keep playing, because you career. never know what can happen. NC State Coach, Jim Valvano, Look at us. Nobody gave us a whose Wolfpack basketball team chance to beat Houston, but we had shocked the nation by winjust kept playing. We weren’t ning the National Championship thinking about winning or losing, in March of that year, was comwe just wanted to keep playing as ing to speak to USC Coach, Bill hard as we could.” Foster’s, camp. I had no idea how special hearI was invited to ride over to ing those words would become, Owens Field with Coach Foster until he lost his courageous fight to pick up Coach V. The entire with cancer a decade later. trip back to campus, aware that It will take many chapters of the Valvano’s success would bring book I hope to write someday, in Glenn Snyder endorsements, Coach Foster order to describe the highs and Inside teased him about his new-found lows of covering USCs football Look
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10 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Destino an improved player coming into the new year for the Gamecocks by Kyle heck Reporter
Coming in as a freshman in 2014, Alex Destino was a highly regarded high school prospect out of North Carolina. He was thrust right into the starting lineup for South Carolina and played in 48 games, starting 42 as the Gamecocks’ designated hitter. After that baptism by fire, so to speak, Destino enters his sophomore season much more comfortable than a year ago. He said he feels different both from a physical and mental standpoint and strived to get in better shape over the summer. Destino spent the summer playing for the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League, where he was named an All-Star. It was a new experience for Destino in that he played a lot of first base, which he hadn’t done since high school. “It’s kind of like riding a bike again,” Destino said. “It’s been a while since I’ve played over there, but I feel like the transition was very smooth and it was very exciting to play over there.” Destino said his goal is to be the starting first baseman on Opening Day of 2016 for South Carolina. The Gamecocks are looking for a replacement over there after the departure of Kyle Martin. Despite being thrown into the lineup right out of high school, Destino still managed to put together a solid season last year. He batted .251 with six home runs and 35 RBIs. After a rough midseason stretch, Destino put together a string of good performances toward the end of the year. With the Gamecocks struggling to a 32-25 record last year, Destino said he and his teammates are ready to start turning things around. “We have a year under our belt and we learned a lot last year, both good and bad,” Destino said before the Gamecocks officially began fall practice. “I think going into this year, we’re excited to start playing again and have a better could climb in the future. year this year. I think the mood in the locker “I really focused on becoming better both as a room, there’s a real sense of excitement and hitter and as a pitcher,” Destino said. “I feel like we’re just ready to get after it.” Along with getting used to from a strength standpoint, I playing at first base, Destino took the summer extremely sesaid he worked on becoming a riously in the weight room with more complete player. He’s a my diet and everything. I feel rare two-way talent that could like so far in practice, that has also have an impact on the made a good transition for me. mound for the Gamecocks. I feel a lot looser and stronger All Gamecock baseball He only made one pitching out there so I’m excited to see coverage sponsored by appearance for South Carolina where that takes me this year.” DiPrato’s last season, but that number At the end of last year, head
photo by jenny dilworth
coach Chad Holbrook stated the need for more intensity in the offseason after last year’s disappointing campaign. That would mean early morning workouts all throughout the summer. “I loved that we did that this year,” Destino said. “We were up three days a week at 6 a.m. There was no complaining. That’s the biggest difference I saw this year that there was no complaining. We just knew what we had to do. We came up short last year, we all know it, all the fans know it.” With the influx of talented newcomers and the returning guys that have one more year of
experience under their belts, Destino said this team is ready to learn from the mistakes made last year and get back to the winning ways that South Carolina baseball has become used to. “When you play at Carolina, everyone knows what the goal is and we didn’t achieve that last year,” Destino said. “But I think that makes the returners hungry and ready to get after it this year. All these new guys, I think they can see that. Just the work ethic that everybody has been putting in and the intensity the coaches have been giving us, it’s been great to work with.”
Spurs & Feathers • 11
October 7, 2015
South Carolina Gamecocks
2015
football Schedule 09/03/15...........vs. North Carolina ............... Charlotte, N.C......................W, 17-13 09/12/15...........vs. Kentucky # ....................... Columbia, S.C....................... L, 26-22
Standings
CONFERENCE OVERALL
SEC East
W-L PF
PA W-L PF PA STRK
Florida
3-0 80
46 5-0 172 83 W5
09/19/15...........at Georgia # ........................... Athens, Ga............................. L, 52-20
Georgia
2-1 93
72 4-1 192 92 L1
Kentucky
2-1 56
49 4-1 130 109 W2
09/26/15...........vs. UCF...................................... Columbia, S.C......................W, 31-14
Missouri
1-1 37
31 4-1 107 60 W1
Tennessee
0-2 47
52 2-3 185 123 L2
10/03/15...........at Missouri #........................... Columbia, Mo....................... L, 24-10 10/10/15...........vs. LSU #................................... Columbia, S.C.....................12:00 PM 10/17/15...........vs. Vanderbilt #...................... Columbia, S.C...............................TBA 10/31/15...........at Texas A&M #...................... College Station, Texas...............TBA
Vanderbilt
0-2 30
58 2-3 106 92 W1
South Carolina
0-3 52
102 2-3 100 129 L1
SEC West
W-L PF
PA W-L PF PA STRK
Texas A&M
2-0 58
38 5-0 196 105 W5
11/07/15...........at Tennessee #....................... Knoxville, Tenn.............................TBA
LSU
2-0 66
40 4-0 144 86 W4
Ole Miss
2-1 80
91 4-1 229 115 L1
11/14/15...........vs. Florida #............................. Columbia, S.C...............................TBA
Alabama
1-1 75
53 4-1 181 80 W2
Arkansas
1-1 45
48 2-3 129 112 W1
11/21/15...........vs. The Citadel....................... Columbia, S.C...............................TBA 11/28/15...........vs. Clemson............................ Columbia, S.C...............................TBA
Enjoy our beaches every da y... Call about proper ties for sale.
Mississippi State
1-2 53
60 3-2 149 89 L1
Auburn
0-2 30
62 3-2 123 127 W1
Vacation
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12 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Gamecock Radio/Television Information
Inside the Roost South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner and Derek Scott from the Gamecock Sports Network from IMG College host an hour long radio show every Monday night at 7 p.m. from Hilton Columbia Center in the Vista. The show is broadcast on 107.5 FM and features discussions on current issues with Ray Tanner and interviews with coaches and athletics department staff. South Carolina-LSU television The South Carolina-LSU game will be available on ESPN. Please check local listings.
2015-16 RADIO AFFILIATES*
City
Call Letters
Frequency
Football
Abbeville WZLA-FM 92.9 johnston/Aiken WKSX-FM 92.7 Allendale WDOG-FM 93.5 Camden WPUB-FM 102.7 Camden WCAM-AM 1590 Charleston WWIK-FM 98.9 Chesterfield WVSZ-FM 107.3 Columbia WNKT-FM 107.5 Florence WFRK-FM 93.5 Florence WHYM-AM 1260 Gaffney WZZQ-FM 104.3 Gaffney WZZQ-AM 1500 Greenville WROO-FM 104.9 Hilton Head WVGB-FM 94.5 Hilton Head WVGB-AM 1490 Lake City WHYM-AM 1260 Myrtle Beach WSYN-FM 103.1 Newberry WKDK-AM 1240 Rock Hill WRHM-FM 107.1 Rock Hill WVSZ-FM 107.3 Seneca WSNW-AM 1150 Seneca WSNW-FM 94.1
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Sumter WIBZ-FM 95.5 Union WBCU-AM 1460 * Men’s basketball and baseball affiliates will be updated at a later time.
X X
AS14-1360861
The Gamecock Sports Network from IMG College counts 24 affiliate stations for the 201516 football season. For Sirius/XM subscribers, follow the @GamecockRadio Twitter page for weekly updates on channel information for Gamecock broadcasts. The weekly Carolina Calls show will air from 7-8 p.m. on the flagship station of the Gamecocks, WNKT-FM (107.5 FM), and over the Internet at www.GamecocksOnline.com. The show takes place each week at Wild Wing Café, located at 729 Lady Street in the Vista. Wild Wing Café, which is South Carolina’s home for the best wings south of Buffalo, has 12 locations in the Palmetto State. Visit www.wildwingcafe. com for more information.
October 7, 2015
Spurs & Feathers • 13
Former standout Adam Matthews is a lifelong Gamecock by kyle heck Reporter
29 runs. The Reds decided to part ways with Matthews after that season and while he had Growing up in Lexington, Adam Matthews tryouts with other teams available, Matthews used to go to South Carolina baseball games decided it was time to move on. and try and get autographs from the players. “The more I thought about it, the more I To this day, he still has a signed ball from one thought you know what, I guess it’s just time of the Kip Bouknight-led Gamecock teams. to go out and find a career,” Matthews said. Little did he know at the time that he would “It’s hard to explain because I don’t really soon be one of those players signing autoknow why I made that decision. I talked to graphs for young children at Gamecock basemy family and discussing opportunities, I just ball games. felt that it was time to go out and pursue a difMatthews was one of the most sought-after ferent career path and ultimately that’s what players in the state of South Carolina as a I did.” It proved to be a good decision for Matthews senior in high school. He was a finalist for the and he still has plenty of memories from his prestigious Mr. Baseball award in 2008 and Carolina baseball days. Winning two national the Cleveland Indians selected him in the 41st titles and being drafted three different times round of that year’s MLB Draft. However, there was no question about where is something that doesn’t happen to a lot of Matthews was going to end up. people. “I wanted to go to my school and go to my “It brings back a lot of good memories and dream school at that,” Matthews said. a lot of good times,” Matthews said. “Every That’s exactly what Matthews did and he now and then you catch yourself driving down went on to help his dream school capture the road or it might even be a song that comes back-to-back National Championships in 2010 on that sparks your memory a little bit. You and 2011 and play in another College World might say, ‘oh, that was someone’s walk-out Series final in 2012, his senior year. song’ or whatever it may be. It’s cool to reflect It was a surreal journey for someone who a little bit and see where you’re at and where had been a Gamecock fan all his life. you used to be. You definitely miss it, but at “It was cool being one of the kids on the fan the same time life passes and we all have to side admiring players and wanting autographs move on to new opportunities, but I definitely and then growing up to the point where you enjoyed my time at Carolina for sure.” have that opportunity to go out there and play It wasn’t just the amount of success Matfor the team,” Matthews said. “(Then to) be on thews had that made it an awesome experithe field and see a kid that once was you and ence. He developed lifelong bonds with teamget to go up and sign an autograph for that kid. mates like Jackie Bradley Jr., Michael Roth, It’s really a cool outlook and I’m glad I got to Robert Beary, Scott Wingo, Whit Merrifield, experience that.” Adrian Morales and many others. Matthews More than three years after graduating, Matwas part of the recent South Carolina baseball thews is back in the Columbia area and this alumni weekend and it was a great opportutime he’s helping other athletes recover from nity to catch up with friends and relive those injuries. great memories. Matthews works for Smith & Nephew, a For Matthews, that Gamecock experience global medical technology business dedicated was priceless. south carolina athletics media relations to providing products and services that help a “It’s the way that South Carolina has really patient recover from injuries like ACL tears, pulled the community together,” Matthews shoes of those injured athletes. rotator cuff injuries and almost any other watching the doctor fix and I (help) get those said on what makes the University so great. “It’s pretty cool for me just sports-related injury. guys back into shape.” “It’s the way they kind of interact with everyMatthews’ job is to travel coming from the sport and Matthews’ new career comes after a twoone. My Carolina, Lettermen’s Association, around to hospitals around you see athletes that are layyear stint in the minor leagues. He was Gamecock Club, all the events they have the midlands and offer his ing there,” Matthews said. drafted in the 29th round of the 2012 MLB going on, it kind of makes you feel at home. company’s products to help “Obviously, I don’t know who Draft by the Cincinnati Reds after completThat’s the biggest reason that I wanted to go the athletes recover from their they are being in the surgery ing his senior year at South Carolina. After there because being from this area, it was injuries. … but it just adds a cool hitting above .300 in rookie ball in 2012, Mat- home and it made me feel at home. It was just It’s something that MatAll Gamecock baseball an easy decision. I’m really excited I get to tell aspect. One time I was hurt thews spent his first full professional season thews enjoys doing, particucoverage sponsored by and seeing people hurt and switching from rookie to low-A ball, where he my kids one day and relive those memories of larly since he’s been in the DiPrato’s now during the surgeries and combined to hit three home runs and drive in my time there.”
14 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
South Carolina Gamecocks
Recruiting Round-up WR Kelvin Harmon (6-3 195) of Palmyra, NJ last Thursday announced a commitment to USC during a ceremony at his school. Harmon picked the Gamecocks over NC State, Rutgers, North Carolina, West Virginia and Temple. He made official visits to USC and NC State with his USC visit taking place last weekend. Harmon made several unofficial visits to USC over the past couple of years including a camp visit and the pool party this past summer. He’s also good friends with Gamecock quarterback commitment Brandon Phil Kornblut McIlwain. As a juContributing nior Harmon had 54 Writer catches for 829 yards and 16 touchdowns and his coach believes he’ll only get better at USC. “He’s a very hard worker on the field and in the weight room and the classroom,” coach Jack Geisel said. “He’s an all around player and he will do whatever you ask. I’ve moved him around early this year so teams don’t know where he’s at. I feels he’s gotten where anything our quarterback throws he’s going to catch, and after the catch, with his size and speed, he’s difficult to bring down. And he runs good, crisp routes. He’s worked hard on that part of his game.” Harmon is the third receiver to commit to the Gamecocks for the 2016 class and along with Bryan Edwards of Conway gives them two listed with a height of 6-3. He’s also the 17th commitment for the class. USC WR commitment Tre Jackson of Baton Rouge, LA suffered a torn ACL in his
By Phil Kornblut
game last Friday night and will miss the rest of the season. DE Tony Clayton of Vienna, GA is one of the nation’s top prospects at his position and for most of the summer and this season he’s had Clemson, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Florida State. But according to his coach, Clemson no longer is recruiting Clayton and USC has come on to show a lot of interest in recent weeks. USC recruiter Deke Adams was at Clayton’s game recently and according to Hughes the Gamecocks are very interested in his talented pass rusher. “South Carolina is recruiting him real hard and putting a lot of resources into it,” the coach said. “I would think South Carolina has a decent shot. He wants to play in the SEC and it’s not that far from home.” Clayton planned to go to Florida for the Tennessee game. He’s also been to Tennessee this season. Richland Northeast LB TJ Brunson’s history with USC has been well documented. He wanted to commit to the Gamecocks in March but they held him off so they could evaluate him early this season coming off hip surgery. After getting a look at him in the first couple of games, Gamecock linebacker coach Kirk Botkin told Brunson he was now a take for the Gamecocks. Problem for USC is, Brunson committed to Louisville in July and is still holding to that. Still, the Gamecocks are recruiting Brunson hard and had him in last Saturday for an unofficial visit, only the second game he’s ever been to at Williams-Brice Stadium. ‘It was cool,” Brunson said. “It was a lot of people for it to be a game against UCF. Nothing against them but it wasn’t like it was a conference game. That sort of surprised me a
little bit. It got loud a few times. It was definitely a fun place to be.” And the Gamecock coaches paid a lot of attention to Brunson from the head man on down. “I talked to Coach Spurrier, Steve Spurrier Jr., Coach Botkin, Coach Hoke and Coach Ward,” Brunson said. “The Head Ball Coach said he wanted me to stay in state and Coach Spurrier Jr. followed up with how they’ve had their best teams when they’ve kept the best talent in state. They said they want me to be a Gamecock and Coach Botkin said again how he wanted to coach me.” So, with all that from the Gamecocks, is Brunson thinking right now of making the switch? “No, not really,” he said. “I enjoyed my visit and the atmosphere and what they had to say. I’m still a Louisville commit. It’s still early and I’m still a Louisville commit.” The Gamecocks will get another shot with Brunson in a couple of Saturdays. He plans to return for the LSU game with his parents in tow. He is not taking a visit anywhere this weekend and he’s going to try to go to Louisville October 24th for the Boston College game. He currently has an official visit to Louisville for November 7th but may push it back so it’s his last official visit. Brunson, who had 25 tackles in a game earlier this season, had 14 tackles and a sack in his last game USC commitment DB Marlon Character of Atlanta visited Auburn Saturday and is giving the Tigers strong consideration but remains committed to the Gamecocks. USC offered 2017 ATH Devon Hunter of Chesapeake, VA while on a visit for UCF game Saturday. And USC offered 2017 OL Cory Durden of Newberry, FL. 2017 LB Victor Heyward from Hoschton,
Need more gamecock updates? Get more news and daily coverage at
www.spursandfeathers.com
GA was at USC Saturday for UCF game. Basketball News: 6-10 center Sedee Keita of Philadelphia made his official visit to USC over the weekend, the first of at last four official visits he plans to take, and the Gamecocks made a positive impression on him. “He really enjoyed it and can definitely see himself there,” said assistant coach Josh Scraba of Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut where Keita is a student. “He enjoyed the football game and thought it was a nice little town. He thinks he fits the system well and sees immediate playing time. He had a good time relating with the head coach and he thinks he can play for the coaching staff.” Later in the day Monday Keita echoed the words of his assistant coach. “I really liked the campus and I liked the strength and conditioning coaches,” he said. “I feel like I would fit in the program pretty good. I like their playing style. They give their bigs freedom to make plays.” Keita said he doesn’t have a favorite right now and location, as in distance from home, is not a factor. “Whatever the best fit is,” he said. Keita has two more definite visits planned. He will go to Temple October 9th and Providence October 16th. He’s also considering Penn State, LSU and UNLV. Coaches from Providence are scheduled to be at his school this week. Keita does plan to sign in November. Hammond PG Seventh Woods made his official visit to North Carolina over the weekend. He has also been to Georgetown and had an in home visit from the Hoya coaches last week. He will take his official visit to USC October 10th.
Spurs & Feathers • 15
October 7, 2015
South Carolina/Missouri postgame notes and quotes
south carolina athletics media relations
On the current mentality of the team: “We are really just going back to practice this week and preparing for LSU. We can’t really do anything about a loss. I mean, this is over with and we have to put this behind us and get ready for LSU next week at home. That is really all we can do about it and get ready for next week.”
GENERAL NOTES
• Missouri defeated South Carolina, 24-10, at Memorial Stadium. The Gamecocks fall to 2-3 and 0-3 in the SEC with Missouri 4-1 and 1-1 in league play. • Captains for South Carolina for the game were: senior tailback Shon Carson, junior linebacker T.J. Holloman, junior offensive tackle Mason Zandi and sophomore defensive tackle Dante Sawyer.
On communication with QB Lorenzo Nunez during the game: “It is about confidence. He came out in the second half and had three interceptions back to back. Turnovers are what really lost us the game. We cannot have turnovers every possession we have. He is a young guy, a freshman, so he just has to relax back there. He feels like he has to throw every time instead of using his legs and running. It was just some mistakes he made in the third that kind of gave them the ball back.”
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez tallied a careerhigh with 15 completions. Nunez finished 15-for-24 for 172 yards including a touchdown pass. • Junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper caught 9 passes for 102 yards and moved up to 16th on the Gamecocks’ all-time career reception list with 97, two shy of Ace Sanders for 15th in school history. It was Cooper’s second 100-yard receiving game of the season and sixth of his career. • Junior wide receiver Matrick Belton made his first career start in a Gamecock uniform. • Senior offensive tackle Brandon Shell made his 41st career start in a Gamecock uniform. That is tied for eight-most by a Gamecock player in school history. DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Junior linebacker Skai Moore tallied 12 tackles tying his career-high. He also had 12 last year vs. Florida and 12 this year vs. Georgia. • Senior defensive end Cedrick Cooper recorded his first career sack in the first quarter. • Junior defensive end Marquavius Lewis tallied a careerhigh eight tackles. • The Gamecocks finished with eight tackles for loss as a team including a pair of sacks. SPECIAL TEAM NOTES
On effort of offense: “The effort is good. We came out here and fired every series. We were driving the ball up the field and in the second half, the interceptions killed the whole drive. They get the ball back and score. It is really just a turnover thing. We cannot have turnovers on offense. That is what it comes down to.”
photo by Charles Goodin, courtesy of South Carolina Athletics Media Relations
On Lorenzo’s three interceptions: “We wish he had thrown those in a little different spot and we’ll go back and watch the tape. We had some guys open, I think, and we’ve got to get the ball to the open guy at the right time. We didn’t do that maybe once on Pharoh’s long pass at the beginning of the game there. We had to kick a field goal on that one so we could not run the game. It’s a huge difference when you can’t run the ball in. We’re struggling doing that.”
On some of the calls that did not go their way: “The referee said he threw the ball from the one yard line. I asked him to review it and said we thought he was in the end zone when he threw it and if that’s the rule then that’s a safety. Intentional grounding in the end zone is a safety. They told me that he was on the one yard line so no need to even look at it. South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier That’s all I heard. The interference on Pharoh at the end of the Opening statement game there, put us seven behind with six minutes left, I mean “They’re a better team and better coaches. I don’t think we that’s tough. I haven’t seen the tape on it. That was a tough coached a spectacular game but anyway, give Missouri credit. call. He said the guy ran around him. I don’t know. We’ll just They played with no turnovers, we had three big ones. They have to look at it. That was a tough call. He had several calls, ran the ball better than us. Give those guys credit.” I don’t know what the head official would say if they are good or not, when the guy dove at Lorenzo out of bounds and evOn the running game: erybody in the stadium could see that is unsportsmanlike but “The only thing we had was Lorenzo. David Williams had then all of a sudden they said our guys pushed someone. Did one run. We kind of got messed up on the run that they reanybody in the ballpark see our guy push anybody? No. They viewed the catch, not very well. We didn’t block those guys said Matrick blocked a guy and he was out of bounds and he very well. We need to reevaluate a little bit. Some of our gave him a little shove like that. That was the explanation I inside runs. There are some things we can do differently but got. That’s not what beat us. Don’t get me wrong. That’s not again, give Missouri credit. They had the number one defense what beat us.” in the SEC coming into the game and they’ll probably be number one coming out of it.” South Carolina junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper
• Junior placekicker Elliott Fry converted a 34-yard field goal in the first quarter. • Junior punter Sean Kelly punted 4 times for 142 yards including a long of 54 in the contest. Three of his four punts landed inside the Missouri 20-yardline.
Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel Opening statement “Certainly, I’m proud of our football team for battling today. We came off a tough loss last week at Kentucky. This football team took it to heart and today’s game was really important to them. We played a lot better today as a team then we did a week ago. South Carolina’s a good football team. I’m pleased to come out of today with a victory. I think we’ve become a lot better football team this week. We can build on today and become even better.” Category 1st Downs Total Yards Passing Rushing Penalties-Yards 3rd Down Conversions 4th Down Conversions Turnovers Time of Possession Passing Leaders South Carolina COM Nunez 15 Orth 2 Missouri COM Lock 21 Rushing Leaders South Carolina CAR Nunez 15 Williams 9 Missouri CAR Witter 17 Hansbrough 11 Receiving Leaders South Carolina REC Cooper 9 Adams 3 Missouri REC Reese 6 Brown 6
SC UM 17 18 298 299 186 136 112 163 4-35 3-29 5-13 9-16 2-2 1-1 3 0 28:04 31:56 ATT 24 5 ATT 28
YDS 172 14 YDS 136
TD 1 0 TD 2
INT 3 0 INT 0
YDS 60 40 YDS 98 43
AVG 4.0 4.4 AVG 5.8 3.9
TD 0 0 TD 1 0
LG 29 16 LG 17 24
YDS 102 32 YDS 47 33
AVG 11.3 10.7 AVG 7.8 5.5
TD 0 0 TD 0 2
LG 35 21 LG 17 10
16 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
South Carolina Gamecocks # Name Pos. 1 Rico McWilliams CB 1 Deebo Samuel WR 3 Chris Lammons CB 3 D.J. Neal WR 4 Bryson Allen-Williams LB 4 Jalen Christian WR 5 Darius English DE 5 Terry Googer WR 6 Chris Moody FS 6 Connor Mitch QB 7 Al Harris Jr. CB 7 Shon Carson TB 8 Shamier Jeffery WR 8 Marquavius Lewis DE 9 Carlton Heard WR 9 Sherrod Pittman LB 10 Skai Moore LB 10 Perry Orth QB 11 T.J. Holloman LB 11 Pharoh Cooper WR 12 Ernest Hawkins LB 12 Michael Scarnecchia QB 13 Sean Kelly P 13 Jalen Henry LB 14 Shaq Davidson WR 14 Ali Groves FS 15 Matrick Belton WR 15 Antoine Wilder SS 16 Rashad Fenton CB 16 Gage Pucci QB 17 Chaz Elder SS 18 Cedrick Cooper DE 18 Danny Gordon QB 19 Landon Ard PK 19 Lorenzo Nunez QB 20 Joseph Charlton K/P 20 T.J. Gurley SPR 21 Isaiah Johnson FS 22 Brandon Wilds TB 23 Christian Owens WR 23 Larenz Bryant LB 24 D.J. Smith FS 25 Darin Smalls CB 25 A.J. Turner TB 26 Jasper Sasser SPR 27 Toure Boyd FS 28 Jonathan Walton LB 29 Elliott Fry PK 30 Daniel Fennell LB 30 Darius Paulk TB 32 Rod Talley TB 33 David Williams TB 34 Mon Denson TB 34 Scott Grant SS
Hgt. 5-11 6-0 5-10 6-3 6-1 5-9 6-6 6-4 6-1 6-3 5-11 5-8 6-1 6-3 6-0 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-2 5-11 6-1 6-4 5-10 5-10 5-11 5-10 6-4 5-10 5-10 6-0 6-2 6-2 6-0 5-9 6-3 6-5 5-10 6-0 6-2 6-5 6-0 5-11 5-11 5-10 6-0 5-11 6-0 6-0 6-3 5-8 5-10 6-1 5-10 5-10
Wgt. 186 202 183 193 233 177 225 226 215 211 163 206 189 264 182 225 218 203 231 207 224 210 189 207 175 183 209 185 180 195 209 248 203 182 210 180 199 206 220 204 220 195 190 185 207 180 235 164 220 198 201 222 222 178
Cl. RS JR RS FR SO FR SO FR RS JR RS FR RS JR RS SO SO RS SR RS SR JR RS SR FR JR RS JR RS JR JR SO RS FR RS JR FR RS FR RS SO RS JR FR FR FR RS JR RS SR RS FR RS SR FR FR SR RS SR RS SR FR JR SO FR FR RS SO JR JR JR FR RS JR RS SO RS SO FR RS FR
Football Roster
Hometown/High School/Last College Hampton, Ga./Lovejoy Inman, S.C./Chapman Lauderhill, Fla./Plantation Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson Ellenwood, Ga./Ceder Grove Damascus, Md./Damascus Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern Atlanta, Ga./Woodward Academy McDonough, Ga./Henry County Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas Scranton, S.C./Lake City St. Matthews, S.C./Calhoun County Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood/Hutchinson Athens, Ga./Clarke Central/Gardner-Webb Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast Cooper City, Fla./University Ponte Vedra, Fla/Florida State College Stone Mountain, Ga./St. Pius X Havelock, NC./Havelock Baltimore, Md./Dunbar/Hartnell College Fleming Island, Fla./Fleming Island Oakland, Fla./West Orange/FAU/Tallahassee JC Foley, Ala./Foley Gaffney, S.C./Gaffney Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson Columbia, S.C./Keenan/Hampton Riverdale, Ga./Hapeville Charter Miami, Fla./Miami Carol City Glendora, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga Union City, Ga./Banneker Lithonia, Ga./Lithonia Worthington, Ohio/Worthington/Miami (Ohio) Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison Columbia, S.C./A.C. Flora Cairo, Ga./Cairo Cary, N.C./Panther Creek/Kansas Blythewood, S.C./Blythewood Griffin, Ga./Griffin Charlotte, NC./Vance Marietta, Ga./Walton Summerville, S.C./Summerville Clifton, Va./Centreville Jacksonville, Fla./Wolfson Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Chaffey College Daphne, Ala./Bayside Academy Frisco, Texas/Prince of Peace Christian Loganville, Ga./Grayson Columbia, S.C./North Greenville Laurens, S.C./Laurens/Gardner-Webb Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter LaGrange, Ga./LaGrange Laurens, S.C./Laurens
Coaches
Steve Spurrier - Head Coach Deke Adams - Defensive Line Kirk Botkin - Linebackers Shawn Elliott - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Jon Hoke - Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs G.A. Mangus - Quarterbacks/Tight Ends Joe Robinson - Special Teams Coordinator Everette Sands - Running Backs Steve Spurrier Jr. - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator Lorenzo Ward - Co-Defensive Coordinator Jamie Speronis - Associate AD/Football Operations Joey Blake - Director of Football Nutrition Joe Connolly - Director-Football Strength & Conditioning Robbie Liles - Director - Recruiting Operations Patrick Shine - Administrative Coordinator - Recruiting Scott Spurrier - Quality Control Coordinator (Offense) Travelle Wharton - Quality Control Coordinator (Offense) Grady Brown - Quality Control Coordinator (Defense) Shaq Wilson - Quality Control Coordinator (Defense) Brian Turk - Quality Control Coordinator (Special Teams)
# Name Pos. 35 Shannon James CB 39 Demetrius Smalls CB 39 Rivers Bedenbaugh FB 40 Jacob August TE 40 Jason Senn FS 41 Tyler Ragsdale LB 42 Jordan Diggs SS 43 Garrison Gist FB 43 Benji Russell SS 44 Gerald Dixon DE 44 Max Moorman FB 45 Reubyn Walker LB 45 Clayton Stadnik TE 46 Cedrick Malone LB 46 Jakob Huechtker LS 47 Drew Williams LS 48 Nick McGriff LS 48 Dexter Wideman DE 49 Devin Potter TB 49 Boosie Whitlow DE 51 Cody Waldrop OG 52 Phillip Dukes DT 55 David Johnson DE 55 Christian Pellage OT 57 Cory Helms OC 59 Logan Crane LS 63 Blake Camper OT 69 D.J. Park OT 70 Alan Knott OC 71 Brandon Shell OT 72 Donell Stanley OG 74 Mason Zandi OT 75 Will Sport OG 76 Mike Matulis OT 77 Malik Young OT 78 Zack Bailey OG 79 Trey Derouen OG 80 John Dixon WR 81 Hayden Hurst TE 82 Sean Odom WR 83 Jamari Smith CB 84 Kyle Markway TE 85 Michael Almond K/P 85 Devin Dingle WR 86 Kevin Crosby TE 87 Connor Redmond TE 88 Javon Charleston WR 89 Jerell Adams TE 90 Taylor Stallworth DT 91 Shameik Blackshear DE 92 Gerald Dixon, Jr. DT 93 Ulric Jones DT 94 Kelsey Griffin DT 95 Dante Sawyer DE 99 Abu Lamin DT
Hgt. 5-7 5-9 6-2 6-6 5-8 6-0 6-0 5-10 6-0 6-2 5-10 5-10 6-3 6-0 5-6 6-2 6-0 6-4 5-10 6-3 6-2 6-3 6-1 6-6 6-4 6-3 6-8 6-4 6-4 6-6 6-4 6-9 6-5 6-5 6-3 6-6 6-3 5-11 6-5 6-0 5-10 6-4 6-3 5-10 6-1 6-4 6-0 6-6 6-2 6-4 6-3 6-5 6-2 6-3 6-4
Wgt. 154 170 245 258 181 210 209 251 188 269 234 220 240 200 188 213 224 293 203 240 300 319 240 314 301 212 295 325 270 328 320 314 295 293 308 320 314 185 252 194 200 243 200 160 238 225 185 231 308 250 327 300 316 291 326
Cl. RS JR RS SO RS SO RS FR FR FR RS JR RS SR RS SO RS SR FR RS JR RS JR RS JR RS SO JR RS FR FR RS JR FR RS JR RS SR RS SO FR JR FR FR RS SO RS SO RS SR RS FR RS JR RS SR RS SR RS FR FR FR FR FR JR RS SO FR FR FR RS FR FR FR SR SO FR RS SR JR JR SO RS JR
Hometown/High School/Last College Florence, S.C./South Florence Bluffton, S.C./Bluffton Leesville, S.C./Lexington/Georgia Southern Columbia, S.C./Fork Union Military Beaufort, S.C./Beaufort Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Wando Fort Myers, Fla./Island Coast Rock Hill, S.C./Northwesterm Atlanta, Ga./Woodward Academy Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe Alpharetta, Ga./Milton Rock Hill, S.C./Florida A&M Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford Camden, S.C./Camden/Coastal Carolina Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville Saluda, S.C./Saluda/Camden Military Granite Falls, N.C./South Caldwell Opelika, Ala./Opelika Seffner, Fla./Armwood Manning, S.C./Manning Lithonia, Ga./Lithonia Brooksville, Fla./Nature Coast Tech Alpharetta, Ga./Milton/Wake Forest Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth Virginia Beach, Va./Frank W. Cox Dillon, S.C./Dillon Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek Floydale, S.C./Latta Chapin, S.C./Chapin Milton, Fla./Pace Boynton Beach, Fla./Park Vista Pelzer, S.C./Woodmont Summerville, S.C./Summerville, S.C. Lilburn, Ga./Parkview Alexandria, Va./Episcopal Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School Orangeburg, S.C./Orangeburg Prep Jacksonville, Fla./Fletcher St. Louis, Mo./St. John Vianney North Augusta, S.C./Westminster Summerville, S.C./Cane Bay Bamberg, S.C./Bamberg-Ehrhardt Lawrenceville, Ga./Archer Gurnee, Ill./Warren Pinewood, S.C./Scott’s Branch Mobile, Ala./Murphy Bluffton, S.C./Bluffton Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern Oxford, Ala./Butler (Kan.) Community College Buford, Ga./Mill Creek Suwanee, Ga./East Mississippi C.C. Fayetteville, N.C./Fort Scott C.C.
Spurs & Feathers • 17
October 7, 2015
LSU Tigers
# Name Pos. 1 Danny Etling QB 1 Donte Jackson DB 2 Trey LaForge QB 2 Kevin Toliver II CB 3 Tyron Johnson WR 4 Nick Brossette RB 5 Derrius Guice RB 6 Brandon Harris QB 7 Leonard Fournette RB 8 Trey Quinn WR 9 John Diarse WR 10 Anthony Jennings QB 11 Brandon Bergeron QB 11 Lamar Louis LB 12 Micah Dickens CB 12 Justin McMillan QB 13 Jake Clise QB 13 Dwayne Thomas DB 14 Trent Domingue PK/P 14 Caleb Lewis QB 14 Lionel Williams S 15 Malachi Dupre WR 16 Brad Kragthorpe QB 17 Xavier Lewis CB 17 Tiger Scheyd QB 18 Tre’Davious White CB 19 Derrick Dillon WR 21 Deven Hammond DB 22 Ronnie Feist LB 22 Miquel James WR 23 Corey Thompson S 24 Ed Paris CB 25 Reshaud Henry RB 25 T.J. Lemoine DB 26 John Battle S 27 Lanard Fournette RB 27 Brandon Surtain DB 28 Jalen Mills S 29 Rickey Jefferson S 30 Michael Ostrom WR 31 Josh Growden P 31 Bennett Schiro FB 32 Leyton Lavigne DB 32 Tony Upchurch FB 33 Jamal Adams S 33 Trey Gallman FB 34 Darrel Williams RB 35 Jack Gonsoulin PK 35 Devin Voorhies LB 36 Cameron Gamble PK 38 Jamie Keehn P 39 Lenny Breda WR 39 Russell Gage CB 40 Duke Riley LB 41 David Ducre FB 41 Abraham Wallace DB 42 Colby Delahoussaye PK 43 Tommy LeBeau S 44 John David Moore FB 45 Deion Jones LB
Ht. 6-3 5-11 6-3 6-2 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-3 6-1 6-0 6-1 6-2 6-2 5-11 5-9 6-2 6-2 6-0 6-2 6-4 6-0 6-3 6-0 6-0 6-0 5-11 5-11 5-9 6-1 5-9 6-2 6-1 5-8 5-10 6-1 5-10 5-8 6-0 6-0 6-0 6-2 5-11 5-10 6-1 6-1 6-1 6-0 5-9 6-1 5-10 6-5 5-9 6-0 6-0 6-0 6-0 5-9 6-0 6-4 6-1
Wt. 226 167 194 196 189 218 222 206 230 197 209 216 200 232 186 193 209 186 170 211 201 190 202 193 179 191 178 181 234 165 221 210 191 180 194 187 181 196 206 180 197 214 177 241 211 256 232 165 216 197 231 181 182 227 238 196 182 191 235 227
Yr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. So. So. So. Jr. Jr. Sr. So. Fr. So. Jr. Jr. Fr. So. So. Sr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Jr. So. Jr. So. So. Fr. So. Fr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Fr. So. Fr. Fr. So. Fr. So. Fr. So. So. Sr. So. So. Jr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Sr. So. Sr.
Football Roster
Hometown (Previous School) Terre Haute, Ind. (South Vigo HS/Purdue) Metairie, La. (Riverdale HS) New Orleans, La. (Jesuit HS) Jacksonville, Fla. (Trinity Christian) New Orleans, La. (Warren Easton HS) Baton Rouge, La. (University HS) Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic HS) Bossier City, La. (Parkway HS) New Orleans, La. (Saint Augustine HS) Lake Charles, La. (Barbe HS) Monroe, La. (Neville HS) Marietta, Ga. (Marietta HS) Lafayette, La. (St.Thomas More HS/Highland CC) Breaux Bridge, La. (Breaux Bridge HS) Dry Prong, La. (Grant HS) Cedar Hill, Texas (Cedar Hill HS) Baltimore, Md. (Loyola Blakefield HS) New Orleans, La. (O.P. Walker HS) Mandeville, La. (St. Paul’s HS) Lakeland, Fla. (Victory Christian Academy) Chesterfield, Va. (Lloyd C. Byrd HS) New Orleans, La. (John Curtis HS) Tulsa, Okla. (Holland Hall HS/Idaho St.) LaPlace, La. (East St. John HS) Miramar Beach, Fla. (FortWalton Beach HS) Shreveport, La. (Green Oaks HS) Franklinton, La. (Pine HS) Port Allen, La. (Port Allen HS) Edgard, La. (West St. John HS) Kentwood, La. (Jewell Sumner HS) Missouri City, Texas (Lawrence Elkins HS) Arlington, Texas (Mansfield Timberview HS) Ponchatoula, La. (Ponchatoula HS) Monroe, La. (Neville HS) Hallandale, Fla. (Hallandale HS) New Orleans, La. (St. Augustine HS) Baton Rouge, La. (McKinley HS) DeSoto, Texas (DeSoto HS) St. Rose, La. (Destrehan HS) Baton Rouge, La. (St. MichaelThe Archangel HS) Sydney, Australia (Clare HS) New Orleans, La. (Jesuit HS) Ponchatoula, La. (St. Paul’s HS) Pearland, Texas (Glenda Dawson HS) Carrollton, Texas (Hebron HS) Prairieville, La. (Dutchtown HS) Marrero, La. (John Ehret HS) Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic HS) Woodville, Miss. (Wilkinson County HS) Flower Mound, Texas (Flower Mound HS Gracemere,Queensland,Australia (RockHamptonGS) Lake Charles, La. (St. Louis Catholic HS) Baton Rouge, La. (Redemptorist HS) Buras, La. (John Curtis HS) Slidell, La. (Lakeshore HS) Baton Rouge, La. (Dumham School) New Iberia, La. (New Iberia HS) Monroe, La. (Ouachita Parish HS) Ruston, La. (Ruston HS) New Orleans, La. (Jesuit HS)
Coaches Les Miles Cam Cameron Kevin Steele Corey Raymond Steve Ensminger Ed Orgeron Tony Ball Jeff Grimes Bradley Dale Peveto Frank Wilson
Head Coach Offensive Coordinator/QBs Defensive Coordinator Defensive Backs Tight Ends Defensive Line Wide Receivers Offensive Line Special Teams Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
# Name Pos. 45 Josh Tharp TE 46 Tashawn Bower DE 47 Bry’Kiethon Mouton FB 48 Donnie Alexander LB 48 Ronnie Lamarque FB 49 Arden Key DE 50 Reid Ferguson SNP 50 Christian Pittman LB 51 Jonathan Rucker LB 52 Kendell Beckwith LB 53 Blake Ferguson SNP 53 Grant Leger LB 54 Eman Haynes DE 54 Rory Luke OL 55 Roshon Cody OL 55 Cole Miller LB 57 Davon Godchaux DT 57 Cody Townsend OL 58 Jibrail Abdul-Aziz OL 58 Sione Teuhema DE 59 John Ballis SNP 59 Jordan Harper DE 60 Marcus Roberts DL 61 Alex Cheramie OL 62 Hunter Burns LB 62 Justin Mikush OL 63 K.J. Malone OG 64 William Clapp C 65 Jerald Hawkins OT 66 Toby Weathersby OT 67 Jevonte Domond OT 68 Chidi Okeke OL 69 Turner Simmers OL 70 George Brown Jr. OT 72 Andy Dodd C 73 Adrian Magee OG 74 Vadal Alexander OT 75 Maea Teuhema OG 76 Josh Boutte OG 77 Ethan Pocic OG/C 78 Garrett Brumfield OG 81 Colin Jeter TE 82 D.J. Chark WR 83 Travin Dural WR 84 Foster Moreau TE 85 Dillon Gordon TE 86 Jazz Ferguson WR 87 Kevin Spears WR 88 Jacory Washington TE 89 DeSean Smith TE 90 Rob Snyder TE 91 ChristianLaCouture DT 92 Lewis Neal DE 93 M.J. Patterson DE 94 Isaiah Washington DE 95 Quentin Thomas DT 96 Mickey Johnson DT 97 Frank Herron DT 98 Deondre Clark DE 99 Greg Gilmore DT
Ht. 6-4 6-5 6-1 6-1 6-1 6-6 6-2 5-11 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-2 6-2 6-4 5-10 6-2 6-4 6-1 6-1 6-4 6-1 6-3 5-11 6-0 6-0 6-4 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-5 6-5 6-6 6-4 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-6 6-5 6-5 6-7 6-3 6-7 6-3 6-2 6-5 6-5 6-5 6-2 6-6 6-5 5-11 6-5 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-1 6-4 6-4 6-4
Wt. 246 240 255 215 212 231 244 206 236 252 221 225 216 284 249 220 293 288 281 251 215 231 282 280 222 348 298 303 305 292 298 311 274 283 319 324 329 327 342 309 294 244 186 203 261 308 215 207 228 243 211 307 264 223 241 313 329 289 253 313
Yr. So. Jr. Fr. So. Fr. Fr. Sr. Sr. So. Jr. Fr. Sr. So. Fr. Fr. So. So. Jr. So. So. Jr. Jr. Jr. So. So. Fr. So. Fr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. Fr. Sr. Fr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Jr. So. Jr. Fr. Sr. Fr. So. Fr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. So. Fr. Sr. Sr. So. So. So.
Hometown (Previous School) Erin, Tenn. (Houston County HS) Somerville, N.J. (Immaculata HS) Lafayette, La. (Acadiana HS) New Orleans, La. (Edna Karr HS) New Orleans, La. (Newman HS) Atlanta, Ga. (Hapeville Charter Academy) Buford, Ga. (Buford HS) New Orleans, La. (Brother Martin HS) Ponchatoula, La. (Ponchatoula HS) Clinton, La. (East Feliciana HS) Buford, Ga. (Buford HS) Metairie, La. (Jesuit HS) Covington, La. (Northlake Christian HS) New Orleans, La. (Brother Martin HS) Baton Rouge, La. (Tara HS) Shreveport, La. (Captain Shreve HS/Nicholls) Plaquemine, La. (Plaquemine HS) Marrero, La. (John Ehret HS) Baton Rouge, La. (Broadmoor HS) Keller, Texas (Keller HS) Houston, Texas (Episcopal HS/Kentucky) New Orleans, La. (Archbishop Rummel HS) Baton Rouge, La. (McKinley HS) Cypress, Texas (Cypress Ranch HS) Wilmer,Ala. (MaryG.MontgomeryHS/BatonRougeCC) Tomball, Texas (Klein Oak HS) Ruston, La. (Cedar Creek HS) New Orleans, La. (Brother Martin HS) Baldwin, La. (West St. Mary HS) Houston, Texas (Westfield HS) Glendale, Ariz. (Maricopa HS/Glendale CC) Anambra,Nigeria (FaithBaptistChristianAcademy) Prairieville, La. (St. Amant HS) Cincinnati, Ohio (Winton Woods HS) Lindale, Ga. (Pepperell HS) Franklinton, La. (Franklinton HS) Buford, Ga. (Buford HS) Keller, Texas (Keller HS) New Iberia, La. (Westgate HS) Lemont, Ill. (Lemont HS) Baton Rouge, La. (University HS) Longview, Texas (Longview HS/Kilgore) Alexandria, La. (Alexandria HS) Breaux Bridge, La. (Breaux Bridge HS) New Orleans, La. (Jesuit HS) Edgard, La. (John Curtis HS) St. Francisville, La. (West Feliciana HS) New Orleans, La. (Holy Cross HS) Westlake, La. (Westlake HS) Lake Charles, La. (Barbe HS) Cleveland, Ohio (Shaker Heights HS) Lincoln, Neb. (Lincoln Southwest HS) Wilson, N.C. (James B. Hunt HS) Winnfield, La. (Winnfield HS) New Orleans, La. (Karr HS) Breaux Bridge, La. (Breaux Bridge HS) Covington, La. (St. Paul’s HS) Memphis, Tenn. (Memphis Central HS) Oklahoma City, Okla. (Douglass HS) Hope Mills, N.C. (South View HS)
18 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Depth Charts for October 10, 12 p.m. South Carolina OFFENSE WR: -OR- WR: WR: -OR- LT: LG: C: RG:
1 Deebo Samuel 3 D.J. Neal 8 Shamier Jeffery 11 Pharoh Cooper 15 Matrick Belton 5 Terry Googer 9 Carlton Heard 71 Brandon Shell 55 Christian Pellage 76 Mike Matulis 69 D.J. Park 78 Zack Bailey 54 Clayton Stadnik 75 Will Sport 72 Donell Stanley RT: 74 Mason Zandi 63 Blake Camper TE: 89 Jerell Adams 40 Jacob August -OR- 84 Kyle Markway QB: 19 Lorenzo Nunez 10 Perry Orth 12 Michael Scarnecchia FB: 39 Rivers Bedenbaugh TB: 22 Brandon Wilds
6-0, 202, RFr. 6-3, 193, Fr. 6-1, 198, Jr. 5-11, 207, Jr. 6-4, 209, Jr. 6-4, 226, RFr. 6-0, 182, Sr. 6-6, 328, Sr. 6-6, 314, Fr. 6-5, 293, Sr. 6-4, 325, So. 6-6, 320, Fr. 6-3, 240, Jr. 6-5, 295, Sr. 6-4, 320, RFr. 6-9, 314, Jr. 6-8, 295, Fr. 6-6, 231, Sr. 6-6, 258, RFr. 6-4, 243, Fr. 6-3, 210, Fr. 6-1, 203, Jr. 6-4, 210, RFr. 6-2, 245, So. 6-2, 220, Sr.
OFFENSE
X: LT: LG: -OR- C: RG: -OR- RT: TE: Z: QB:
RB:
-OR- 7 Shon Carson 33 David Williams Inman, S.C. Stone Mountain, Ga. St. Matthews, S.C. Havelock, N.C. Columbia, S.C. Atlanta, Ga. Athens, Ga. Goose Creek, S.C. Brooksville, Fla. Boynton Beach, Fla. Dillon, S.C. Summerville, S.C. Greensboro, N.C. Milton, Fla. Floydale, S.C. Chapin, S.C. Virginia Beach, Va. Pinewood, S.C. Columbia, S.C. St. Louis, Mo. Kennesaw, Ga. Ponte Vedra, Fla. Fleming Island, Fla. Leesville, S.C. Blythewood, S.C.
5-8, 206, Sr. 6-1, 222, So.
Scranton, S.C. Philadelphia, Pa.
DEFENSE DE: DT: NT: DE: MLB: WLB: SLB:
55 David Johnson 49 Boosie Whitlow 44 Gerald Dixon 91 Shameik Blackshear 95 Dante Sawyer 90 Taylor Stallworth 94 Kelsey Griffin 92 Gerald Dixon, Jr. 52 Phillip Dukes 99 Abu Lamin 8 Marquavius Lewis 18 Cedrick Cooper 5 Darius English 11 T.J. Holloman 4 Bryson Allen-Williams 10 Skai Moore 28 Jonathan Walton 23 Larenz Bryant 12 Ernest Hawkins SPR: 20 T.J. Gurley 26 Jasper Sasser LCB: 7 Al Harris Jr.
6-1, 240, So. 6-3, 240, Fr. 6-2, 269, Sr. 6-4, 250, Fr. 6-3, 291, So. 6-2, 308, So. 6-2, 316, Jr. 6-3, 327, Sr. 6-3, 319, Sr. 6-4, 326, Jr. 6-3, 264, Jr. 6-2, 248, Sr. 6-6, 225, Jr. 6-2, 231, Jr. 6-1, 233, So. 6-2, 218, Jr. 6-0, 235, Jr. 6-0, 220, Jr. 6-1, 224, So. 5-10, 193, Sr. 6-0, 210, So. 5-11, 163, So.
LSU
Lithonia, Ga. Opelika, Ala. Rock Hill, S.C. Bluffton, S.C. Suwanee, Ga. Mobile, Ala. Buford, Ga. Rock Hill, S.C. Manning, S.C. Fayetteville, N.C. Greenwood, S.C. Lithonia, Ga. Powder Springs, Ga. Stone Mountain, Ga. Ellenwood, Ga. Cooper City, Fla. Daphne, Ala. Charlotte, N.C. Baltimore, Md. Cairo, Ga. Jacksonville, Fla. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
16 Rashad Fenton 17 Chaz Elder FS: 21 Isaiah Johnson 6 Chris Moody SS: 42 Jordan Diggs 24 D.J. Smith RCB: 1 Rico McWilliams 22 Jamari Smith 27 Toure Boyd
5-10, 180, Fr. Miami, Fla. 6-2, 209, Jr. Union City, Ga. 6-0, 206, Sr. Cary, N.C. 6-1, 215, Jr. McDonough, Ga. 6-0, 209, Jr. Fort Myers, Fla. 5-11, 195, So. Marietta, Ga. 5-11, 186, Jr. Hampton, Ga. 5-10, 200, So. Jacksonville, Fla. 5-11, 180, Jr. R. Cucamonga, Calif.
SPECIALISTS KO: PK: P: KR: PR: SN: H:
19 Landon Ard 29 Elliott Fry 29 Elliott Fry 19 Landon Ard 13 Sean Kelly 85 Michael Almond 7 Shon Carson 32 Rod Talley 11 Pharoh Cooper 47 Drew Williams 48 Nick McGriff 13 Sean Kelly 19 Landon Ard
5-9, 182, Sr. 6-0, 164, Jr. 6-0, 164, Jr. 5-9, 182, Sr. 5-10, 189, Jr. 6-3, 200, Fr. 5-8, 206, Sr. 5-10, 201, So. 5-11, 207, Jr. 6-2, 213, Jr. 6-0, 224, RFr. 5-10, 189, Jr. 5-9, 182, Sr.
Rock Hill, S.C. Frisco, Texas Frisco, Texas Rock Hill, S.C. Oakland, Fla. North Augusta, S.C. Scranton, S.C. Laurens, S.C. Havelock, N.C. Irmo, S.C. Gainesville, Fla. Oakland, Fla. Rock Hill, S.C.
CB: 13 Dwayne Thomas 6-0, 186, Jr. New Orleans, La. Baton Rouge, La. -OR- 2 Kevin Toliver II 6-2, 197, Fr. Jacksonville, Fla. Baton Rouge, La. 15 Malachi Dupre 6-3, 190, So. New Orleans, La. 24 Ed Paris 6-1, 210, So. Arlington, Texas New Orleans, La. 9 John Diarse 6-1, 209, So. Monroe, La. FS: 29 Rickey Jefferson 6-0, 207, Jr. St. Rose, La. Ruston, La. 82 D.J. Chark 6-2, 186, So. Alexandria, La. 23 Corey Thompson 6-2, 221, Jr. Missouri City, Texas Lafayette, La. 3 Tyron Johnson 6-1, 189, Fr. New Orleans, La. SS: 33 Jamal Adams 6-1, 211, So. Carrollton, Texas Slidell, La. 65 Jerald Hawkins 6-6, 305, Jr. Baldwin, La. 26 John Battle 6-1, 194, So. Hallandale, Fla. Pearland, Texas 63 K.J. Malone 6-4, 298, So. Ruston, La. CB: 18 Tre’Davious White 5-11, 191, Jr. Shreveport, La. 75 Maea Teuhema 6-5, 327, Fr. Keller, Texas 1 Donte Jackson 5-11, 167, Fr. Metairie, La. 64 William Clapp 6-5, 303, RFr. New Orleans, La. DEFENSE 39 Russell Gage 6-0, 182, So. Baton Rouge, La. 63 K.J. Malone 6-4, 298, So. Ruston, La. 77 Ethan Pocic 6-7, 309, Jr. Lemont, Ill. DE: 92 Lewis Neal 6-2, 264, Jr. Wilson, N.C. 72 Andy Dodd 6-4, 319, So. Lindale, Ga. 58 Sione Teuhema 6-4, 251, So. Keller, Texas SPECIAL TEAMS 64 William Clapp 6-5, 303, RFr. New Orleans, La. 98 Deondre Clark 6-4, 253, So. Oklahoma City, Okla. 94 Isaiah Washington 6-4, 241, Fr. New Orleans, La. 76 Josh Boutte 6-5, 342, Jr. New Iberia, La. PK: 14 Trent Domingue 6-2, 170, Jr. Mandeville, La. DT: 57 Davon Godchaux 6-4, 293, So. Plaquemine, La. 42 Colby Delahoussaye 5-9, 182, Jr. New Iberia, La. 78 Garrett Brumfield 6-3, 309, RFr. Baton Rouge, La. 97 Frank Herron 6-4, 289, So. Memphis, Tenn. KO: 14 Trent Domingue 6-2, 170, Jr. Mandeville, La. 74 Vadal Alexander 6-6, 320, Sr. Buford, Ga. 95 Quentin Thomas 6-4, 313, Sr. Breaux Bridge, La. 36 Cameron Gamble 5-10, 197, So. Flower Mound, Texas 66 Toby Weathersby 6-5, 303, Fr. Houston, Texas DT: 91 Christian LaCouture 6-5, 307, Jr. Lincoln, Neb. PR: 18 Tre’Davious White 5-11, 191, Jr. Shreveport, La. 70 George Brown Jr. 6-6, 283, Fr. Cincinnati, Ohio 99 Greg Gilmore 6-4, 313, So. Hope Mills, N.C. 33 Jamal Adams 6-1, 211, So. Carrollton, Texas 85 Dillon Gordon 6-5, 308, Sr. Edgard, La. 95 Quentin Thomas 6-4, 313, Sr. Breaux Bridge, La. KOR: 1 Donte Jackson 5-11, 167, Fr. Metairie, La. 81 Colin Jeter 6-7, 244, Jr. Longview, Texas DE: 46 Tashawn Bower 6-5, 240, Jr. Somerville, N.J. 34 Darrel Williams 6-0, 232, So. Marrero, La. 89 DeSean Smith 6-5, 243, Jr. Lake Charles, La. 49 Arden Key 6-6, 231, Fr. Atlanta, Ga. 7 Leonard Fournette 6-1, 230, So. New Orleans, La. 84 Foster Moreau 6-5, 261, Fr. New Orleans, La. 93 M.J. Patterson 6-3, 223, So. Winnfield, La. 5 Derrius Guice 5-11, 222, Fr. Baton Rouge, La. 83 Travin Dural 6-2, 203, Jr. Breaux Bridge, La. Sam: 11 Lamar Louis 5-11, 232, Sr. Breaux Bridge, La. P: 38 Jamie Keehn 6-5, 231, Sr. Queensland, Australia 9 John Diarse 6-1, 209, So. Monroe, La. 40 Duke Riley 6-0, 227, Jr. Buras, La. 31 Josh Growden 6-2, 197, Fr. Sydney, Australia 8 Trey Quinn 6-0, 197, So. Lake Charles, La. Mike: 52 Kendell Beckwith 6-2, 252, Jr. Clinton, La. SNP: 50 Reid Ferguson 6 Brandon Harris 6-3, 206, So. Bossier City, La. 6-2, 244, Sr. Buford, Ga. 22 Ronnie Feist 6-1, 234, Jr. Edgard, La. 53 Blake Ferguson 6-3, 221, Fr. Buford, Ga. 10 Anthony Jennings 6-2, 216, Jr. Marietta, Ga. Will: 45 Deion Jones 6-1, 227, Sr. New Orleans, La. HOLD: 16 Brad Kragthorpe 6-0, 202, Sr. Tulsa, Okla. 12 Justin McMillan 6-2, 193, Fr. Cedar Hill, Texas 48 Donnie Alexander 6-1, 215, So. New Orleans, La. 38 Jamie Keehn 6-5, 231, Sr. Queensland, Australia 7 Leonard Fournette 6-1, 230, So. New Orleans, La. 35 Devin Voorhies 6-1, 216, So. Woodville, Miss. 34 Darrel Williams 6-0, 232, So. Marrero, La. *These depth charts are taken from the listings from each team’s previous game. Spurs & Feathers goes to print shortly after the conclusion of each game. Please visit www.spursandfeathers.com over the course of the week for updated depth charts. FB:
5 Derrius Guice 5-11, 222, Fr. 4 Nick Brossette 6-0, 218, Fr. 27 Lanard Fournette 5-10, 187, Fr. 44 John David Moore 6-4, 235, So. 47 Bry’Kiethon Mouton 6-1, 255, Fr. 41 David Ducre 6-0, 238, Fr. 32 Tony Upchurch 6-1, 241, RFr.
Spurs & Feathers • 19
October 7, 2015
Kaela Davis: ‘I want to be as competitive as I can’ by kyle heck Reporter
photo by kyle heck
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have people that welcome you and make that transition easy is always helpful.” Davis said she was recruited “here and there” There was one thing that new South Carolina by South Carolina coming out of high school, guard Kaela Davis made clear at a recent press but was quickly on their radar when she wanted conference: She’s a competitor. to transfer. The Georgia Tech transfer had an outstandShe sat down with the coaching staff and ing two year career with the Yellow Jackets but talked about the opportunity to make an early knew that she wanted to go somewhere where impact after she sits out this upcoming season she and her team could be competitive. Luckily, due to the NCAA transfer rules. She’ll slide right the perfect place for her was just one state over. in once the 2016-17 season begins because the “Obviously it was a tough decision because I Gamecocks will be looking to replace Tiffany love the people at Tech, they’re amazing people,” Mitchell, Khadijah Sessions, Tina Roy and Asia Davis said. “But all my life, I’ve been competiDozier, all of whom are guards. tive and that’s just been my nature and I think “That was something we looked into and defidown the line they’ll be a really successful pro- nitely something that we sat down and talked gram, but you only have four years of eligibility about,” Davis said. “Just as far as losing Tiffany in college and I just want to take some of that and that scoring aspect and needing someone time to be as competitive as I can.” to come in and fill that role. It’s something I’m She more than likely got that from her dad, comfortable with. I don’t have a problem having Antonio, who played in the NBA for 13 seasons. to come in and fill that role.” Antonio is currently an analyst for ESPN and Davis showed she was comfortable handling Davis said her father was fully behind her deci- that role at Georgia Tech. Coming out of high sion. school as the No. 1 guard in the 2013 class, Da“He was just down with whatever I wanted vis immediately showed she was one of the best to do,” Davis said. “He’s a really, really relaxed players in the ACC. As a freshman, Davis averguy, he’s not too amped up on anything. He aged 18.6 points per game with seven doublejust kind of hated seeing me have to go through doubles and 14 20+ point games on her way to those struggles of not being able to compete making the All-ACC Second Team. the way I wanted to so he was happy with the Last season as a sophomore, Davis upped her fact that I was going to be in a situation where I scoring average to 19.2 points per game and could compete day in and day out.” broke Georgia Tech’s single-season scoring The Gamecocks are coming off of a season record while also becoming the fastest Yellowwhere they made their first-ever trip to the jacket to 1,000 career points. She was named NCAA Final Four and return plenty of talent to First Team All-ACC and would’ve been the get back there. Davis joins two other other ACC league’s leading returning scorer had she stayed. transfers in North Carolina’s Allisha Gray and Davis knows that there will be more of a focus Virginia’s Sarah Imovbioh. on defense in head coach Dawn Staley’s system. It could have been especially tough for Davis However, she said she is looking forward to because she said she didn’t really know anyone improving on that side and has already enjoyed on the team before she came. However, the cur- Staley as her new coach. rent players on the roster have made the transi“It’s been great,” Davis said. “Her energy and tion easy for her. her enthusiasm, she has a great personality and “It’s been she shows it every single day on the floor. It great,” Davis makes it easy to work hard for her because she said. “They’ve just works with you so well. It’s definitely been a welcomed me fun, easy transition.” with open arms, Davis said there were a couple of other schools which is amazthat she thought about transferring to but that ing to have ended once she visited Columbia. teammates like “Honestly, we talked to (the coaches) and they All Gamecock basketball said ‘yeah, we would love to have you down that. Any environment is new, coverage sponsored by here,’” Davis recalled. “When I went on my but to be able to Yesterdays visit, I just knew this was the place for me.”
20 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Gamecocks focusing on team development and chemistry this fall by brian hand Executive Editor This year will be a little different for South Carolina beach volleyball. First off, obviously the name has changed from South Carolina sand volleyball to South Carolina beach volleyball and that’s the biggest part as the name change coincides with the NCAA adding beach volleyball as its 90th championship in the 2016 season. That means that Gamecock beach volleyball will be working hard along with the other over 50 colleges and universities across the nation sponsoring beach volleyball to participate in the inaugural NCAA beach volleyball championship in the spring of 2016. “One of our goals is to be in the first NCAA beach volleyball championship,” Gamecock beach volleyball head coach Moritz Moritz put succinctly. “We’ve got a lot of work to get there and there is still only eight teams (in the championship), so it’s a pretty small window to try and get into. But that’s huge. And not that being in the AVCA championship wouldn’t have been fantastic, but now there is this added motivation. It’s been fun in that way and the girls kind of are really focusing on the direction and everything they want to accomplish in the process.” The addition of beach volleyball as an NCAA championship also continues the upward progression of the sport in general, which is something that really excites Moritz. “Now the momentum accelerates for the sport,” Moritz relayed. “I think there are a lot of tinue to develop that mindset and that growth?” universities across the country that have been Moritz said. waiting for it to become an NCAA entity, so As one would expect, the Gamecocks are not that now they can validate the addition of the sport. I think that’s something that’ll benefit the resting on their laurels as they prepare for year No. 3 in 2016. SEC in hopefully the next two to three to four “Comfortable? Never. Not ever, mostly beyears that now we have more SEC teams jumping on board because now we have a beach cause when you put in terms of your own team NCAA championship.” and what you’re seeing and how potential pairAll of the overarching things happening with ings can vary and differ, but then also just the the sport are important, but Moritz is more intangible of never knowing what your oppoconcerned obviously with his team within the nent is like,” Moritz remarked. “There is just no framework of NCAA beach volleyball. Last way to know based off who they lost and how year, the now third-year they switch stuff. I think we program almost tripled their surprised ourselves against wins from year one of the some teams last year and not program in 2014 to year two just from the volleyball side. in 2015. I think sometimes last year “To go from 5-12 to 14-7 we beat teams because we in a season and to be 17th in were just in better condition. All Gamecock beach volleyball We were better prepared the country last year, those coverage sponsored by are just things we want to imphysically and that allowed prove on, so how do we con- James W. Smith Real Estate Co. our volleyball to stay at a
south carolina athletics media relations
high level.” In fact, the Gamecocks plan to approach every match as if they are playing one of the top teams in the country every time they hit the sand. “The ultimate goal is always national championship, but beyond that is growth on a daily basis and for our kids, just staying on task for that, I think the mentality for us is we’re preparing to play the No. 1 team every match,” Moritz mentioned. “And at the end of the day how we compete is really the most important component of it all. If we win at the end of it because we’ve given that effort, prepared the right way, I think we’ve done exactly what we’ve needed to do. But I’m never comfortable with that.” With their regular-season not officially kicking off until March, the Gamecocks are focusing on the little things. “A huge thing has just been team development and team chemistry,” Moritz said. “We’re training four days a week on the sand and we’re
hammering the basics, fundamentals and skills and we’re trying to keep them competitive.” The Gamecocks lost some key individuals from last year, but Moritz believes that they have a solid returning group to go along with quality newcomers. “We’re excited about our freshmen, but it’s that youthful inexperience and how does that factor in as it’s one of those things where we’ll get through that first competition and we’ll see where we’re at and we’ll continue to reevaluate strengths and weaknesses and how do we adjust and adapt,” Moritz said. “That’s the neat part of this whole building process. The level of the kids we have is getting better every day and the level of the kids that we’re bringing in is getting better every day. Results-wise we don’t know how it’s going to factor in yet, but we definitely see the overall intensity and skill level from the kids in the way that they train and in the way that they compete as it’s just improving. And that’s kind of the fun part.”
Spurs & Feathers • 21
October 7, 2015
Moore: On the Gamecock bus along for the ride we end up getting home and regretting that we didn’t get off the sideline to ask that pretty girl to dance. Her name is “Victory.” We won’t have the pleasure of her company waiting on her to make the first move, gotta get up and get out there. Got to be “tougher than tough times” -Football gave me the gift of toughness but I’m not talking about physical toughness I’m talking about toughness that exists between your ears and in your heart. That gift is readily available for players if they want it,but you have to endure and overcome to receive it. Toughness has many connotations but I’m speaking specifically about using toughness to overcome adversity and”finish” regardless of the scoreboard. At times we allow outside circumstances to dictate how hard we play and how well we do our jobs. To play on this level of premier football, having the mental toughness is just as important if not more important than being highly skilled at any of the eleven positions on the field. Having a “one play at a time” mentality be it a “good play” or “bad play” helps to buoy one personally during the uncertainty of a football contest. Even though I’m just an onlooker along for the ride these days, I still feel like I’ve seen this movie before. I see what’s happening as it’s unfolding, and can guess how this story will end and it won’t end well. I’m not a clairvoyant by any means, but if you do things a certain way long enough at the end of the day you will get almost certain results. We are doing the things that produce half consistent results, that’s been evident in the stats and how we’ve played the previous five games, hence the reason we are 2-3. Again these are the ramblings of a guy fresh off a loss who just had the opportunity to just observe, a guy who is no more than an onlooker. My head is filled with multiple examples from having played on teams that have won zero games and on teams that have turned their fortunes around, but what my mindset is has no bearing on the outcomes of the games, it’s about the coaches and players mindset. You the fans are just like me, mere guests on this journey sitting on the Gamecock bus along for the ride... “Next stop?” Who knows. Follow Langston Moore on Twitter at: @reMovetheChains #justachicken #eat2win #yoby
photo by Charles Goodin, courtesy of South Carolina Athletics Media Relations
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Thoughts from the bus: My role on the broadcast team affords me the opportunity to have a different vantage point most of Gamecock Nation doesn’t get to see. No longer a player, I get to ride on the plane and bus allowing me to be a f ly on the wall on the away trips. Seeing the team go from the hotel to the locker room and everywhere in between, I witness a real sense of who this team is and get a clear picture of what to expect before the games. “Thank Langston Moore goodness for Contributing pregame” - Writer This is about the only time on game day I can feel confident asa fan. Maybe it’s the swagger the team brings into warm ups, the steely eyed look of our offensive and defensive lines as they go through the routine of warm ups. But once the game starts that look goes from one of confidence and sureness to one of doubt and uncertainty. Maybe because we know what to expect during pre game, unlike the contest that follows. We approach the game with an attitude of someone feeling their way around in the dark, scared to bump into a table or chair as to not hurt oneself. Don’t get me wrong there are a few players that attack the game with the attitude of imposing their will on the game, but “a few” players here or there won’t cut it. This isn’t singles tennis or golf, we need 11 players like that on both sides of the ball. We don’t have that right now. Waiting for someone to make a play - Ever been to a middle school dance or something like that? Mostly it’s boys on one side, and the girls on the other with both sides scared to make a move. Before you know it the dance is over and no one got involved and hit the dance f loor. Both groups of partygoers are scared to get off the sideline and get the party going for whatever reason. This comes to mind when I think of this team. A group of young players that are here to party on the field (play), but sit by waiting for the pretty girl to approach us. We show up to the dance (the games), but we always seem to wait around for someone else to start the party aka make a play. Just like the analogy I gave about the middle school dance
22 • Spurs & Feathers
T.J. Holloman, South Carolina’s accounting ace, wants to make the numbers add up for the Gamecock defense
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ost student-athletes would like to play for a professional sports team. T.J. Holloman would like to run the books for one. An accounting major, Holloman already has his life after football mapped out. “I plan to use that degree to be a CFO of a sports team or a sports organization, whether that be professional or collegiate,” the Gamecocks’ junior middle linebacker said. Running numbers runs in the family: both of Holloman’s parents majored Andy Demetra in accounting Contributing at South Carolina State, and Writer Holloman only needs three more courses to earn his degree. He has made the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll each of the last two years. “It’s a pretty tough major. I’m not going to lie,” the Stone Mountain, Ga., native admitted. It’s also rare: according to Maria Hickman, South Carolina’s Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Student Development, she can’t recall another football player majoring in accounting in her eight years with the Gamecocks.
October 7, 2015
For now, Holloman’s focus is on returning the South Carolina defense to prosperity. Seeking a spark for his struggling secondary, co-defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward made the decision to move Holloman into the starting lineup prior to USC’s September 26 game against UCF. Holloman was inserted at middle linebacker, with top tackler Skai Moore sliding over to weakside linebacker. On the surface, it seemed like a risky move. An already struggling defense, changing the position of its most productive player? Even head coach Steve Spurrier, speaking on his weekly radio show, seemed less than certain about it. Holloman made sure the move paid immediate dividends. His interceptions on back-to-back drives helped swing the momentum in the second half, paving the way for a 31-14 Gamecocks victory. He finished the game with six tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries. He followed that up with six tackles in a 24-10 loss to Missouri, though he missed a sure-fire interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. “T.J. has been a good football player, but he’s been playing behind Skai the whole time, and he really hadn’t played. You’ve got to get your best players on the field,” Ward said following the UCF game. The only person who wasn’t impressed by his two-pick day, it seemed, was Holloman. He once had four interceptions in a game in high school. “I’ve been working at ‘Mike’ all Spring, all fall camp. It’s really been the position I’m most comfortable with,” Holloman said, adding, “I’ve been used to catching picks. I’m used to throwing them down the seam. I used to go up and get them, similar to what we do here with Coach Hoke.” That ability to grasp concepts and read
photo by jenny dilworth
keys dates back to Holloman’s days at St. Pius X High School in suburban Atlanta. In addition to playing linebacker, Holloman filled in at option quarterback for half of his junior year after the team’s starter got injured. He finished with nearly 1,000 yards of total offense. As a middle linebacker, Holloman is now the quarterback - or CFO - of the Gamecocks’ new 4-3 defense under co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke. Through the first month of the season, the numbers have hardly been overwhelming: heading into its game against Missouri, South Carolina ranked 114th in the nation in yards per play allowed. Opponents have completed 70.7% of their pass attempts, 120th in the nation. But Holloman remains bullish on his team’s defense, even with the heart of SEC play coming up. Any shortcomings, he
said, aren’t the fault of the scheme, but the players not fulfilling their responsibilities in it. “It was definitely on us – getting out of our gaps, not winning our gaps. It was all on us. The scheme was perfect. We just needed to fit our gaps,” he explained. With October approaching, Holloman knows the grace period for the Gamecocks’ defense is over. The next month of games, all against SEC competition, will likely serve as a referendum on whether the 4-3 scheme was a success. But that time will come soon enough. Speaking after practice recently, Holloman had another task on his mind. “I have a test tomorrow,” the accounting major said, shaking his head and smiling. On Saturday, he’ll try to make the numbers work again.
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October 7, 2015
The view from the Missouri locker room by brian hand Executive Editor
Missouri welcomed South Carolina coming off a loss to Kentucky. The Tigers knew they would have their hands full with the Gamecocks and they were hoping they would be able to get back to their winning ways. They were able to do just that and avoid the two losses in a row with a 24-10 win over South Carolina before a crowd of 66,751 at Memorial Stadium. “Certainly, I’m proud of our football team for battling today,” Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel said after the game. “We came off a tough loss last week at Kentucky. This football team took it to heart and today’s game was really important to them. We played a lot better today as a team then we did a week ago. South Carolina’s a good football team. I’m pleased to come out of today with a victory. I think we’ve become a lot better football team this week. We can build on today and become even better.” In the first-ever game in the history of the SEC between two freshmen starting quarterbacks, Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC) starter Drew Lock looked like a freshman at points. But overall, Pinkel was pleased with his efforts on the day against South Carolina (2-3, 0-3 SEC). “Drew really did some good things for a young player,” Pinkel said. “We were a little conservative (with play calling) in the second half with some of the field position we had and trying to get our running game going. But I thought he really carried himself well. I thought that was
photo by Charles Goodin, courtesy of South Carolina Athletics Media Relations
good. He did a lot of good things and he has a lot of ability.” Lock finished his first career start 21-for-28 overall, throwing for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Nate Brown was the recipient of both of Lock’s touchdown passes on the day and like his head coach he was pleased with how Lock handled himself. “He handles the pressure amazingly,” Brown said. “He’s just poised, as you can see on the field, he wasn’t rattled or anything like that. Having to start, he took it and ran with it. Hats off to him and hats off to his play today and just the type of person he is.” Steve Spurrier agreed with the assessment of Lock after the game as well. “The pass rush we thought we were going to have hasn’t quite been there,” the Head Ball Coach said after the game. “Their guys threw and caught everything pretty much. That kid’s a good passer. We stopped them about five times. We had a lot of chances, but couldn’t get in the game with them.” In a pretty even game in terms of overall yards, Missouri finished with just one more yard of total offense than the Gamecocks at 299-298. At the end of the game, Spurrier knew that meant the story of the game was then the three interceptions thrown by Gamecock starting quarterback and true freshman Lorenzo Nuñez. “Give Missouri credit,” Spurrier said. “They played with no turnovers, we had three big ones. They ran the ball better than us. Give those guys credit.”
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24 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
photo by brian hand
Frank Martin thankful to be a Gamecock by brian hand Executive Editor
men, to build everything around them to help them find success. That’s why I’m so thankful for my job, so thankful for where I’m at,” Martin, who also specifically mentioned the South Carolina men’s basketball head coach Frank Martin hard work and efforts of South Carolina athletics media relafully believes he has the best job in the country. tions and marketing at the event, continued. Martin knows that everything is in place for his program to The fourth-year South Carolina men’s basketball head be successful with the administration at South Carolina. coach knows that Gamecock Country is fully behind his “Our administration is unbelievable,” Martin said. “Their team every time they take the court, which is why he considability to facilitate my job is incredible.” ers it so important to visit with different Gamecock Club This point was further accentuated to Martin shortly after chapters to thank them for their support face-to-face. Ray Tanner took over as athletics director. One of those appearances was at the “It’s Great to be a “I’ll never forget my first meeting with Coach Tanner,” Gamecock” Lexington County Gamecock Club banquet Martin mused after noting that South Carolina senior asfeaturing Martin on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at the Country Club sociate athletics director for development and the Gamecock of Lexington. Club Jeff Crane was in attendance on the evening. “He said, On an evening that featured a buffet as well as a raffle and ‘what is preventing you from doing your job?’ I’d never been a question and answer session, Martin articulated just how asked that before and I said, ‘Coach, I’m not prepared to an- important he considers Gamecock fans everywhere. swer that question. I’m always zoned in on solving problems “I’ve got a lot of respect for the people that are coming in and no one has ever asked me that.’ He said, ‘well, I need our building to support us,” Martin noted. “We have an obliyou to think about that and whatever is going to prevent you gation to play the game a certain way to be thankful for the from doing your job, I need you opportunities that we have because of the sacrifices of the to give it to me that way I can people in the stands.” take that off your plate.’ Martin, who was joined by in his own words “the best “That’s what our administrarecruit I’ve ever made,” in his wife, Anya, at the event is tion is about. It’s about helping obviously extremely excited about the upcoming basketball us do our job, it’s about alseason, relaying that the foundation is there for success and lowing us to go in there every that his team’s “work ethic is great.” single day with a free mind and Martin also pointed out the efforts of his team in all facets with unbelievable enthusiasm and not just on the court. and know that the problems are All Gamecock basketball “Our guys have set program records in the history of our coverage sponsored by school for team GPA for a school year, for a semester and in going to be taking care of and Yesterdays it’s up to us to build our young community service hours,” Martin said. “Those are things
that are very important to us. It’s part of becoming a man. It’s understandinging those responsibilities, not just shooting the ball at the basket, but making sure that everything that you sign up for that you attack it with the same kind of effort. And our guys take on that responsibility in a strong way.” Martin knows though that in addition to their efforts off the court, the Gamecocks are still expected to win and compete in the SEC and nationally. “If that didn’t matter then there wouldn’t be a scoreboard up there,” Martin remarked. “But it does matter and that’s why people spent so much money on such an incredible scoreboard, so it’s our job to make sure that every time we play we got at least one more point than the other number. And we get it. We know what we signed up for.” Gamecock Club executive director Patrick McFarland like all in attendance on the evening could not be more ready for the upcoming basketball campaign. “I think people are ready for basketball season,” McFarland said after the conclusion of the banquet. “Coach Martin did a fantastic job tonight and the Lexington County Gamecock Club in general does an amazing job supporting all of our programs. It’s always a great turnout anytime they host an event and we cannot thank them enough for their support.” After the event concluded, Lexington County Gamecock Club chapter president Steve Gunter was appreciative of a tremendous evening in preparation for the upcoming season. “I really can’t thank all the Gamecock Club members enough for coming,” Gunter said. “This means a lot to me in terms of support and we’re really looking forward to basketball season and the tremendous support that Coach Martin and his team deserve.”
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October 7, 2015
photo by allen sharpe
Gamecocks have given Kirby ‘a lot of entertainment and pleasure over the years’
by kyle heck Reporter
Kirby said. “Even when I lived in Illinois for six years I still maintained my membership and bought tickets and sent them Back in 1943, Anita Kirby decided to en- down here to my sister to give to someone ter the cadet nursing school in Columbia, to enjoy the games.” South Carolina. With World War II ragFor 12-15 years, Kirby and her two ing on outside of the country, the United sisters would go to every football game, States needed as many nurses as it could home and away. It was a wonderful family get to help take care of the soldiers overexperience for the trio. After her sisters seas. Therefore, it was a no-brainer for passed away, Kirby kept up the tradition her. and continues to attend games with her While she was at Columbia Hospital as a son, who is also a huge Gamecocks fan. student nurse, she would sometimes have However, Kirby’s love of South Carolina her classes canceled because the doctors isn’t limited to just football. She loves wanted to go see the Gamecocks play. all the sports and tries to attend as many “I said, ‘what in the heck are the Game- events as possible. cocks?’” Kirby recalls. “We follow them all,” Kirby said. “I’m Curious, Kirby decided to go check those just so proud of the University. You go Gamecocks out and it didn’t take long for and visit other schools and you know what her to see what all the fuss was about. we’ve got here in Columbia. You won’t “I got interested in them that way and find a better atmosphere anywhere.” when I got my first paycheck, I joined the Some of Kirby’s fondest memories Gamecock Club, which was the BAM club of South Carolina athletics include bethen,” Kirby said. ing down on the sideline during football 69 years later, Kirby is still part of the games in case someone was injured durGamecock Club. She, along with other ing the game. She also remembers former loyal supporters of the University, were great Steve Wadiak, a tailback rushed for honored on the field during the football nearly 3,000 yards in his career and held team’s game against Kentucky on Saturthe school record for rushing yards for day, Sept. 12. It was part of a continued nearly three decades. celebration of the 75-year anniversary of “Wadiak, I know everyone knows about the Gamecock Club. Wadiak the Cadillac because he could run Despite being a member of the Gamejust like one,” Kirby said. “I loved to see cock Club for 69 years, Kirby was surhim run down that field.” prised at the honor. For her, being a part of She also remembers the old USC Fieldthe University is second nature. house where the basketball team used to “It has just been a part of my life since play. At 5-foot, 2-inches, Kirby would (school) and I’ve just stayed with them,” have to crane her neck just to see the ac-
tion inside of the packed gym. Three months shy of her 90th birthday, Kirby said she has immensely enjoyed her life following everything involving the
South Carolina Gamecocks. “They have given us a lot of entertainment and pleasure over the years,” Kirby finished.
Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (Act of October 23, 1962; Section 4369, Title 39 United States Code) Spurs and Feathers, 326 Rutland Dr. N.W., Aiken, SC 29801 with the operating and general headquarters at this address makes the following statement of ownership and management: Publisher Aiken CommunicationsEllen Priest, 326 Rutland Drive, NW, Aiken, S.C. 29801 Editor: Brian Hand Owners: Aiken Communications Inc., 326 Rutland Drive, NW, Aiken, S.C. 29801; Evening Post Industries, 134 Columbus Street, Charleston, S.C. 29403-4800 Extent and Nature of Circulation This is to certify that the issue of Spurs and Feathers of September 9, 2015 had the following extent and nature of circulation: Total number of copies (net press run) 4,608 Mail subscriptions 4,364 Total paid circulation 4,408 Office use, left over, unaccounted and spoiled after printing 156 Total pressrun 4,764 I certify the statement made by me above to be correct & complete. Ellen Priest, Publisher AS08-1373170
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October 7, 2015
Smith grateful to be a part of ‘incredible Gamecock fan base’ by kyle heck Reporter
When Joel Smith III was young, his parents would host friends at their house before everyone went to the South Carolina football game. They lived in the Hollywood/Wales Garden area over by Rosewood Drive and could easily walk to the stadium. Before everyone would arrive, Smith would decorate the house with garnet and black streamers as the family prepared for another Gamecock football game. “It was pretty tacky, but they allowed me to do it,” Smith said. “It was my contribution to the effort.” Nearly six decades later, Smith was one of the honorary Legendary Fans of the Game at South Carolina’s game against Kentucky on Sept. 12. It was a special occasion because it was part of a bigger celebration that honored the 75th anniversary of the Gamecock Club. Smith and his family have been Gamecock Club members for the last 59 years. It started with Smith’s father before he himself became a member in 1980. Smith attended graduate school at South Carolina until he joined the military when the Vietnam War started and returned again in 2000 to become Dean of the Business School. No matter where he has been, however, he has always loved the Gamecocks. “I have been sort of a die-hard fan over a long period of time,” Smith said. “It’s humbling and in some ways it’s also very fulfilling to be part of a larger community of people. It’s an incredible fan base that I think we can all be proud of. That part is something that I’m grateful for.” Along with decorating his house, Smith would ride a bike or walk with friends to the stadium, where they would buy tickets in the endzone for 50 cents. One of his earliest memories is a game against LSU, who was then coached by future South Carolina head coach Paul Dietzel. “Me and my friend were sitting in the end zone on the first row and LSU was heavily favored and they came on the field and we watched them warm up and talked about the fact that they don’t look all that big and dangerous compared to our guys,” Smith said. “About 10 minutes passed and then their linemen took the field and it
photo by allen sharpe
became fairly obvious that we were outmanned.” Over the years, Smith has especially enjoyed watching the overall rise of the University and its athletic programs. Over the past decade or so, South Carolina has become one of the elite programs in the country in several sports and that is something that wasn’t the case back when Smith was young. Yet even with all of the adversity faced over the years, the Gamecock fans have
always stood strong. “(Seeing all this success) is probably the most rewarding thing in the world because it’s a long suffering fan base,” Smith said. “It may be one of the most loyal fan bases in America for that reason. We’ve had limited periods of success yet the fan base has never gone away.” Some of Smith’s favorite memories over the years include the men’s basketball team beating Kentucky for the first time at Carolina Coliseum, the College World Se-
ries National Championships by the baseball team and the football team’s win over No. 1 Alabama at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2010. Nowadays, Smith has enjoyed watching head coach Dawn Staley and the women’s basketball team become an elite program. The facility improvements around the area have also been something Smith is very proud of. “It’s pretty impressive what they’ve done,” Smith finished.
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Active Gamecocks program rewards kids for staying fit by brad muller South Carolina Director of Content Sometimes a little motivation can go a long way. With the Active Gamecocks program, youngsters can earn tickets to South Carolina athletics events throughout the year by making a commitment to regular exercise. There are three segments for Active Gamecocks covering the fall, winter and spring seasons. “We designate a two-week period in each season where kids have to be active for 30 minutes per day,” said Josh Waters, Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing. “So for the fall, if they do it, then they earn a ticket for one child and one parent to attend a home volleyball, men’s soccer, or women’s soccer game. We’ll do the same thing for basketball season in the winter, and in the spring for baseball and softball. This has a huge impact on families.” The Active Gamecocks program was created in 2011 and is aimed at children in South Carolina, as well as some areas of North Carolina and Georgia, between kindergarten and fifth grade. The goal is not only to drive attendance to South Carolina home athletics events, but also to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity through regular exercise. “We don’t want the kids to stop being active after the two weeks,” Waters said. “You hope that this helps develop good habits for a lifetime. This is just a reward to show you what being healthy can do. We love creating fans, but we also want to show that being physically active as a child could lead some on to a path of playing sports at a high level.” Since the program’s inception, more than 47,000 children have participated and over 330,000 hours of physical activity has been logged prior to the start of the 201516 academic year. “Every elementary school in the state receives a letter from us,” Waters said. “It’s just a matter of whether they choose to do it or not. For Active Gamecocks, the principal and the P.E. teacher get a letter.” The Active Gamecocks program aims to encourage kids to put down the video games and get outside and play. South
Carolina hopes to make a difference in promoting activities that may not be as common anymore during a typical school day. “As budgets have been cut, P.E. is one of the things that has been cut first,” Waters said. “In a lot of places you may only have P.E. one out of every five days at school. So we hope this can sort of combat that. Our goal is to just keep expanding it. All of the Midlands schools are going to be involved in Active Gamecocks this year. Home-schoolers are a part of it now, and even some after school programs as well.” The expanded reach of the program includes the YMCA. In fact, all of the YMCA’s in the midlands are currently participating in the Active Gamecocks program this year, and all of the other YMCA’s around the state will distribute the information about the program as well. “With six ‘Ys’ operating throughout the Midlands, along with thousands of children participating in out-of-school programs, the YMCA of Columbia has a responsibility to the families and communities it serves to build lifelong habits in youth that create healthy futures,” said Wendy Broderick, YMCA of Columbia’s Chief Development Officer. “Driven by commitment and cause, the YMCA is proud to partner with the University of South Carolina Athletics Department to educate kids about healthy lifestyles, model healthy behaviors and cultivate environments that make it easier for kids to make healthier choices. The Active Gamecocks program is a great way to improve health for youth.” “They are looking to fill time after school,” Waters added. “So why not keep the kids active, and let them earn tickets to South Carolina games?” The key to the program is that the tickets are not simply given away, and that the kids can take pride in having earned the prize through their own hard work by being active every day. “They have to work for it,” Waters said. “Some schools do it as a part of physical education class, which is great. Some say you have to go home and do it. As long as the kids are physically active, we’re game. Every place has a program coordinator for
checks and balances.” The first group of children and their parents were able to take advantage of their reward by attending the South Carolina women’s soccer match on Sunday, August 27, against Alabama. Upcoming contests tied to the Active Gamecocks program
include South Carolina’s volleyball match with Texas A&M on Sunday, October 11, and the men’s soccer match against Coastal Carolina on Saturday, November 7. For more information visit the Active Gamecocks web page at http://www.gamecocksonline.com/activegamecocks.html.
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October 7, 2015
28 • Spurs & Feathers
October 7, 2015
Andre Goodman joins 2015 SEC Legends class South Carolina Athletics media relations
Former gridiron standout Andre Goodman will represent the University of South Carolina as part of the SEC Football Legends class, it was recently announced. The 2015 Football Legends Class includes 14 former stars who excelled on the gridiron and helped write the rich history of the sport at their respective institutions. This year’s class includes All-Americans, All-SEC selections and Academic All-Americans as well as NCAA and SEC record holders. The group represents teams that won National and SEC Championships and are represented in state, school and college football halls of fame. Goodman lettered four years and started two for South Carolina at cornerback from 1997-2001. During his career he totaled 86 tackles with four interceptions and 20 pass deflections (8th in school history). He earned second-team All-SEC honors by the league coaches as a senior and was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1999 as a sophomore. Goodman tied for the team-lead with three interceptions as a senior in 2001. Chosen in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions, he played 10 years in the NFL with Detroit, Miami and Denver and collected 342 tackles, a sack and 19 interceptions. He currently serves as Director of Football Student-Athlete Development at South Carolina. The class will be honored at the 2015 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 4-5 in Atlanta, Ga. The annual SEC Legends Dinner presented by AT&T will be held Dec. 4 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta and the group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at the Georgia Dome on Sat., Dec. 5. Below is a listing of the other 2015 SEC Football Legends: ALABAMA – Woodrow Lowe, Linebacker, 1972-75 ARKANSAS – Madre Hill, Running Back, 1994-95; 1998 AUBURN – Takeo Spikes, Linebacker, 1995-97 FLORIDA – Fred Taylor, Running Back, 1994-97 GEORGIA – Richard Seymour, Defensive Tackle, 1997-2000 KENTUCKY – Dave Roller, Defensive Line, 1968-70 LSU – Alan Faneca, Offensive Guard, 1995-97 OLE MISS – Ken Lucas, Defensive Back, 1997-2000 MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mario Haggan, Linebacker, 1998-2002 MISSOURI – Roger Wehrli, Defensive TENNESSEE – Chuck Smith, Defensive Back, 1966-68 End, 1990-91
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TEXAS A&M – Bubba Bean, Running Back, 1972-75
VANDERBILT – Earl Bennett, Wide Receiver, 2005-07
Spurs & Feathers • 29
October 7, 2015
What will the response be against LSU? After the Georgia game I wrote a column here talking about the team finding their confidence and fighting through the adversity that was in front of them following the loss to the Bulldogs. I thought that some of that may have been found in the win over the Knights two weekends ago and that it could be used this past Saturday against Missouri. It looked at times like the team was trying to make the big play and that Lorenzo Nunez was building upon a solid performance but with the three interceptions it shows he still has a long way to go. Now with top ten opponent LSU coming to town on Saturday and the Gamecocks reeling I am interested to see the attitude of both the players and Bill Gunter the fans. Contributing One thing that Writer has always been counted on from the Gamecock faithful is that they show up and support their program regardless of the situation. Winning can change that a little as expectations and settling for mediocrity can alter what fans want each week. Not that I blame you for being upset, it is fully understood that the program appeared positioned to be a major contender in the SEC for years to come just two season’s ago. Things have taken a strange turn and now instead of being a contender the team is searching for confidence and playmakers that define elite SEC teams. Where did everything go wrong is a common question I receive while doing the radio show or in conversations around town. Again, it is understandable to question the team, the coaches and the direction the program has taken but still the Gamecock fans have always showed up to support their program and the players that give it their all each Saturday. However it is a lot easier today to watch games at home, not spend the money and time associated with traveling to a game than it was 20 years ago. Every game is televised and with televisions having grown bigger and cheaper, nearly everyone has a pretty good view from their home to enjoy the experience. Along with being interested to see the fan turnout and attitude toward the program on Saturday vs. LSU, I will be interested to see the players attitude. In the pre-season when everyone has played the same number of snaps and nobody has experienced a loss
photo by jenny dilworth
or adversity it is easy to talk a big game and remark that people are “sleeping on you,” as was the case for several players in the month of August. Now with adversity firmly entrenched in the Gamecocks locker room, how will they respond against a very good opponent. The easiest thing in life to do when things become tough is to quit. Getting up off the mat and fighting with dignity and courage takes pride and respect in the person you are and the team you are a part of. South Carolina football is at a crossroads five games into the season with a big opponent on deck. Sitting with a record of two wins and three losses is not what the fans and players of Gamecock nation were expecting. How does everyone respond will tell me a great deal about the direction of the
program. Maybe in the off-season there should be a change, that is not for me to decide as there are people that make a great deal more money that are in charge of that. However, this weekend marks the halfway point of the season, there will still be six more games to prepare for regardless of the outcome. I am sure that like me, football season with opportunities to see friends and family and experience good times while watching the Gamecocks play. When things go poorly, the season becomes less enjoyable and Saturday’s a little tougher to enjoy. There are certainly things within the program that need to be addressed at some point and then be fixed. The problem is that it is very difficult to make those adjustments during the month of October and November as
you are basically what you have trained to be. Which brings me back to my point, how will everyone respond come Saturday at noon? This weekend brings an extremely tough opponent that will be a double-digit favorite against the Gamecocks. The fans cannot show up and win the game, they can show up and be supportive and try to will the team on to victory. It will be up to the players to make plays putting them in a position to succeed. My personal opinion is that what happens this coming weekend tells us a lot about the final course of 2015. How invested are the fans to show up and be supportive and what type of fight the team puts up will be telling for how the season finishes out.
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October 7, 2015
Berson makes huge impact on players on and off the field of play by kyle heck Reporter When you are the head coach at a school for nearly four decades, you have the opportunity to touch a lot of lives and make a huge impact. However, it’s how you handle that role and the responsibilities that come with it that decide how much of an impact you make and whether it’s for good or bad. South Carolina head coach Mark Berson has made the most of his opportunities as head coach for the Gamecocks. In the midst of his 38th season as the man in charge, Berson’s influence has reached a lot farther than the city of Columbia. He’s coached not only players that have went on to be Olympic and international stars, but those that have gone on to be doctors, dentists, engineers, musicians and coaches. “He was just focused on making you a better person, a better family member, a better husband and a better friend,” former South Carolina All-American and current Vice President of S&ME Marty Baltzegar said. Berson has also produced some pretty good results on the field as well. He is the current active leader in NCAA Division I in career wins and he has taken the Gamecocks to 20 NCAA Tournaments in his 37 previous seasons. Berson’s 1988 and 1993 teams made it to the Final Four with the 1993 team making it all the way to the National Championship game. He is one of just three coaches in the history of Division I to lead a school to 450 or more wins. In addition, Berson has led the Gamecocks to the 2005 and 2010 Conference USA Tournament titles and the 2011 Conference USA regular-season crown. “I was lucky enough for coach Berson to give me a chance to come play and it just kind of went from there,” former Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and current dentist Greg Reece said. “It’s nice to be able to have a program where you go into it knowing you’re going to have that type of success.” Berson was rewarded for that success this year when he was inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. He joins six of his former players that are already in the Hall of Fame. For some, they say the honor is overdue. For others, they are just excited that Berson gets to enjoy the special recognition. “It’s great that he’s being nominated while he’s still coaching because he can enjoy the honor,” said Baltzegar, who was one of the
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Marty Baltzegar helped to spearhead the effort to have Mark Berson inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. main people pushing for Berson to be inducted. “His record and what he’s done speaks for itself. He’s certainly been great for the University and the athletes, but great for the community too. He’s just such a citizen for our community and a representative of the state, not just the University.” In the fall of 1983, Berson got a look at an unknown walk-on from out of state. He was just a player that really wanted to play soccer and had just moved to South Carolina. However, Berson saw something in the young player and let him join the team. That player was Jim Sonefeld, who went on to have a productive career for the Gamecocks before becoming the lead drummer for the highly-popular Hootie and the Blowfish band. None of that would have been possible without the trust that Berson showed. “I was a long shot in the fall of ‘83 to play for the Gamecocks, but Berson showed a bit of faith in me,” Sonefeld said. “Looking back, I see that he was taking a big chance signing a
walk-on from out of state, somebody he didn’t know much about. Life could’ve looked very different had I not made that team and if he did not take that chance. I’m forever thankful that he did take that chance.” There are a lot of former players that are forever grateful to Berson. Doug Allison is another one. Widely regarded as one of the best players in South Carolina history, Allison had to put a lot of trust in Berson. A native of England, Allison had no idea what he was getting into when he decided to join the Gamecocks, but there was just something that stuck out about the South Carolina coach. “I really didn’t know where I was going at the beginning and for some reason you get the feeling there’s a bit of trust there after Berson talked to my parents and was a calming influence,” Allison said. Allison went on to lead the Gamecocks in goals and points scored all four years of his career and is still the school’s record-holder with 158 career points and 63 goals scored. He
followed in Berson’s footsteps and decided to pursue a coaching career. Allison has been the head coach at Furman for 20 years, leading the Paladins to nine Southern Conference regularseason titles and seven SoCon tournament championships. Allison credits Berson for a lot of the success he’s been able to have and that’s why he, along with Baltzegar, spearheaded the effort to get Berson into the Hall of Fame. On Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, they, along with all of the other former Gamecocks, finally had the chance to see Berson rewarded for touching so many lives. “Honestly, from day one he was just like a father figure to me,” Allison recalls. “In the days when you’re young and in college and think you’re invincible, he just really taught me how to act and made sure I continued to represent my parents the right way. Off the field stuff was just as important as the on the field stuff for him.”
Spurs & Feathers • 31
October 7, 2015
Every week is a new adventure
If there’s one thing predictable about college football, it’s the unpredictability. Every week is a new adventure. Recently Alabama looked pretty average losing to Ole Miss. This week, the Tide went into Athens, and destroyed Georgia, who two weeks earlier on the same field looked like a national contender. Meanwhile, Mississippi sporting a new #3 ranking in the polls went into the Swamp and bogged down against the Gators. So it goes in college football in the SEC. That is what makes the sport fun to watch and be a fan. You never know what you might get from week to week. Unfortunately, that is about all Gamecock fans having to hang their hat on after five games into the season: the idea of maybe next week. South Carolina went into Columbia, Missouri against a very beatable Tiger football team. The beatable team on Saturday was USC. It is shaping up to be a long season. A 0-3-conference start was not the plan, but that is what Carolina has to look at in the mirror. The last time South Carolina was 0-3 in conference was 2005, which was Coach Spurrier’s first season. That was a different feel at that point of the season in 2005. Earlier in the year, USC had lost 17-15 at Georgia who was ranked in the Top 10. The next two SEC games were blowouts to Alabama and Auburn, but the team would go on to win five straight in the SEC and set a foundation for what was to come. There was plenty of excitement in Columbia, S.C. The time before that was 1999. That was Lou Holtz’s first season and the team would go winless. There were some close games along the way and in the end, the fans looked forward to the future which would payoff the following two seasons. This season is shaping up to be more like 1998. That team did win their first game of the season out of conference, but went winless in SEC games, the first time that had happened for-53. It would be difficult to do that in pracsince joining the conference. tice doing full speed drills. Granted the yardThe reality is South Carolina age is not that impressive, but will have to play a lot better to teams are dinking us to death. win a SEC game this year. Yes, On top of that, teams are rusheven Vanderbilt looks like a ing well. Missouri totaled 163 tough out at this point. yards in rushing and seemed to Saturday’s effort was an ofalways get the necessary yards fense, defense combination. The on third down when everyone defense continues to struggle. in the stadium knew a run was Though giving up just less than coming. 300 yards, the defense made There were some signs of getanother quarterback look pretty ting better, but coming up with good. big plays just wasn’t part of the Ed Girardeau In the last two SEC games day. Contributing (Georgia and Missouri), the Meanwhile on offense, the Editor quarterbacks are a combined 45growing pains of playing a true
photo by Charles Goodin, South Carolina Athletics Media Relations
freshman quarterback were everywhere. Three interceptions sealed USC’s fate and just as the week before there could have been more. The one touchdown was a sure interception, which bounced off the defender to Shon Carson for a lucky score. That’s not to say Lorenzo Nunez isn’t going to be good. He will be great before he is done. He led the team in rushing and passed for 172 yards. At times he appears to be brilliant. He will learn not to throw into coverage. It’s tough to learn on the job, but he will get there. Pharoh Cooper had another good day with nine receptions and 102 yards. Skai Moore had 12 tackles. It’s not that USC is without good players. They just need more. It’s time for some of the younger players to step up and contribute
in a bigger way. The coaches will need to find the right players and get them on the field and inspire them to play up to their abilities. LSU will come in and may very well be the best team in the SEC. They will be ranked in the Top 10 and feature one of the finest football players in the country in Leonard Fournette, who is averaging over 200 yards rushing per game. It’s an opportunity. An opportunity for fans to come out and see a future star, but better yet, an opportunity to get in on the fun of winning a game which no one will give us a chance. It may seem remote, but there’s always a chance. Look forward to seeing you at Williams-Brice on Saturday.
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October 7, 2015
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