september 23, 2015 • Volume 37 • Issue 16 • $1.50
Nunez shines in first extended action with the Gamecocks Gamecocks look to get back to winning ways against UCF
Spurs & Feathers • 2
September 23, 2015
Spurs & Feathers Published by Aiken Communications, Inc.
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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 Juan Blas) 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.
Lexington County Gamecock Club Frank Martin Banquet WHEN: Tuesday, September 29 WHERE: Country Club of Lexington START TIME: 5:30 p.m. BUFFET OPENS: 6:15 p.m. INTRO OF SPEAKERS: 7:00 p.m. Table and Ticket prices: Head Coach Table (Frank Martin) $500 (Sold) (1 Drink Ticket per Person) Asst. Coaches Tables (4 tables) $350 (These Tables are located on Front Row) Reserved Tables (8 tables) $300 (These tables located behind Front Row) Individual Tickets $30 Eventbrite (Tickets online) www.eventbrite.com Any questions, please call 803-608-2538
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. 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.
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Spurs & Feathers • 3
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4 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
Nunez shines in first extended action with Gamecocks by kyle heck Reporter
a seven-yard touchdown run that cut Georgia’s lead to 45-20. “Yeah I felt comfortable out there,” After playing sparingly against KenNunez said. “I was just trying to do my tucky last week when starter Connor job.” Mitch went down, freshman quarterback After leading the Gamecocks down the Lorenzo Nunez impressed in his first field, Nunez wasn’t able to think about his extended action at Georgia on Saturday, first touchdown too much. Sept. 19. “I was really tired so I wasn’t really Nunez completed 4-of-5 passes for 18 thinking about that at the moment,” Nunez yards and rushed 10 times for a team-high said. 76 yards and a touchdown. While Nunez did most of his damage on Nunez’s first career touchdown came the ground, he said he would be comfortearly in the fourth quarter. With the able throwing the ball around more if head Gamecocks near midfield, Nunez picked coach Steve Spurrier wanted him to. up 17 yards on the ground The native of Kennasaw, to set up South Carolina. Georgia said he felt comA personal foul penalty fortable out on the field then moved the ball to and has grown used to the the Georgia 14-yard line. physicality of college footLorenzo Nunez Nunez then picked up seven ball. He showed incredible KeenanSuggs more on the ground before poise as a true freshman in Player of the Week capping off the drive with a hostile environment.
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Since the beginning of fall practice, Nunez said he has also gotten more of the playbook under his belt, which will only help him in the future. “It’s gone really well,” Nunez said. “I’ve been working with the coaches to try and learn as much as I can.” Spurrier said the Gamecocks will continue to try and work out the quarterback rotation between Nunez and Perry Orth. “We’ll do what we need to do,” Spurrier said. Both Orth and Nunez said they’re willing to do whatever it takes to help the team. Nunez and the Gamecocks return to action on Saturday, Sept. 26 when they take on UCF at Williams-Brice Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon and can be seen nationally on ESPNU.
Spurs & Feathers • 5
September 23, 2015
The view from the Georgia locker room
by brian hand Executive Editor
photo by juan blas
Had a lot of open receivers and they caught everything. Give them credit, they caught everything.” The Georgia defense limited South Carolina to 258 yards total and just 16 first downs in the game. Georgia senior linebacker Jordan Jenkins said that was due to their intensity and overall understanding of what the Gamecocks were bringing to the table in the game. “I feel like we hustled and we went and made plays,” Jenkins remarked. “We were not going to let their guys catch the ball. I feel like we need to be more complete and we will keep working.”
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Georgia head coach Mark Richt knows that usually when South Carolina and Georgia face off it’s a tight affair that had gone the Gamecocks way in four out of the last five meetings entering this year’s game. This year’s game was completely different though and for that Richt was thankful. “It was a great victory, no doubt,” Richt said after Georgia’s 52-20 win over the Gamecocks. “Anytime you win, it’s a great thing. And to win in the East is super. So many years we’ve started out in a hole in the East hoping somebody would relent to give us an opportunity. We’re thankful to be in the position we’re in right now.” The story of the game for Georgia (3-0, 2-0 SEC) was junior-transfer quarterback Greyson Lambert, who set an NCAA accuracy record with a 96 percent completion rate in the game by going 24-of-25 in the game with a total of 330 yards passing and three touchdowns. He connected on his last 20 pass attempts in the contest. “Can you believe that guy had an incompletion? What’s wrong with him?,” Richt joked after the game. “It was one of those days where you just leave him alone. We had a plan again to get Brice (Ramsey) in the game, but after three series, we said, ‘let’s just keep playing.’ We were good offensively and Lambert was just so hot.” The Virginia transfer said the new record was more about those around than what he did in the game. “It feels great,” Lambert noted. “We kind of just got going pretty quickly and I got going with three-straight passes. Everybody did their role and we were able to get great execution as a team.” Even the Head Ball Coach was impressed. “That’s pretty good,” South Carolina (1-2, 0-2 SEC) head football coach Steve Spurrier said after the game. “Record-breaking day for Georgia, not for us. Kid played well.
6 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
South Carolina falls at Georgia
by kyle heck Reporter
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia used a big second and third quarter to defeat South Carolina, 52-20, on Saturday, Sept. 19. The win was just the Bulldogs’ second against South Carolina in the last six meetings. However, it was obviously a tough loss for the Gamecocks (1-2, 0-2 SEC) after fighting to make it a game late in the first half. Georgia (3-0, 2-0 SEC) scored two quick touchdowns at the start of the third quarter to pull away from South Carolina. Overall, the Bulldogs outscored the Gamecocks, 42-10, in the second and third quarters and that proved to be the difference. “They totally dominated us tonight, there’s no question about it,” head coach Steve Spurrier said. “Their offense was really good. We didn’t throw the ball very well and didn’t run it very well.” After stopping the Gamecocks at their 40-yard line on the first drive of the game, Georgia started its own drive from the 17-yard line. After cruising into the red zone on seven plays, the South Carolina defense made a stand and the Bulldogs were held to a 30-yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. Starting quarterback Perry Orth and the Gamecocks tied things up on the very next drive. The former walk-on completed 4-of-7 passes for 37 yards on the drive and Elliott Fry nailed a 45-yard field goal to make it 3-3 with a little less than two minutes to go in the first quarter. The field goal completed a 13-play, 48-yard drive that took 5:40 off of the clock. The Bulldogs responded to the Fry field goal with a nine-play, 82-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by tailback Nick Chubb that put Georgia on top 10-3 with 12:56 left in the first half. After forcing the Gamecocks to punt again on their next drive, the Bulldogs were able to strike again. A balanced rushing attack from Chubb and Sony Michel led Georgia into South Carolina territory and Michel capped off a seven-play, 88-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown run that extended Georgia’s lead to 17-3 with 7:37 left in the first half. True freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez then entered the game and helped spark an answer on the Gamecocks’ next drive. He came in for the first five plays of the drive and led South Carolina to the Georgia 22-yard line. Orth came back in after that and on a third and six, he found tight end Jerell Adams, who muscled his way down to the eight-yard line for a first and goal. Two plays later, Orth ran around
photo by juan blas
Running back Brandon Wilds was injured in the second quarter of the loss to Georgia. His bruised rib kept him out for the rest of the game. the left side for a four-yard touchdown that trimmed the Georgia lead to 17-10 with a little over two minutes remaining in the half. The touchdown run completed a nineplay, 72-yard drive that took 5:13 off the clock. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, Georgia was able to answer with another touchdown just before halftime. Quarterback Greyson Lambert led the Bulldogs down the field and found wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell for a five-yard touchdown that let Georgia reclaim a 14-point lead at 24-10. In a wild end to the first half, the Gamecocks were able to tack on a field goal thanks to a great kick return by Shon Carson. The senior found an edge and raced out to midfield and a 15-yard penalty by the Bulldogs set the Gamecocks up at the Georgia 33-yard line. On the final play of the half, Fry split the uprights on a career-long
51-yard field goal that cut the Bulldogs lead to 24-13 at halftime. That field goal was the longest by a Gamecock since Adam Yates hit a 51-yarder at Florida on Oct. 20, 2012. Georgia received the ball to begin the second half and zipped down the field to extend its lead. The Bulldogs used five plays to go 75 yards in just 1:45 and Michel caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Lambert to make it 31-13 Bulldogs. On the ensuing drive, Orth threw an interception to Georgia’s Dominick Sanders, who returned it to the Gamecocks 11-yard line. One play later, Michel caught another 11-yard touchdown pass and the Bulldogs took a 38-13 lead. Chubb added another rushing touchdown later in the third quarter to extend Georgia’s lead to 45-13. Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, Nunez continued his solid play with a seven-yard touchdown run that
trimmed the deficit to 45-20. The Bulldogs would score their final touchdown of the game midway through the fourth when tailback Keith Marshall plunged into the endzone from three yards out to make it 52-20. Georgia ended the night with a 576-258 advantage in total yards and Lambert set an NCAA record for completion percentage as he went 24-of-25 for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Chubb led the Bulldog rushing attack with 159 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. For the Gamecocks, Orth completed 6-of17 passes for 66 yards and an interception while Nunez connected on 4-of-5 attempts for 18 yards. The freshman also led South Carolina with 76 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Carson had a great night returning kicks as he garnered 162 yards on six returns, an average of 27 yards per return.
September 23, 2015
Spurs & Feathers • 7
Previewing the UCF football team by kyle heck Reporter Two years ago, South Carolina rolled into Orlando, Florida to play Central Florida. Down 10-0 at halftime, the Gamecocks roared back in the second half and ended up holding off the Knights, 28-25. That proved to be UCF’s only loss of the season as the Knights went on to win a program-record 12 games and defeat Baylor in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. This season, the Knights will visit Williams-Brice Stadium with a much different team. The biggest absence is quarterback Blake Bortles, who was the third overall pick in the NFL Draft after the memorable 2013 season. Also gone is star wide receiver Breshad Perriman and tailback Storm Johnson. This year, the Knights are still trying to find a new identity on offense, particularly up front with the offensive line. During the first two games of the season alone, UCF started eight different linemen. Only left tackle Aaron Evans started at the same position in both of those games. The Knights are also expected to be without starting quarterback Justin Holman when they visit Columbia after he injured his throwing hand in the loss at Stanford. Redshirt freshman Tyler Harris and true freshman Bo Schneider will likely both play against the Gamecocks. Despite the issues surrounding the UCF offense, the Gamecocks know they have to be wary of the Knights. They know they don’t get the chance to play in an SEC stadium often so they’ll be doing everything they can to defeat the Gamecocks. This UCF team also has recent experience in a bigtime atmosphere, having played at Stanford in the second game of the season. In addition, despite the early struggles this year, UCF is the two-time defending American Athletic Conference champions and they have a proven performer at tailback. Junior William Stanback is a 228-pound bruiser who is coming off of a first-team All-AAC season in 2014. Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Akins has also been a stud so far during the young season and will be a big help to the young quarterbacks. On the UCF defense, there has also been a lot of turnover. In all, nearly a dozen Knights have made their first appearance for the team during the first two games of this year. However, there are a couple of potential game-changers on that side of the ball. Fifth-year senior defensive end Thomas Niles has 16.5 career sacks and is on a couple of postseason award watch lists. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Chequan Burkett is one of the leaders on the defense after an impressive freshman year that included 40 tackles, five of them for loss. This will be UCF’s first trip to Columbia since the first game of the Steve Spurrier era in 2005. ESPN’s College Gameday was in town for the debut and the Gamecocks edged the Knights by a 24-15 score. In four meetings with UCF, South Carolina is undefeated, although just one of those wins have been by doubledigits.
photo by allen sharpe
8 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
Border Bash celebrates rivalry, raises money for local charities by brian hand Executive Editor
Not easily impressed, Langston Moore was nevertheless amazed. Obviously the former Gamecock football great has seen many sides of the South Carolina-Georgia rivalry as a player and now as a sideline reporter for The Gamecock Sports Network from IMG College, but he never imagined such great events like the Border Bash took place the night before the Gamecocks played. “It’s awesome,” Moore said of the 2015 Border Bash at the Augusta Golf & Gardens. “It’s crazy because as a player you never think cool stuff like this is happening the night before as you’re always in the hotel room and it’s quiet and just to feel all of the energy and the anticipation for the game it feels good. It’s cool to have it in such a unique place right on the border (of South Carolina and Georgia). It’s a very special event.” This year’s Border Bash was the 22nd edition of the event held the night before the annual rivalry showdown between the two schools in downtown Augusta, Georgia. The best part about all of it is that it’s all done for a great cause. In fact, the Border Bash Foundation has contributed over $800,000 to CSRA children’s charities and clubs over the first 21 years of the event. “Our whole thing is raising money for charity and that’s in the back of my mind most of the time,” Augusta Gamecock Club chapter president Tom Rogers recently told Spurs & Feathers. “It’s raising money for charities. Local children’s charities is what we give the money out to every year. We had over 20 local charities that we gave money to last December. And that’s really the fun part. All the hard work that we’ve done, that’s what gives us a warm feeling in our heart when people smile when they get a check from the Border Bash Foundation.” In addition, the Augusta Gamecock Club has also made sure to give back a significant amount to Gamecock athletics as well through their efforts at the event. “We’ve given back to the University of South Carolina over $28,000 to mainly our chapter adopted programs (cheerleaders and the men’s golf team),” Rogers relayed. “We also have given some money to the soccer team before and the equestrian team. We hope after this year we’ll be up over
photo by brian hand
$30,000 given back to the University.” Gamecock Club executive director Patrick McFarland is extremely thankful for the tremendous event that is the Border Bash and in general just the hard work and efforts of the Augusta Gamecock Club chapter. “We really appreciate the efforts that the Augusta Gamecock Club does to support our student-athletes and promote Gamecock athletics in the state of Georgia,” McFarland noted. “This is always a first-class event.” Over the course of the evening both the South Carolina and Georgia cheerleaders performed for those in attendance with the Gamecock cheerleaders even visiting a local children’s hospital in the CSRA earlier
that day. Cocky and Georgia’s Hairy Dawg were also at the Border Bash taking pictures and interacting with fans. Moore was not the only former Gamecock great in attendance as Heisman winner George Rogers was at this year’s Border Bash as well as former Gamecock standout Ryan Brewer. South Carolina alum and fan favorite Patrick Davis also performed at this year’s Border Bash along with numerous other bands such as the Joe Stevenson Band, who served as the headlining act. Local television personality Brendan Robertson of NBC-26 in Augusta always loves attending the annual Border Bash because it’s two fan bases rooting hard for their teams, but also helping out such a
great cause. “I think it’s a healthy rivalry,” the NBC26 sports director said. “It’s one that you want to be a part of and you like the two sides caring as much as they do care. It matters so much to the fans and it always seems to matter in the race for the SEC East. I love how it’s near the beginning of the football season and it sort of sets the tone for SEC games for the rest of the games for both schools after that.” Rogers was overall extremely pleased with another successful Border Bash. “This was a big night,” Rogers concluded. “We’ve had some big nights in the past, but this is definitely a big night with the beautiful weather and the great turnout we had tonight.”
Spurs & Feathers • 9
September 23, 2015
Holbrook: ‘I expect nothing less than to be among the nation’s elite’ by brian hand Executive Editor It’s no secret that South Carolina is one of the elite college baseball programs in the country. South Carolina expects to win and win big and the Gamecocks feel like they should be competing for SEC championships and the College World Series every season. In this regard, last year was not what the Gamecocks were looking for as South Carolina missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. South Carolina head baseball coach Chad Holbrook fully comprehends the expectations for the Gamecocks and he believes this year he has a team that on paper has the ability to be thought about in this way even with lots of new faces on the roster. “It’s a new team,” Holbrook said at a prefall practice press conference on Thursday, Sept. 17. “Our expectations are very high even though we have new players. I told the guys yesterday (Wednesday, Sept. 16) - and I fully believe this - that I expect nothing less than to be among the nation’s elite come the end of our season. We certainly have the ability, the toughness, the mentality to be there, to be one of the last teams standing at the end. That’s what I expect and I think our players expect that as well.” athleticism in the outfield. I’m very anxious to To this end, the Gamecocks are not going to see our catchers behind the plate. I think that focus much on last year’s 32-25 finish in their was an area that needed to be improved upon efforts to get back to where they believe they from last year. And I think it has a chance to belong in the 2016 season. be a strength of our team. (Sophomore) John “Obviously last year was a very disappointing Jones is a newcomer from junior college down season for us,” Holbrook stated. “And we’re not in Florida and he’s a really, really good hitter. going to harp on last year around this stadium (Sophomore) Hunter Taylor’s much, much immuch, but we’re not going to forget about it proved and (freshman) Chris Cullen has a lot of either. We’re going to work extremely hard to talent and a lot of abilities. It will be interesting make sure that doesn’t ever happen again. And to see that battle kind of unfold.” we’re looking forward to having a good and One of the areas that Holbrook and associate productive fall.” head coach Jerry Meyers will particularly be The Gamecocks commenced their fall scrim- paying attention to during the fall practices is mages the weekend of Sept. 18-20 and Holpitching. brook had some things that he planned to focus “It’s a long year,” Holbrook mentioned. “The in on as the scrimmages got underway. journey’s just now starting, but I can certainly “There’s a lot of things to see and to evalusense a sense of urgency among our players. ate,” Holbrook noted. “There’s There’s a lot that we’re going a lot of roles (up for grabs). to have to see this fall. PitchI love the athleticism of our ing roles are going to have to outfielders. I look forward to develop. (Junior) Wil Crowe watching those guys play. We probably won’t be with us this can put three outfielders out year. We’ll probably redshirt there that all run 6.6 60s or him due to his injury (torn All Gamecock baseball under - that’s probably equivaulnar collateral ligament) last coverage sponsored by lent to a 4.4 40-yard dash - so year. Who’s going to be a DiPrato’s we’re going to have some weekend starter, how are we
photo by allen sharpe
going to set up our bullpen? All those things have to be determined as we go through the fall practice. And even in January. I do like the arm strength of our team. I like our ability level. And there’s a number of guys that won’t be with us this fall, so I won’t know the whole dynamics of our team through the fall practice, but there’s going to be a lot of opportunity for young guys to kind of cement their place as we go into January.” In addition to probably redshirting Crowe, South Carolina will also be without junior outfielder Gene Cone (surgery on his right thumb to repair a torn ligament), junior right-handed pitcher Taylor Widener (ulna nerve transportation surgery on throwing arm) and Cullen (ulna nerve transportation surgery on throwing arm) this fall. All three are expected to be fully recovered by the start of practice in January of 2016. In general, Holbrook likes what he has seen so far though as he really believes on the whole his players have worked hard with their strength and conditioning efforts. “I like the look of our players,” Holbrook said. “Some of our players have changed their bodies and worked really hard with Coach (Billy) Anderson in the weight room. I think they’re
taking care of their bodies much better when they’re away from the baseball stadium maybe than they have done in the past. I like the commitment level of where they are right now.” One area that Holbrook is really pleased with early in preseason preparations is in the leadership department. “I think we’re going to have some great leadership on this year’s team,” Holbrook remarked. “It’s easy to say that right now in September, but sometimes you get a feel for some things in the way that you watch them work, in the way that you watch them work on their own in the conditioning drills, the weight room and thus far they’ve kind of surpassed my expectations in regards to those things, which I can only take as a good sign.” Sophomore right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt knows that a lot is up in the air right now in the Gamecocks’ efforts to get back among the nation’s elite, but he is looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds. “Competition breeds excellence I guess you could say … it brings in a new atmosphere, it kind of adds to the motivation if everybody is fighting for a job,” Schmidt said. “Nothing’s secured, so I think it will be good. I think it will be a lot of fun. I’m just really excited.”
10 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
photo by juan blas
Gamecocks need to be coached up, make progress against UCF Several fans asked me what kind of positive for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver spin I was going to put on the Georgia game Malcomb Mitchell caught eight passes for 122 if things didn’t go well for the Gamecocks? I yards and a TD. Georgia’s first punt didn’t come thought about it all the way home from Athens until 2:05 left in the game. – I got nothing., Believe it or not, there were a few positives. Over the years I have been The special teams have been guilty of over-rating the potential consistent through the first three of a Carolina team, and I cergames and were very good tainly have to “eat crow” over my against UGA. The Bulldogs comments about the defense. I longest punt return was 15 yards said the unit “would be not one, and longest kickoff return was 18 but two notches better.” I was yards, while USC’s Shon Carson wrong. Dead wrong. returned six kickoffs for 162 What are the statistics that yards. prove it? Bulldog quarterback Sean Kelly punted four times Greyson Lambert was 24-for-25 for a 40.8-yard average. Two of (an NCAA record for complehis kicks were downed inside the tion percentage) in the air for 330 40. Field goal kicker Elliott Fry Glenn Snyder yards and three touchdowns, and proved why he’s one of the best in Inside Nick Chubb carried 21 times the country with a 45-yarder and Look
a 51-yarder with no time on the clock to end the first half. I think the offensive line has done a commendable job throughout the first three games. The Bulldogs defensive strategy was simple. They were going to make Perry Orth beat them with his arm, so it was five trying to block eight, with an occasional blitz thrown in, but Orth was sacked just once. Freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez averaged 7.6 yards per rush, Pharoh Cooper 6.8 and Brandon Wilds 4.8. With Orth just 6-of-17, the Gamecocks had just 84 yards through the air, but Deebo Samuel caught two balls and Nunez connected with Matrick Belton four times. The bottom line here is, as it always has been, that players win games, and Georgia certainly had the lion’s share of it on the field Saturday. Three years ago I was proud to write that I thought while I could never imagine it, Carolina
had equal or better talent than UGA, which the Cocks proved by winning three straight (2010, 11, 12). That advantage, however, can disappear in a blink of the eye. Coach Steve Spurrier’s comment that, “we’ve missed on a few” was painfully evident against the Dawgs. The only answer is to coach up the players we do have, and pray they continue to get better. All those statements I made last week about the character and togetherness of the Gamecock team will certainly be tested moving forward. Next is a UCF team that has always played USC tough, as the 28-25 escape in 2013 will attest. Getting back to that talent thing, Carolina should have more of it than UCF, and this is an opportunity to even the record to 2-2, make some progress and go from there. It’s a great time to be a Gamecock!
Spurs & Feathers • 11
September 23, 2015
South Carolina/Georgia postgame notes and quotes
south carolina athletics media relations GENERAL NOTES
• South Carolina fell, 52-20, to Georgia at Sanford Stadium. The Gamecocks are now 1-2 on the year and 0-2 in SEC play with Georgia now 3-0 and 1-0 in league play. • Captains for South Carolina for the game were: junior linebacker Skai Moore, junior quarterback Perry Orth, senior free safety Isaiah Johnson and senior tight end Jerell Adams. OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Perry Orth’s 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was his first career touchdown run. • Lorenzo Nunez’s 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was his first career touchdown run. Nunez rushed 10 times for a career-high 76 yards. He also went 4-for-5 in the air for 18 yards. His 14-yard completion to Matrick Belton was his first career completion as well. DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Junior linebacker Skai Moore led the Gamecocks with 12 tackles for the evening, tying a career-high he set last year at Florida. Moore has been the leading tackler for the Gamecocks in two of the first three games played. • Senior defensive tackle Phillip Dukes recovered a fumble in the third quarter. Dukes now has two career fumble recoveries. SPECIAL TEAM NOTES
• Junior placekicker Elliott Fry’s 51-yard field goal in the second quarter was the longest of his career and the longest by a Gamecock since Adam Yates’ 51-yard field goal at Florida on October 20, 2012. It ties for the ninth-longest field goal in Gamecock history. Fry also connected on a 45-yard field goal in the first quarter. He has 39 in his career and is tied for third-most in school history with Mark Fleetwood (1981-83) and Reed Morton (1993-96). • Shon Carson’s 51-yard kickoff return near the end of the second quarter marked the longest kickoff return by Carson in his career. His previous long was 42 yards vs. Georgia on Sept. 13, 2014.
South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier Opening statement “They totally dominated us tonight. Their offense was very good. We weren’t very good on defense or on offense really. We didn’t throw the ball very well, we didn’t run the ball very well. We got clobbered.”
On the Gamecocks’ performance in the game “We’ll know how we played as the year progresses. Obviously it was a tough defensive game, although they only got 20 in the second half. That’s all they got. So we slowed them down occasionally.” Co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke On Lambert’s performance “Give him credit. He made the plays he needed to make.
photo by juan blas
I’m disappointed we did not make the plays, that’s what disappointed me the most. I thought we’d compete a little bit better, but we did not.” South Carolina junior quarterback Perry Orth On his first career start “It was great. It was a dream come true. I will remember it for the rest of my life. It wasn’t the outcome that I wanted, but we’ll get back to it on Monday.” On keeping up with Georgia’s offense “Yeah it is tough, but we can’t control what the other offense does. We have to worry about ourselves and execute.” South Carolina senior safety Isaiah Johnson On the outcome “The outcome was more shocking. The whole previous week we practiced hard and we felt we could beat this team, but we just fell short.” On the team’s mood “We’re not worried about this game. We are already looking forward to next week against UCF.” Category SC GA 1st Downs 16 32 Total Yards 258 576
Passing 84 Rushing Penalties-Yards 3rd Down Conversions 4th Down Conversions Turnovers Time of Possession Passing Leaders South Carolina COM Orth 6 Nunez 4 Georgia COM Lambert 24 Rushing Leaders South Carolina CAR Nunez 10 Cooper 5 Georgia CAR Chubb 21 Michel 8 Receiving Leaders South Carolina REC Belton 4 Samuel 2 Georgia REC Mitchell 8 Davis 3
330 174 4-40 4-14 1-2 1 30:38
246 7-74 1-4 0-0 1 29:22
ATT 17 5 ATT 25
YDS 66 18 YDS 330
TD 0 0 TD 3
INT 1 0 INT 0
YDS 76 34 YDS 159 51
AVG 7.6 6.8 AVG 7.6 6.4
TD 1 0 TD 2 1
LG 17 13 LG 31 21
YDS 18 20 YDS 122 52
AVG 4.5 10.0 AVG 15.3 17.3
TD 0 0 TD 1 0
LG 14 14 LG 25 28
12 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
South Carolina Gamecocks
2015
09/03/15...........vs. North Carolina ............... Charlotte, N.C......................W, 17-13 09/12/15...........vs. Kentucky # ....................... Columbia, S.C....................... L, 26-22 09/19/15...........at Georgia # ........................... Athens, Ga............................. L, 52-20 09/26/15...........vs. UCF...................................... Columbia, S.C.....................12:00 PM 10/03/15...........at Missouri #........................... Columbia, Mo...............................TBA 10/10/15...........vs. LSU #................................... Columbia, S.C...............................TBA 10/17/15...........vs. Vanderbilt #...................... Columbia, S.C...............................TBA 10/31/15...........at Texas A&M #...................... College Station, Texas...............TBA 11/07/15...........at Tennessee #....................... Knoxville, Tenn.............................TBA 11/14/15...........vs. Florida #............................. Columbia, S.C...............................TBA 11/21/15...........vs. The Citadel....................... Columbia, S.C...............................TBA 11/28/15...........vs. Clemson............................ Columbia, S.C...............................TBA
CONFERENCE OVERALL
SEC East
W-L PF
PA W-L PF PA STRK
Georgia
2-0 83
34 3-0 134 48 W3
Florida
1-0 14
9 3-0 106 46 W3
Kentucky
1-1 35
36 2-1 75 69 L1
Missouri
0-0 0
0 3-0 70 29 W3
Tennessee
0-0 0
0 2-1 138 71 W1
Vanderbilt
0-1 14
31 1-2 73 52 W1
South Carolina
0-2 42
78 1-2 59 91 L2
SEC West
W-L PF
PA W-L PF PA STRK
LSU
2-0 66
40 2-0 66 40 W2
Ole Miss
1-0 43
37 3-0 192 61 W3
Texas A&M
0-0 0
0 3-0 138 67 W3
Arkansas
0-0 0
0 1-2 84 64 L2
Alabama
0-1 37
43 2-1 109 70
Auburn
0-1 21
45 2-1 79 89 L1
Mississippi State
0-1 19
21 2-1 115 50 W1
L1
AS14-1360861
football Schedule
Standings
Spurs & Feathers • 13
September 23, 2015
South Carolina Gamecocks
Recruiting Round-up OL Pete Leota (6-5 307) of Asheville, NC last Thursday announced a commitment to South Carolina in a gathering of teammates and friends at his high school football field. Leota chose the Gamecocks over Virginia Tech. He visited both schools for their home openers to give each one last look after checking both out during the summer and earlier this week reached the conclusion he wanted a shot to play with the Gamecocks in the SEC. “It’s because it’s in the SEC,” Leota said. “Because of the coaches. I felt at home when I was down there. I loved the whole vibe of the campus and I really like Coach Elliott. Phil Kornblut He’s been an awesome Contributing recruiter throughout Writer this process, and also coach Deke Adams has always been consistent throughout this process staying in contact with me and having me call him. I just loved their whole program and what they have to offer. They also have some great food.” Leota also had offers from North Carolina, Virginia, Boston College, Wake Forest and East Carolina. He plays offensive tackle and and is considered to be an aggressive lineman who finishes every block. Leota is USC’s 16th commitment for the 2016 class and the fourth offensive lineman. Richland Northeast LB TJ Brunson planned to commit to USC in March but the Gamecocks told him before they could accept a pledge they wanted to see him in action this season because he was coming off of hip surgery. Apparently the Gamecocks have seen enough to be convinced Brunson is fully healthy and worthy of a committable offer. Brunson said he has been informed by Gamecock linebackers coach Kirk Botkin that he is now a take. “Coach Botkin says that he really wants to coach me and I would be outstand-
By Phil Kornblut
ing in their scheme,” said Brunson. Asked if Botkin told him the Gamecocks are ready to accept a commitment from him, Brunson responded, “Yes sir.” The problem for the Gamecocks is Brunson currently is committed to Louisville. Asked if he’s ready to flip to USC, Brunson said, “Not at all. I’m going to enjoy the process and take my unofficials/ officials and see as many places as possible.” Brunson said USC, Louisville and Georgia Southern are three places he wants to visit this fall. He’s looking at an official visit to Louisville November 14th. He made an unofficial visit to Notre Dame earlier this month. Brunson is happy to have the hometown team back as an option but he’s not going to rush a decision in any direction, be that sticking with his Louisville commitment, which he called a seven on a ten scale, or leaping at the chance to play for the Gamecocks. “I never really cut them out,” he said of the Gamecocks. “I’m just waiting to see how everything plays out since I know more schools are coming this season.” OL John Simpson of Fort Dorchester was at USC last Saturday night and the only other game day visit he has in mind right now is when Notre Dame plays at Clemson. USC and Clemson are two of seven schools Simpson is still considering. The others are Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Florida and Alabama and feels Tennessee has been recruiting him the hardest based on the number of conversations he’s had with the Vols. Simpson said he plans to take all five official visits and right now he’ll make a decision before he plays in the Army All American Game. He’s undecided on the official visits but said the two he doesn’t visit officially will still be under consideration. Simpson said he doesn’t have a favorite at this point. USC target WR Kelvin Harmon of Palmyra, NJ made his official visit to NC State over the past weekend. He is scheduled to visit USC September 26th. He’s also considering Rutgers, North Carolina, West Virginia and Temple.
RB Stephen Davis Jr. of Dutch Fork recently decommitted from Auburn and he was at USC Saturday night. He is down to USC, Clemson, Georgia, Florida and Auburn. He plans to take his five official visits before making a final decision. 2017 QB Jake Fromm of Warner Robins, GA took in USC’s game last Saturday night. He also visited USC in the spring. He’s also looking hard at Ole Miss and Alabama. LB Vosean Joseph of Miami has had USC and Florida down for official visits for October 10th and November 28th respectively. He now has decided on West Virginia, South Florida and Louisville for his other three visits. He is a Florida commitment. USC target Jachai Polite of Daytona Beach picked up offers from Georgia Tech and Auburn. 2017 ATH Tancey Richardson of South Aiken is planning to visit USC, Clemson, Georgia, Virginia and Michigan State. USC offered 2017 RB Brian Robinson of Tuscaloosa. 2018 LB Xavier Thomas of Wilson attended USC’s game Saturday night. Former USC signee DE Devante Covington is now at Fayetteville State (NC).
what he likes about Huell is “his competitiveness, his skill set and toughness.” Huell scores a lot of his points around the rim and averaged 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks per game. His team has won four straight state championships. Florida State and Miami also have been in this week. Williams said Huell right now plans to wait until the spring to make his decision but no other schools will be involved. The decision will eventually come from one of the current final three. There is no leader according to Williams who said its 33 (%), 33, 33 for each school. Martin also met last week with 6-10 Sedee Keita of Philadelphia and he scheduled an official visit for next month. He once attended a school in Greenville but is now at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut. Providence, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Temple and Kansas State also were in last week. He has taken unofficial visits to Providence and Temple and may take an official visit to Providence. 6-6 De’Riante Jenkins of Hargrave Prep, VA was visited last week by Clemson, LSU, Tennessee, VCU, Georgia Tech and Rutgers. He said USC had an in home visit with his mother in Santee and also is coming to see him. Jenkins has taken official visits to VCU and Tennessee. He’s going to Rutgers SepBasketball News: tember 25h and Clemson October 3rd. USC has its eyes on 6-10 Dewan Huell of Coaches from USC and UNC met with Miami and last week USC head coach Frank Hammond’s Seventh Woods last Wednesday Martin and assistant Lamont Evans went down per his coach. He took his official visit to to South Florida to visit him. Huell has his list Georgetown over the weekend. He also has down to the Gamecocks, Miami and Florida visits set with UNC and USC. State. He has set official visits with each; The USC women are in the final four with Miami October 2nd, Florida State October 6-1 Jaelyn Brown of Murrieta, CA. She’s also 9th and USC October 16th. “All three are still considering Cal, Louisville and UCLA. in it,” said Huell’s coach Lawton Williams. 2017 guard Devontae Shuler, the former “He likes that Coach (Martin) showed him Irmo standout now at Oak Hill Prep, VA, was how he’s worked with kids like him in the offered by NC State. He also has a USC offer. past. They have a great idea of his skill set and how to use it. He has a great relationship Baseball News: with Lamont. He has a great opportunity to 2017 RHP Hunter Ruth (6-2 170) of Gainesplay early.” Williams said in his conversations ville, FL and 2017 RHP Cole Beavin (6-3 165) with Martin, the Gamecock coach told him of Ocoee, FL committed to USC.
Tickets on sale for Hall of Fame Shootout on Dec. 22 Tickets are now on sale for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout on Dec. 22, featuring South Carolina vs. St. John’s. Marist and Brown will also play each other at the event, which will be held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster. com, at Ticketmaster outlets and through the Mohegan Sun Box Office.
Season ticket prices for the upcoming season of South Carolina men’s basketball remain unchanged, with full season packages starting at $90. Like last season, fans can purchase lower level season tickets for $260 (Gamecock Club membership required for sections 104-106, 113115), the Coke Family Sections are available for $600 (four tickets) and upper level tickets are available for $200 (no Gamecock Club mem-
bership required). End zone seating in the upper level is priced at four seats for $360. University Faculty/Staff members receive a 20% discount on lower level and upper level ticket prices. To place a deposit for season tickets, fans are encouraged to visit Gamecocksonline.com/ Tickets, or call 1-800-4SC-FANS. Story by South Carolina Athletics Media Relations
photo by allen sharpe
14 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
The Gamecocks need to quickly find some confidence Confidence can be a vital element for teams in all sports. For example, the 2014 Missouri Tigers won the SEC Eastern Division and not because they were the most talented team. They barely beat an average South Carolina team on the road needing a miracle comeback and were blown out at home by a far superior Georgia team. However, that team featured players that believed in themselves, the coaching staff and had confidence in what they were trying to do. After Saturday’s loss in Athens to a very good Georgia team, the 2015 South Carolina squad is in the same boat of needing to find their confidence and belief in what the coaches are trying to accomplish. Given that the Gamecocks already have two conference losses with some very tough games to play, just finding their confidence does not mean the Gamecocks are going to win the division but they can salvage a good season and be give the fans a respectable team. There are certainly deficiencies in this Gamecock team but those can be masked on occasion by believing in yourself and your ability. Right now, it does not appear there is any confidence in this year’s team and that was before Saturday night’s game against the Bulldogs. The team seemed to be finding their way in the opening game against North Carolina and the second game of the season against Kentucky. Still, this has not been a team that played fast and loose believing in the coaches’ scheme while enjoying being on the field. Instead, this is a team that has appeared to be walking on egg shells, scared to make a mistake and worried about the consequences of what that mistake will lead to. There is always two schools of thought for scheduling each season. You can take the Clemson approach and schedule two easy games to let players get their feet game against Missouri, the Gamecocks wet, get snaps and work out the early need to try and play with confidence and season jitters while being allowed to to find the reason they enjoy the game make correctable mistakes. There is then and gain some momentum. the method in which the I predicted an eight win Gamecocks played a tough season in this spot back in the early season game against month of July. As of today North Carolina and the SEC that seems a little far fetched scheduled a conference game but it is still attainable howagainst an improving Kenever it will not happen if the tucky team. Gamecocks do not improve in The Gamecocks have never certain areas on the field but shied away from tough early also find the confidence that season games and that has is badly needed playing in the been commendable but this SEC. year I believe that ideology Lorenzo Nunez or Perry has bitten them in the rear Orth will need to establish Bill Gunter end. With back to back winthemselves as the quarterback Contributing nable games against a bad of the team in the next two Writer UCF team and then a road weeks while receivers Deebo
photo by juan blas
Samuel, Terry Googer and D.J. Neal establish themselves. True freshman Zack Bailey is going to be a good player in this career but it is a surprise he is at the center position. That is one spot of the field that a player must have confidence in what he is doing and the reads he is making. Defensively, the players on the Gamecocks roster have been through a great deal of negativity in the past 17 games. That can be hard to overcome but they are going to have to find a way. Jon Hoke and his group of assistants will need to re-build some bruised egos and find the players that give them the best chance to win the ball game. Finally, the Gamecocks’ head coach, Steve Spurrier must believe in himself. Listening to his postgame press confer-
ence on Saturday night, it was clear that he is questioning his coaching and motivating skills. The Spurrier bravado is what has made him one of the best coaches in the game and while it is natural to question yourself from time to time, the Gamecocks need that Spurrier swagger that made him feared throughout college football. Again, make no mistake, just gaining confidence will not rectify the problems of this year’s Gamecock football program but it will go a long way. There still needs to be some personnel issues the coaches need to figure out and the team will likely have to play great games to beat LSU, Tennessee and Texas A&M but nothing will be accomplished without the team having confidence in their playmaking abilities and those of the coaches.
Spurs & Feathers • 15
September 23, 2015
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16 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 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
September 23, 2015
UCF Knights
# Name Pos. 2 Nick Patti Wide Receiver 3 Mike Rogers Defensive Back 5 Jordan Franks Wide Receiver 6 Tristan Payton Wide Receiver 7 Dontravious Wilson Running Back 8 Tyler Harris Quarterback 9 Bo Schneider Quarterback 10 Kyle Coltrain Wide Receiver 10 Shaquill Griffin Defensive Back 11 Matthew Wright Placekicker 12 Sean Pratt Quarterback 12 Blake Tiralosi Wide Receiver 13 Justin Holman Quarterback 14 Pete DiNovo Wide Receiver 16 Mark Rucker Linebacker 17 Cedric Thompson H-Back 18 Shaquem Griffin Defensive Back 19 Donald Delahaye Placekicker 5-9 20 Taylor Oldham Wide Receiver 21 Jamari Fye Wide Receiver 21 Drico Johnson Defensive Back 22 T.J. Mutcherson Defensive Back 23 Adrian Gordon Wide Receiver 24 D.J. Killings Defensive Back 25 Kyle Gibson Defensive Back 25 Tristan Reaves Wide Receiver 26 Trace Ryan Wide Receiver 26 Brandon Scott Defensive Back 27 Taj McGowan Running Back 28 William Stanback Running Back 29 C.J. Jones Running Back 30 Rashard Causey Defensive Back 31 Jeremy Boykins Defensive Back 31 Gary Demarest H-Back 32 Mario Mathis H-Back 33 Tre Neal Defensive Back 34 Justin McDonald Linebacker 35 Brendin Straubel Defensive Back 36 Caleb Houston Punter 37 Michael Willett Running Back 38 Nevelle Clarke Defensive Back 39 Joseph Puopolo H-Back 40 Chequan Burkett Linebacker 40 Chris Larsen H-Back 41 Demeitre Brim Linebacker 42 Justin Rae H-Back 43 Aaron Cochran H-Back 44 Mark Messeguer Fullback 45 Daron Humphrey Running Back 46 Zack Laurinaitis Tight End 47 Jerod Boykins Defensive Back
Ht. 5-11 6-0 6-3 6-0 5-10 6-4 6-3 5-10 6-1 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-4 6-2 5-9 6-0 6-1 170 6-2 6-0 6-1 5-11 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-3 6-3 6-0 6-1 6-1 5-10 6-0 6-2 6-2 6-1 6-1 6-2 5-9 6-1 5-9 6-1 5-10 6-2 6-2 6-3 5-10 6-2 5-8 5-10 6-5 6-3
Wt. 206 196 225 185 217 228 225 192 192 179 195 194 213 205 213 235 205 FR 193 151 207 191 205 186 186 212 170 180 198 228 216 188 194 245 243 200 211 194 210 197 175 246 228 230 225 253 260 250 184 242 213
Yr. RS JR FR SO FR JR RS FR FR RS SO JR RS FR SO RS JR JR RS SO RS JR RS SR RS SO Port RS JR RS SO RS JR GS RS SO JR RS FR RS FR RS FR FR FR JR RS FR FR JR RS FR RS SO RS FR JR RS SR RS JR RS SO FR RS SR RS SO RS FR RS JR RS FR FR RS FR RS JR RS FR JR
Football Roster Hometown/Previous School Orlando, Fla./Boise State Smyrna, Ga./Campbell Crawfordville, Fla./Wakulla Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast Buford, Ga./Buford Blackshear, Ga./Pierce County Dallas, Texas/Jesuit Noblesville, Ind./Guerin Catholic St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg Cooper City, Fla./Ave Maria Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore Snellville, Ga./Stephenson Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake Miramar, Fla./Miramar Miramar, Fla./Everglades St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood St. Lucie, Fla./Port St. Lucie Daytona Beach, Fla./Warner Christian Pompano Beach, Fla./Blanche Ely Orlando, Fla./Agape Christian Tampa, Fla./Iowa State Miramar, Fla./Miramar Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast Tampa, Fla./Armwood St. Cloud, Fla./Harmony Navarre, Fla./Fort Walton Beach New Sarpy, La./Destrehan Hollywood, Fla./Hallandale Hempstead, N.Y./Uniondale Daytona Beach, Fla./Atlantic Miami, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas Orange Park, Fla./Georgia Military Sebring, Fla./Sebring Thomasville, Ga./Thomasville Buford, Ga./Buford Lauderhill, Fla./Boyd Anderson Tampa, Fla./Jefferson Cleveland, Tenn./Walker Valley Orlando, Fla./Boone Coral Springs, Fla./Taravella Naples, Fla./Barron Collier Montgomery, Ala./Carver Dunedin, Fla./Palm Harbor Dundee, Fla./Virginia Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay Atlanta, Ga./Hapeville Charter Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs Jacksonville, N.C./Northside Clearwater, Fla./Countryside Orange Park, Fla./Georgia Military
Coaches George O’Leary - Head Coach/Interim A.D. Chuck Bresnahan - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Brent Key - Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Danny Barrett - Quarterbacks Coach Sean Beckton - Wide Receivers Coach Lorenzo Costantini - Defensive Line Coach Travis Fisher - Cornerbacks Coach Keegan Kennedy - Tight Ends/H-Backs/Special Teams Coach Allen Mogridge - Offensive Line Coach Andrew Thacker - Safeties Coach Rob Calabrese - Offensive Graduate Assistant Josh Linam - Offensive Graduate Assistant Sean Fitzgerald - Offensive Quality Control Patrick Bastien - Defensive Graduate Assistant Zach Crespo - Defensive Graduate Assistant Mike Sims-Walker - Defensive Quality Control Kristy Belden - Director of Player Development Mike Buscemi - Director of Player Personnel Ryan Callaghan - Recruiting Assistant Manny Messeguer - Special Assistant to the Head Coach Marty O’Leary - Assistant A.D. For Football Operations
# Name Pos. 47 Connor O’Sullivan Placekicker 48 Mac Loudermilk Punter 49 Seyvon Lowry Defensive Line 49 Joe Turk Tight End 50 Domenic Spencer Linebacker 51 Errol Clarke Linebacker 52 Maurice Russell Linebacker 53 Mason Bedell Snapper 53 Quintin Hampton Linebacker 54 Alex Hunt Linebacker 54 Gage Marsil Snapper 55 Joey Grant Offensive Line 56 Pat Jasinski Linebacker 57 Neal Nelson Linebacker 58 Marcus Foster Linebacker 59 Monte Taylor Defensive Line 60 Caleb Perez Snapper 61 Tarik Cook Offensive Line 62 Micah Anderson Offensive Line 63 Nick George Offensive Line 66 Aaron Evans Offensive Line 68 Charles Sprenkel Offensive Line 69 Thomas Niles Defensive Line 70 Luke Palmer Offensive Line 71 Chester Brown Offensive Line 72 Tyler Hudanick Offensive Line 73 Jason Rae Offensive Line 74 Jake Brown Offensive Line 75 Tate Hernly Offensive Line 76 Colby Watson Offensive Line 78 Wyatt Miller Offensive Line 79 Chavis Dickey Offensive Line 80 Tre’Quan Smith Wide Receiver 81 Chris Johnson Wide Receiver 82 D’erren Wilson Wide Receiver 83 Cam Stewart Wide Receiver 84 Michael Campbell Tight End 86 Michael Colubiale Wide Receiver 87 Cal Bloom Tight End 88 Jordan Akins Wide Receiver 89 Hayden Jones Wide Receiver 90 Lance McDowdell Defensive Line 91 Joey Connors Defensive Line 92 Luke Adams Defensive Line 93 Tony Guerad Defensive Line 94 Demetris Anderson Defensive Line 95 Jamiyus Pittman Defensive Line 96 A.J. Wooten Defensive Line 97 Jock Petree Defensive Line 98 Brendon Hayes Defensive Line 99 Titus Davis Defensive Line
Ht. 6-1 6-1 6-3 6-2 5-10 6-3 5-11 6-3 5-11 6-0 6-1 6-3 6-1 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-1 6-2 6-2 5-11 6-5 6-4 6-2 6-3 6-5 6-5 5-11 6-3 6-3 6-5 6-4 6-4 6-1 5-10 6-3 6-3 6-6 6-1 6-3 6-3 5-10 6-4 6-1 6-4 6-3 6-1 6-0 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-2
Wt. 213 224 252 224 229 230 239 212 240 220 235 281 209 227 213 270 225 294 333 280 290 298 266 302 327 294 292 271 298 301 293 319 201 182 175 188 264 215 264 237 173 302 283 251 298 306 300 251 255 257 230
Yr. RS SO RS FR RS SO FR SR RS JR RS JR FR FR RS SO RS JR GS FR FR FR JR RS FR RS SR RS JR RS FR RS SO RS SO RS SR RS FR RS JR FR JR FR RS SO RS JR RS FR SO RS FR RS SO FR FR RS JR RS SO RS JR SO RS JR SR RS FR RS JR RS SO RS SR SO RS FR RS SO FR FR
Hometown/Previous School Pearl River, N.Y./Nassau C.C. Valdosta, Ga./Valdosta Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point Dallas, Texas/Skyline Miami, Fla./Garden City C.C. Fort Meade, Fla./Fort Meade Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Moultrie, Ga./Colquitt County Towson, Md./Stetson Deltona, Fla./Pine Ridge Apopka, Fla./Lake Brantley Roswell, Ga./Blessed Trinity Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek League City, Texas/Clear Falls Springdale, Md./ASA College WestPalmBeach,Fla./P.BeachGardens Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson StoneMountain,Ga./StoneMountain Green Cove Springs, Fla./Air Force Seffner, Fla./Armwood Delray Beach, Fla./Atlantic Gainesville, Ga./Gainesville Wauchula, Fla./Hardee Hinesville, Ga./Bradwell Institute Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers Pensacola, Fla./Pine Forest Douglas, Ga./Coffee Byron, Ga./Peach County Delray Beach, Fla./Village Academy Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast Greenville, Texas/Greenville Snellville, Ga./Shiloh Pensacola, Fla./Pace Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo McDonough, Ga./Union Grove Orlando, Fla./Lehigh Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nassau C.C. Powder Springs, Ga./Harrison Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola Catholic Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech Ft. Pierce, Fla./Western Michigan Moultrie, Ga./Colquitt County Alapaha, Ga./Berrien Orlando, Fla./West Orange Laplace, La./Brother Martin Ellenwood, Ga./Stockbridge
18 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
Depth Charts for September 26, 12 p.m. South Carolina OFFENSE WR: WR: WR: -OR- LT: LG: C: RG:
1 Deebo Samuel 8 Shamier Jeffery 3 D.J. Neal 11 Pharoh Cooper 15 Matrick Belton 83 Jamari Smith 5 Terry Googer 9 Carlton Heard 4 Jalen Christian 71 Brandon Shell 55 Christian Pellage 76 Mike Matulis 78 Zack Bailey 70 Alan Knott 78 Zack Bailey 75 Will Sport 72 Donell Stanley RT: 74 Mason Zandi 63 Blake Camper TE: 89 Jerell Adams 81 Hayden Hurst 40 Jacob August 84 Kyle Markway QB: 10 Perry Orth 19 Lorenzo Nunez 12 Michael Scarnecchia FB: 39 Rivers Bedenbaugh
6-0, 202, RFr. Inman, S.C. 6-1, 198, Jr. St. Matthews, S.C. 6-3, 193, Fr. Stone Mountain, Ga. 5-11, 207, Jr. Havelock, N.C. 6-4, 209, Jr. Columbia, S.C. 5-10, 200, So. Jacksonville, Fla. 6-4, 226, RFr. Atlanta, Ga. 6-0, 182, Sr. Athens, Ga. 5-9, 177, Fr. Damascus, Md. 6-6, 328, Sr. Goose Creek, S.C. 6-6, 314, Fr. Brooksville, Fla. 6-5, 293, Sr. Boynton Beach, Fla. 6-6, 320, Fr. Summerville, S.C. 6-4, 270, So. Tyrone, Ga. 6-6, 320, Fr. Summerville, S.C. 6-5, 295, Sr. Milton, Fla. 6-4, 320, RFr. Floydale, S.C. 6-9, 314, Jr. Chapin, S.C. 6-8, 295, Fr. Virginia Beach, Va. 6-6, 231, Sr. Pinewood, S.C. 6-5, 252, Fr. Jacksonville, Fla. 6-6, 258, RFr. Columbia, S.C. 6-4, 243, Fr. St. Louis, Mo. 6-1, 203, Jr. Ponte Verda, Fla. 6-3, 210, Fr. Kennesaw, Ga. 6-4, 210, RFr. Fleming Island, Fla. 6-2, 245, So. Leesville, S.C.
OFFENSE WR: WR: LT: LG: C: RG: RT: TE: -OR- HB:
QB: RB:
88 Jordan Akins 2 Nick Patti 81 Chris Johnson 80 Tre’Quan Smith 6 Tristan Payton 5 Jordan Franks 66 Aaron Evans 75 Tate Hernly 61 Tarik Cook 71 Chester Brown 55 Joey Grant 73 Jason Rae 76 Colby Watson 72 Tyler Hudanick 70 Luke Palmer 78 Wyatt Miller 84 Michael Campbell 87 Cal Bloom 17 Cedric Thompson 43 Aaron Cochran 13 Justin Holman 8 Tyler Harris 9 Bo Schneider 28 William Stanback 7 Dontravious Wilson
6-3, 237, So. McDonough, Ga. 5-11, 206, Jr. Orlando, Fla. 5-10, 182, So. Jacksonville, Fla. 6-1, 201, RFr. Delray Beach, Fla. 6-0, 185, Fr. Jacksonville, Fla. 6-3, 225, So. Crawfordville, Fla. 6-5, 290, So. Seffner, Fla. 6-3, 298, So. Fort Myers, Fla. 6-2, 294, Sr. Stone Mountain, Ga. 6-5, 327, Jr. Hinesville, Ga. 6-3, 281, Grad. Apopka, Fla. 5-11, 292, Jr. Weston, Fla. 6-5, 301, Jr. Pensacola, Fla. 6-5, 294, Fr. Harmony, Pa. 6-3, 302, RFr. Wauchula, Fla. 6-4, 293, RFr. Douglas, Ga. 6-6, 264, Jr. Pensacola, Fla. 6-3, 264, Jr. Maple Grove, Minn. 6-0, 235, Sr. Miramar, Fla. 6-2, 260, Fr. Atlanta, Ga 6-4, 213, Jr. Snellville, Ga. 6-4, 228, RFr. Blackshear, Ga. 6-3, 225, Fr. Dallas, Texas 6-1, 228, Jr. Hempstead, N.Y. 5-10, 217, Jr. Buford, Ga.
TB:
43 Garrison Gist 22 Brandon Wilds 7 Shon Carson 33 David Williams
5-10, 251, Sr. 6-2, 220, Sr. 5-8, 206, Sr. 6-1, 222, So.
Rock Hill, S.C. Blythewood, S.C. Scranton, S.C. Philadelphia, Pa.
DEFENSE DE: 18 Cedrick Cooper 55 David Johnson 44 Gerald Dixon DT: 90 Taylor Stallworth 95 Dante Sawyer 94 Kelsey Griffin NT: 92 Gerald Dixon, Jr. 52 Phillip Dukes 99 Abu Lamin DE: 8 Marquavius Lewis 5 Darius English 49 Boosie Whitlow MLB: 10 Skai Moore 11 T.J. Holloman WLB: 28 Jonathan Walton 4 Bryson Allen-Williams SLB: 23 Larenz Bryant 12 Ernest Hawkins SPR: 20 T.J. Gurley 26 Jasper Sasser 27 Toure Boyd
6-2, 248, Sr. 6-1, 240, So. 6-2, 269, Sr. 6-2, 308, So. 6-3, 291, So. 6-2, 316, Jr. 6-3, 327, Sr. 6-3, 319, Sr. 6-4, 326, Jr. 6-3, 264, Jr. 6-6, 225, Jr. 6-3, 240, Fr. 6-2, 218, Jr. 6-2, 231, Jr. 6-0, 235, Jr. 6-1, 233, So. 6-0, 220, Jr. 6-1, 224, So. 5-10, 193, Sr. 6-0, 210, So. 5-11, 180, Jr.
Lithonia, Ga. Lithonia, Ga. Rock Hill, S.C. Mobile, Ala. Suwanee, Ala. Buford, Ga. Rock Hill, S.C. Manning, S.C. Fayetteville, N.C. Greenwood, S.C. Powder Springs, Ga. Opelika, Ala. Cooper City, Fla. Stone Mountain, Ga. Daphne, Ala. Ellenwood, Ga. Charlotte, N.C. Baltimore, Md. Cairo, Ga. Jacksonville, Fla. R. Cucamonga, Calif.
LCB: 3 Chris Lammons 17 Chaz Elder 16 Rashad Fenton FS: 21 Isaiah Johnson 6 Chris Moody SS: 42 Jordan Diggs 24 D.J. Smith RCB: 7 Al Harris Jr. 1 Rico McWilliams
5-10, 183, So. 6-2, 209, Jr. 5-10, 180, Fr. 6-0, 206, Sr. 6-1, 215, Jr. 6-0, 209, Jr. 5-11, 195, So. 5-11, 163, So. 5-11, 186, Jr.
Lauderhill, Fla. Union City, Ga. Miami, Fla. Cary, N.C. McDonough, Ga. Fort Myers, Fla. Marietta, Ga. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Hampton, Ga.
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 1 Deebo Samuel 7 Shon Carson 11 Pharoh Cooper 3 Chris Lammons 47 Drew Williams 48 Nick McGriff 13 Sean Kelly 19 Landon Ard
CB:
24 D.J. Killings 31 Jeremy Boykins
5-9, 182, Sr. 6-0, 164, Jr. 6-0, 164, Jr. 5-9, 182, Sr. 5-10, 189, Jr. 6-3, 200, Fr. 6-0, 202, RFr. 5-8, 206, Sr. 5-11, 207, Jr. 5-10, 183, So. 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. Inman, S.C. Scranton, S.C. Havelock, N.C. Lauderhill, Fla. Irmo, S.C. Gainesville, Fla. Oakland, Fla. Rock Hill, S.C.
UCF
27 Taj McGowan 29 C.J. Jones
6-1, 198, Fr. 5-10, 216, RFr.
Hollywood, Fla. Daytona Beach, Fla.
DEFENSE DE: DT: DT: DE: OLB: MLB: OLB: CB: SS: FS:
92 Luke Adams 49 Seyvon Lowry 95 Jamiyus Pittman 59 Monte Taylor 90 Lance McDowdell 93 Tony Guerad 69 Thomas Niles 99 Titus Davis 40 Chequan Burkett 41 Demeitre Brim 50 Domenic Spencer 52 Maurice Russell 16 Mark Rucker 51 Errol Clarke 10 Shaquill Griffin 25 Kyle Gibson 33 Tre Neal 22 T.J. Mutcherson 48 Jerod Boykins 21 Drico Johnson 18 Shaquem Griffin
6-4, 251, Jr. 6-3, 252, So. 6-0, 300, So. 6-3, 270, Jr. 6-4, 302, Sr. 6-3, 298, So. 6-2, 266, Sr. 6-2, 230, Fr. 6-2, 228, So. 6-3, 225, Jr. 5-10, 229, Sr. 5-11, 239, Jr. 5-9, 213, Jr. 6-3, 230, Jr. 6-1, 192, Jr. 5-11, 186, RFr. 6-1, 200, RFr. 5-11, 191, Grad. 6-3, 213, Jr. 6-1, 207, Jr. 6-1, 205, So.
6-0, 186, Jr. 6-2, 194, Jr.
Jacksonville, Fla. Orange Park, Fla.
SPECIALISTS Pensacola, Fla. Jacksonville, Fla. Moultrie, Ga. Springdale, Md. Mount Vernon, N.Y. Tampa, Fla. Gainesville, Ga. Ellenwood, Ga. Montgomery, Ala. Dundee, Fla. Dallas, Texas Fort Meade, Fla. Miramar, Fla. Miami, Fla. St. Petersburg, Fla. Tampa, Fla. Buford, Ga. Tampa, Fla. Orange Park, Fla. Orlando, Fla. St. Petersburg, Fla.
PK: KO: P: LS: H: KR: PR:
11 Matthew Wright 19 Donald Delahaye 47 Connor O’Sullivan 11 Matthew Wright 19 Donald Delahaye 36 Caleb Houston 48 Mac Loudermilk 54 Gage Marsil 60 Caleb Perez 36 Caleb Houston 48 Mac Loudermilk 88 Jordan Akins 7 Dontravious Wilson 6 Tristan Payton 29 C.J. Jones 88 Jordan Akins 81 Chris Johnson
6-1, 179, RFr. Lancaster, Pa. 5-9, 170, Fr. Port St. Lucie, Fla. 6-1, 213, So. Pearl River, N.Y. 6-1, 179, RFr. Lancaster, Pa. 5-9, 170, Fr. Port St. Lucie, Fla. 6-1, 210, Jr. Cleveland, Tenn. 6-1, 224, RFr. Valdosta, Ga. 6-1, 235, Jr. Deltona, Fla. 6-1, 225, RFr. West Palm Beach, Fla. 6-1, 210, Jr. Cleveland, Tenn. 6-1, 224, RFr. Valdosta, Ga. 6-3, 237, So. McDonough, Ga. 5-10, 217, Jr. Buford, Ga. 6-0, 185, Fr. Jacksonville, Fla. 5-10, 216, RFr. Daytona Beach, Fla. 6-3, 237, So. McDonough, Ga. 5-10, 182, So. Jacksonville, Fla.
*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.
Spurs & Feathers • 19
September 23, 2015
‘The energy is there’ for strong season in women’s tennis It’s not often the case that there is just one senior on a team. However, that’s the position that Ximena Siles Luna finds herself in on the South Carolina women’s tennis team entering 2015. With the departure of Meghan Blevins, Elixane Lechemia and Alex Martin from last year’s team, Luna leads a talented group of Gamecocks that will be looking to punch their ticket to a 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament next spring. South Carolina will first participate in five tournaments in the fall, with the first one coming at the Tribe Invitational in Williamsburg, Virginia the weekend of Sept. 18. Head coach Kevin Epley is looking forward to getting a new season underway and the first trip to Virginia will be extra special because it will take place on the campus of William & Mary, a school Epley coached at for five years. “It will be great to see old friends,” Epley said. “I built a lot of relationships there. But another side of me is like ‘let’s kick butt while we’re up there.’ But it will be good to take (the team) to some of my old restaurants and things like that.” The Gamecocks have f ive incoming freshmen that come in with quite a bit of hype. South Carolina’s recruiting class was ranked as the 12th best in the country and tops in the SEC. Epley is excited to see them play this fall, but said that there will definitely be some adjustments for the incoming class. “It’s just going to be a matter of how quickly they negotiate these changes,” Epley said. “A lot of that has to do with how well they adjust to the culture.” Epley brought up the culture because the five freshmen hail from all over the country and one, Ingrid Gamarra Martins, is coming over from Brazil. However, the returning Gamecocks have done a great job of incorporating the youngsters into the team, particularly Luna, who hails from Peru. “It’s been really helpful so far,” Epley said. “Ximena was really happy that (Ingrid) was going to be here.” As the only senior on the team, Luna is
looking forward to taking on that leadership role for the younger players. “It’s a really nice experience,” Luna said. “I really like it because it’s my last year and I want to show them my experience. I think they will appreciate that a lot.” Luna is still recovering from a surgery she had in the offseason, but said she expects to be good to go when spring play begins. “She’s been here as long as I’ve been here,” Epley said of Luna. “She knows the drill and she knows how to work and win, which is important in the SEC. She’s going to be a major benefit to the transition.” The Gamecocks are coming off of a 2014 season in which they went 15-11 and 6-7 in the SEC. As noted before, South Carolina made its 21st straight NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Princeton before losing to Virginia. Luna returns after leading the Gamecocks with a 12-3 record in dual SEC singles matches. Sophomore Hadley Berg is also back after an outstanding freshman year where she went 20-11 overall and recorded a 12-7 mark in dual SEC singles matches. She also paired with junior Caroline Dailey in doubles, where the duo posted a 7-6 record at No. 1 doubles. “I have high expectations for Hadley,” Epley said. “Of all the returning doubles teams from last year, she and Caroline were 13th in the nation. She has just steadily improved so I expect a year of maturity is going to help her a ton.” Overall, the Gamecocks will return four players that won at least 19 overall singles matches last season. That, along with the incoming freshmen, could lead to a big year for South Carolina. As for the fall, Epley is just focused on getting his team to play the way they need to once the spring portion of the schedule rolls around. “Right now with the new ones, we’re just making sure they know how to practice,” Epley said. “We’re practicing on our consistency. Next week we’ll progress off of that and go on from there. The culture is there, the energy is there and the desire is there. It’s been pretty good so far.”
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20 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
photo by allen sharpe
Gamecocks prepare to open up title defense by kyle heck Reporter
State will be a good test for us, especially on the road, to just see how well this new group is going to respond.” South Carolina will get a new season started South Carolina will have to replace a lot of on Sept. 25, with a trip to the far north to take members from last year’s National Champion South Dakota State in a test that will show onship-winning team. Gone are Katherine the Gamecocks just how far they’ve come Schmidt, Amber Henter, Adele Norton and since last year’s National Championship. Cody McMillion, just to name a few. HowNot only is it a road meet against a tough ever, riders like Samantha Kraus will now be team, but South Carolina will look a lot diflooked upon to lead the Gamecocks. ferent than it did a season ago. However, head Kraus is a senior who has seen plenty of accoach Boo Major believes her team is ready to tion in her three years with the program and take the challenge in stride. will hope to lead the attempt to try and replace “We have quite a few girls that have come the production from last year’s seniors. back that obviously spent a lot of time work“We did lose a lot of the riders from last year, ing this summer,” Major said. “They have but we have a lot of great freshmen coming in definitely shown signs of improvement. I think and all of the people who have been here have it’s going to be a very different team this year. been working hard,” Kraus said. “I think we’re They’re going to have a totally different make- just as strong as we were last year. Anything is up. I think we’re all pretty confident with what possible.” we have going in and I think South Dakota South Carolina has a big freshmen class that
includes 11 riders, which is about 25 percent of the entire roster. While there are some members of that class who are still participating in junior competitions, Major said there could be a few that get immediate playing time. “I think there are enough of them in there that are talented enough that we’ll be able to use them down the road,” Major said. “Those ones that we’re going to put in there, it’s going to be a little bit of a shock for them when they go to their first competition. However, I think it will help us in the long run as far as where we’re going to be in the spring and trying to get better all year.” Major is also looking forward to this year’s group of seniors stepping up and taking over the leadership reins. She mentioned Kraus, Samantha Smith, Sarah Bouchard and Abigail Pait as riders that will be taking on those roles this season. “I definitely feel like we have strong leader-
ship,” Major said. “We don’t have as many leaders as we had last year, but sometimes that is a good thing.” “I think we’ve kind of watched the seniors from past years and how they handled themselves and we’ve put ourselves in a good enough position,” Kraus said. “It’s been a pretty easy transition coming in here and showing everyone what it takes to become a National Championship team.” Major knows that her team is going to have a target focused on them this year because of the national title last season. However, success is something that the Gamecocks have grown used to, which should only help them in that regard. “These girls are very dedicated and very determined,” Major said. “I don’t think they’re going to let a target on their back mess with them too much. I think they’ll get out there and get it done.”
Spurs & Feathers • 21
September 23, 2015
Starting Five with PJ Dozier South carolina athletics media relations
South Carolina freshman guard PJ Dozier sat down with GamecocksOnline.com recently for their web series, “Starting Five With PJ Dozier.” The series highlight a different member of the Gamecock men’s basketball team with each edition. Check out what PJ has to say about the McDonald’s All-American Game and his golf game below. Q: What was it like to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game? And what was your favorite memory from the weekend? A: It was a great blessing. I’m honored that I was able to go play in the game that many of the great basketball players have played in and follow in their footsteps. It was a great overall experience. My All Gamecock basketball coverage sponsored by favorite memYesterdays ory was going
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to the Ronald McDonald House and seeing everything that they do for families and being able to meet and greet those families that stay there. Q: What does it mean to you to play at South Carolina, a place where your father and uncle played and where your sister currently plays for the Gamecock women’s basketball team? A: It means a lot being able to follow in the footsteps of my father and my uncle and also my sister. They’ve paved the way for me, and I want to try and take advantage of and make the best of it.
Q: How have the upperclassmen helped you adjust to college life? A: They have helped a lot. The first two weeks as a freshman are definitely the toughest, with the weights and coming on the court. They are a great group of guys that help one another, day-in and day-out. I’m just blessed to not the best golfer, but I’m able to make it on have the teammates that I have. the green and in the hole. That’s definitely the most relaxing thing for me outside of basketQ: What are some of your interests outball. side of basketball? A: I like to golf. It’s definitely relaxing. I’m Q: What aspect of your game did you
photo by brian hand
work on the most this summer? A: Building my body and strength. At this next level, it’s definitely different than high school. You have better, and bigger, grown men that you are playing against, so for me, it’s trying to build my body.
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22 • Spurs & Feathers
Perry Orth is fighting both SEC defenses and the stigma of being a walk-on. Those who know him best have a message: Don’t bet against him.
four- and five-star recruits, Orth’s best offers came from Division II schools. He also inherits a 1-2 South Carolina team that’s facing an earlyseason confidence crisis from some of its fans. But halfway across the country, as he prepares to lead the Gamecocks between the hedges, Orth has piled up a legion of believers, beginning with his former high school coach. “I knew Perry had Division I ability, even though he’s not 6’3,” 6’4,” doesn’t look the part. Hunter Loyd is But he’s got the ‘it’ factor, and he believes in a 6’2,” 170-pound himself. I thought he threw the football about eighth-grade as well as anybody I’ve ever had,” said Loyd, quarterback in now the head coach at Grove (Okla.) High Grove, Okla., School. a small town Loyd is no ordinary talent evaluator. He Andy Demetra of 6,600 in the played one season in the NFL as a quarterback Contributing northeastern corfor the St. Louis Cardinals. He backed up WarWriter ner of the state. ren Moon in the Canadian Football League and When he suits future Super Bowl champion Doug Williams in up for the Grove the United States Football League. He coached Ridgerunners, Loyd wears #4 as a tribute to his Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to a junior favorite player, a smart, steel-willed quarterback college national title in 1991. He still trains who played for his Dad. quarterbacks every offseason for a company “He wears #4 because of Perry Orth,” said run by former San Francisco 49ers owner Ed Hunter’s father, Mike Loyd. DeBartolo, Jr. Orth has since traded his high school #4, “He worked as hard or harder than anyone which he wore for Loyd at Ponte Vedra (Fla.) I’ve had in 29 years as a head coach or in junior High, for the #10 of South Carolina, which he college,” Loyd said. wore Saturday when the Gamecocks faced #7 He rattled off the accomplishments of his Georgia at Sanford Stadium. He is believed to former players: “Over 20-something guys that be the first walk-on, current or former, to start at went on to the NFL, over 100 Division I guys, quarterback for Steve Spurrier since November and several kids that played in the SEC. There’s 15, 1997, when Noah Brindise did it for Florida. nobody that has any more heart than Perry Oddly enough, his start came against South Orth.” Carolina. Out in San Francisco, another high-level quarIt’s a heady time for the 6’1” Orth -- an inch terback feels the same way. shorter, it should be noted, than the eighth-grad“I called my Dad a few days in and I was er Loyd - who began his career in the Spring of like, ‘Man, we just got this walk-on kid. He’s a 2012 as a sixth-stringer. He was put on scholar- little small, but he can play,’” Dylan Thompson ship last month. recalled of his first encounter with Orth during “I’m just trying to stay calm and composed Spring practice of 2012. this week. Just trying to do my part to help us Thompson’s hunch only grew during their come out on top this weekend,” Orth, a redshirt three seasons together. Now on the practice junior, said on Tuesday. He couldn’t quite do squad with the 49ers, Thompson says he never that; Orth finished 6-for-17 for 66 yards with a saw the complacency that sometimes creeps rushing touchdown and an interception in a 52- into walk-ons who know their chances at play20 Gamecocks loss. ing time are slim. In the weeks ahead, Orth will not only be “A lot of kids that walk on at bigger programs facing SEC defenses, but a stigma. A walk-on – obviously you have respect for every one of starting quarterback can be a magnet for skepti- them – but a lot of them, quite honestly, are cism, a cause for alarm, an indictment of depth, there just to say they did it. I think Perry came or worse. In a conference overflowing with in with the mindset of, ‘Hey, I’m coming here to
September 23, 2015
play. I’m not coming here just to be here.’ That stood out to me and everyone, I think, that has been around Perry. He expected himself to do well,” he said. Orth showed some of that self-belief in his first two appearances. He completed both of his fourth-quarter pass attempts against North Carolina, filling in for an injured Connor Mitch. He replaced Mitch again late in the first half against Kentucky, the Gamecocks trailing 24-7. He finished 13-of-20 for 179 yards, including a touchdown pass that pulled South Carolina within two. Only a late interception, which allowed Kentucky to run out the clock, spoiled his night. His arm was lively. He showed he could handle the stage. But Orth remained unsatisfied. “The area I could improve on is just letting the plays play out,” he said during our pre-game radio interview against Georgia. “There were a few plays where I came off my main read too quick, throwing check-downs and missing a few opportunities. They were very encouraged how poised I was, but they understood that in my third year in the offense, that’s what they expected of me.” That readiness came as no surprise to Loyd. His appetite to learn, he said, is what separated him in high school. Orth was a relentless student in the film room, constantly asking him for the reasoning behind plays and pass concepts. He wore Loyd out so much, he asked his defensive coaches to draw up plays for him too. “A lot of guys have good arms, but how quickly can you process it when you’ve got the ball in your hands, reading the defense? There’s nobody who’s going to outwork him physically. There’s nobody who’s going to outwork him mentally as well,” Loyd said. Thompson picked up on that trait at South Carolina. Orth regularly joined him to watch extra tape, even though he was buried on the Gamecocks depth chart. “He was always asking me stuff. You could tell he went about it the right way, saying ‘I don’t want to bother you, but…’ I was like, man, you’re not bothering me, just ask me whatever you need to know. He did a great job asking questions that were valuable. He’s not just saying stuff to say it. You could tell he knew what he was doing,” Thompson remembered. “I just knew then, if this kid ever gets a chance, he’s going to do well,” he added. Before the story veers into Rudy levels of hagiography, Orth has plenty of athletic genes. His older brother Calvin played baseball at The Citadel. Younger brother Evan was a quarterback at UAB before transferring to South Alabama when the Blazers cut their program. Their father, Rusty, played wide receiver and defensive back at West Virginia in the late 1970’s. His defensive backs coach was current Alabama head coach, and sometimes Spurrier foil, Nick Saban. As a senior at Ponte Vedra, Orth led the Sharks to a district title while setting school records for season and career passing yards.
Still, his play only attracted mild interest from Division II schools in Florida - Orth couldn’t remember their names, even after thinking about it for 30 seconds. Besides, he had his heart set on proving himself at the major conference level. USF offered him a spot as a preferred walk-on. He instead chose South Carolina after his Dad reached out to Gamecocks wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier, Jr. An application snafu prevented him from enrolling at South Carolina right away, forcing Orth to spend a semester at nearby Florida State College. When he arrived at USC, he still remembers seeing his name at sixth – “dead last” – on the depth chart. “I said, ‘You know what, I’m going to come up and work as hard as I possibly can and see what happens.’ That was my mindset,” Orth said. That climb up the depth chart culminated Saturday when Orth made his starting debut, six hours from his hometown. The Gamecocks lost, but Thompson, who spoke to Orth along with fellow Gamecock quarterbacks Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw last week, says his former teammate will be ready for the challenges that lie ahead. “There’s not another player that’s going to put on a Carolina uniform that will prepare as much as Perry Orth does. I’ll tell anybody that. I know it because I’ve seen it the past few years,” he said. If the former walk-on outduels the heralded favorite, it wouldn’t be the first time. During Orth’s senior season at Ponte Vedra, the team also featured sophomore David Cornwell, an eventual four-star quarterback prospect who signed with Alabama. Orth wouldn’t let the starting job go. “To belong, you’ve got to believe you belong. That’s what him and I talked about. He thought he belonged, and now he’s showing people that he belongs,” said Loyd. But preparation and pluck only go so far in the Darwinian world of SEC football. Orth got a dose of that Saturday, and he’ll still be challenged for snaps, if not a starting spot, by freshman Lorenzo Nunez while Mitch recovers from a separated shoulder. Perhaps that’s why Thompson offered one last parting shot to Orth during their phone call last week: “I’m really proud of him, but I told him this. I’m not satisfied with him just being there. Now let’s go do something.”
photo by juan blas
Spurs & Feathers • 23
September 23, 2015
Being a Gamecock was a way of life for Moore by kyle heck Reporter William “Bill” Heyward Moore Jr., who passed away this past spring, left quite a legacy on his children and grandchildren. That legacy included love and faith in God, country and last but definitely not least, the University of South Carolina. Born in Lancaster County, Moore graduated from South Carolina as a member of the fraternity Pi Kappa Phi before serving in the U.S. Air Force. He then worked in residential and commercial real estate for more than 35 years. However, he was a Gamecock fan even longer than that. A member of the Gamecock Club for nearly half a century, Moore was a loyal supporter of everything South Carolina and it’s something that his relatives will never forget. “My grandfather loved the University of South Carolina,” said Moore’s granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth Bradley. “To him, being a Gamecock was a way of life. Supporting his University and seeing it do well was what truly made him happy.” Bradley and her other siblings all have fond memories of traveling to games with their grandfather and grandmother, who was known as “Mimi.” And since Moore had season tickets to both football and basketball games for over 25 years, those Gamecock experiences were plentiful. “He always wanted to see the Gamecocks do well in sports and he was a strong supporter until the day he passed away,” said Moore’s grandson, Will Medlin. “Most of my early memories are of being with Pop in the car on the way down to football games and the feeling of excitement that we were going to see USC take on some great powerhouse and that maybe we’d be victorious.” Those memories shared with Moore weren’t just limited to athletic events. Moore’s daughter, Susan Medlin, remembers Sunday brunches at the top of Capstone Tower, also known as the “Top of Carolina.” She also remembers taking walks around campus with her father and reminiscing about their college days. “Just being on campus and connecting with other Gamecocks and connecting with the University every time we went,” said Susan Medlin of her favorite memories with Moore. It didn’t matter if South Carolina won or lost, the family still cherished being able to hang out as a family and root for the University that they all loved, and it started with their father and grandfather.
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“As a kid growing up, he instilled the garnet way in me,” grandson Brad Medlin said. “Even in my three semesters at that school from the upstate, I knew right from wrong or ‘garnet from black.’ Whether it would be hanging on section seven, row 43’s seat backs at WilliamsBrice, talking Gamecock sports at the Blue Marlin before a game or jumping up and down for “2001.” To this Gamecock, he will never be forgotten.” One of the last great memories that Moore and his family experienced together was the South Carolina-Clemson men’s basketball game in December of 2014. After walking around campus and taking some pictures under the big live oaks in the Horseshoe, the family went to Colonial Life Arena to watch the game. The Gamecocks blasted the Tigers by 23 points that night so naturally, everyone was yelling, cheering and laughing the entire time. At the end of every game in every sport, the South Carolina alma mater is sung and it was at that point when you could see how much the Gamecocks meant to Moore. “There was always a moment at the very end of games when we sang the alma mater that I could look at him and see that he truly believed those words,” Bradley said. “But he didn’t just believe them, he lived them.”
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24 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
Gamecock Radio/Television Information
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. 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-UCF television The South Carolina-UCF game will be available on ESPNU. 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
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Spurs & Feathers • 25
September 23, 2015
Gamecocks have ‘no limits’ in 2015-16 by kyle heck Reporter
For the first time since arriving, South Carolina softball coach Beverly Smith got an extended look at her incoming freshmen class. Instead of having to wait until the semester started in August to see the freshmen, they were able to enroll during the Summer II semester this year. That allowed Smith and the rest of her coaching staff an opportunity to see the class in individual workouts as well as get them acclimated to college life, which has been a huge boost. “For me, we hit the ground running when our whole team came back in August,” Smith said. “I thought it looked like everyone did their job over the summer. We came back fit.” For Smith, the team’s first official fall practice on Friday, Sept. 11 couldn’t have come fast enough. She was excited to see the 2015-16 team together for the first time. While the Gamecocks lost Sarah Mooney, Kristen Struett and Olivia Lawrence from the offense as well as pitcher Julie Sarratt, South Carolina brings back a solid group of players that is led by All-American Alaynie Page, who hit .436 with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs last season. Throw in the group of four freshmen and Smith is looking forward to starting a new year. “Out of the four freshmen, three of them are lefthanded,” Smith said. “We’ve been predominantly righthanded. Now we’ve got three lefties to the lineup and we’re adding more speed in that group. That’s going to be the exciting part.” With the Gamecocks scheduled to play six games this fall, those freshmen will get a chance to show what they can do on the college level before the spring season starts up next year. Smith added that all four newcomers will compete for playing time at their respective positions. One that sticks out is junior college pitcher Jessica Elliot, who comes to the Gamecocks after winning a National Championship at Chipola College. She is expected to help replace Sarratt, along with returnees Nickie Blue and Hayley Copeland. Blue is the unquestioned leader of the pitching staff now while Copeland is looking to bounce back from a disappointing freshman season. “I can tell she put in a lot of work over the summer and that’s already showing here in our individual practices,” Smith said of Copeland. “I like the pitching staff because they’re all different. When we make a change, it’s going to be a change that the other team is going to really have to contend with.” On the other side, Smith knows that opposing teams will do their best to subdue Page. After her historic season last year, she is not going to sneak up on anyone in 2015-16. “No one watches more video than coaches in our conference so I’m sure they spent the summer trying to figure out how they’re going to get Alaynie out this year,” Smith said. “She knows that. She’s not going to sit on her laurels and her accolades from last year. She knows she’s going to have to go out there and earn it this year.” After leading off for the Gamecocks last year, Smith added that she is thinking about trying Page third in the batting order to take advantage of her bat. “I think we’ve got some players who will probably do a
photo by allen sharpe
great job setting the table,” Smith said. South Carolina will have a new coach when it takes the field this year as well. Former volunteer assistant Kaela Jackson left for an assistant coaching job at Michigan State in the offseason. To replace her, Smith hired former Gamecock AllAmerican Tina Plew Whitlock as the new volunteer assistant. She will help with the outfielders and catchers while also serving as the first base coach. “One of the things that was so great about KJ was just her passion for the game of softball and her passion for
the Gamecocks,” Smith said. “I think in that regard we’re not going to miss a beat because Tina is equally as passionate about the game of softball and just as passionate about the Gamecocks too.” As South Carolina gets into the grind of fall practice, Smith is looking forward to seeing if her team can continue to improve. The Gamecocks are the only SEC team to improve their win total in each of the last three seasons. “What I do know is this team really has no limits,” Smith said. “I’ve got a team of champions, I really do. It’s just up to us now to go out and prove it to everyone else. It’s going to be a fun year.”
26 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
Sanders has built up a lifetime’s worth of memories following the Gamecocks by kyle heck Reporter
Georgia Tech because my father was a Georgia Tech fan,” Sanders said. “There was nobody in that end zone except the While on a trip to Columbia with his eight of us plus this man and he would sit sunday school class in 1962, Glenn Sandthere and holler ‘come to me Gamecocks’ ers and his class met a guy in a downtown and we got to hollering that out and got all department store. While there, he ofexcited about it. At the time I was a 10th fered the class all free tickets to the South grader in high school and I got sold on the Carolina-Wake Forest football game that Gamecocks that night and decided that night at what was then known as Carolina was going to be my team.” Stadium. Two years later, Sanders enrolled at So Sanders and his classmates went to South Carolina as a student. He went to as the game with the man and sat in the end many games as possible while in school zone, where they watched the Gamecocks and in 1966, he decided to buy season tickdefeat Wake Forest, 27-6. Little did Sand- ets. He hasn’t missed a home game since ers know that experience would change his then. life forever. Over the next 20 or so years, Sanders On Saturday, Sept. 12, South Carolina juggled work and family life and while he hosted Kentucky in the home opener for was able to make all of the home games, he the 2015 season. For Sanders, that marked was unable to make the road trips to follow the 360th consecutive time he’s been in the the Gamecocks. stands to watch the Gamecocks play. But in 1984, Sanders did make the trip It all started with that chance encounter up to Notre Dame, where the Gamecocks at a department store in 1962. stunned the Irish by a score of 36-32. “Up until then I had really followed “After that, I just made the comment that
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if they ever beat a team like Notre Dame again, I would be there,” Sanders said. “I did not go to the Navy game (later that year) and we lost unfortunately.” The next game was the annual rivalry with Clemson and Sanders did make that contest. That was game No. 1 of the 360 consecutive game streak. “I’ve been all over the United States following the Gamecocks since then,” said Sanders, who’s been a Gamecock Club member for the last 44 years. That’s 31 years of traveling from Florida to Pennsylvania to Nebraska and beyond to watch his Gamecocks play. Staying home and watching the game on television was never an option. If he did that, he wouldn’t get to be a part of the “Game-Cock” cheers or witness the Gamecocks run out onto the field to “2001” or hear the band play in person. He also wouldn’t have run into country music great Lee Greenwood in a restaurant in Tallahassee, Florida as he was getting ready for South Carolina to take on Florida State. “Just the excitement of all that is something that you can’t get on television,” Sanders said. “Every game I go to, we start early and tailgate outside and cook and watch other games until it’s time for the Carolina game. I just enjoy it so much.” Sanders has had the same seat at Williams-Brice Stadium since 1966 and has built up a lifetime’s worth of memories. The most exciting one was the game in 2010 where the Gamecocks knocked off No. 1 Alabama for their first win against
a top-ranked team in school history. However, the most memorable game came in a 1969 contest with Virginia Tech. “The State Fair was going on and we kicked a field goal toward the end zone facing the fairgrounds and won 17-16 with no time left on the clock,” Sanders said. “Just as soon as that ball went through the uprights of the goalpost, the fair shot off their fireworks. It just looked like it was timed to do it all together. You’re sitting there watching that and all of a sudden, the fireworks go off over the fairgrounds.” Sanders said he has been lucky to avoid health issues and job and family obligations over the years to keep the streak going. His family has helped by not planning anything during football season. His daughter did get married one October, but she made sure that it was the weekend of South Carolina’s open date. Being a part of 360 straight football games, Sanders has experienced the ups and downs of Gamecock football through the years. He remembers the 1-21 stretch in 1998 and 1999, but also witnessed an 18-game home winning streak from 201113. The arrival of head coach Steve Spurrier in 2005 and the success thereafter changed Sanders’ expectations of the football team. “I used to go to the games just excited to go to the games and hoping to win,” Sanders said. “But during that 18-game home winning streak and whether it was home or away, we expected to win those games. That’s a big difference when you go with that feeling.”
Spurs & Feathers • 27
September 23, 2015
Gamecock great following Staley’s lead in taking Coker job by brian hand Executive Editor
If you google the pride of Hartsville, the first thing that will come up is a story on GamecocksOnline.com from 2004 talking about how South Carolina women’s basketball great Shannon Johnson and USA Basketball had advanced to the gold medal game of the Athens (Greece) Olympics. Johnson and USA Basketball would go on to of course take the gold medal in the olympics and the experience was just a part of her illustrious career after leaving South Carolina that saw her become a seven-time WNBA all-star and one of the All Gamecock basketball all-time womcoverage sponsored by en’s basketball Yesterdays greats. Now Johnson is ready for her next challenge that will see her follow in the footsteps of her mentor, former teammate and current South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley as she has just recently been named the women’s basketball head coach at NCAA Division II Coker of the South Atlantic Conference. “Dawn has been my role model since I picked a basketball up,” Johnson relayed. “And a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to play against their role model and play with their role model. (And also) be able to pick up the phone and talk with their role model. But I have that where I have that relationship with her where I’m able to depend on her as a friend and a mentor. With her support and her backing, I just know the sky is the limit.” The pride of Hartsville, South Carolina is ecstatic to have the opportunity to start her head coaching career in her hometown. “Growing up around here a lot of people know who I am, so I’d like to be that bridge to bring the community and put Coker and the community together,” Johnson stated. “This is very important to me. To come back to my hometown at the collegiate level it’s very important that we start a winning culture here. (Coker vice president of athletics and athletics facilities) Dr. (Lynn) Griffin is giving me the opportunity to come lead this program and it’s definitely a dream come true.”
south carolina athletics media relations
Before excelling in the professional ranks, Johnson put together one of the best playing careers in South Carolina women’s basketball history as a four-time All-SEC selection and an All-American. In 1996, Johnson, who averaged more than 20 points per game for three consecutive seasons, closed out her Gamecock career averaging 24.7 points per game in her final season. A member of the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, Johnson had her jersey retired at South Carolina in 2004. “I had a great career,” Johnson noted. “I was blessed. I was blessed to continue my career from high school on through college and then being a professional at home and internationally, so I know I’ve been very blessed to be able to do that for the years I’ve done it and that’s why it feels so good to come back and give back to women’s basketball to pass on my knowledge and my experience to the younger ladies so they also get the opportunity to do those things.” Last year, Coker’s women’s basketball closed out their year at 11-17, so there is definitely work to do, but the Cobras play in the state-of-the-art Harris E. & Louise H. DeLoach Center and Johnson knows she has all the tools in place at Coker to get the program going in the right direction. In fact, she is confident it will be done and all she has to do she says is look at her mentor and what she has done in turning around the South Carolina women’s basketball program. “That is a great inspiration,” Johnson said. “Dawn has turned that program completely around. Everybody wants to live that Dawn Staley coaching experience of turning an entire program around. But it makes alumni like myself be thankful for what we went through and also see the program going in such a positive direction.” One day, Johnson even hopes that she can have her team face off against Staley’s Gamecocks. “I would love the opportunity to see that, but I know the stage they’re on,” Johnson mentioned. “I’m hoping I just have the opportunity to come back up there and have my ladies in the Colonial Life Arena to play against the Gamecocks.” Johnson, who also served as an assistant at Northwestern State prior, knows that in the end it will take time, but she is ready to begin and she truly embraces the opportunity. “I’m just going to take it one game at a time, one season at a time,” Johnson closed.
28 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
Gamecocks teach and receive inspiration in Vietnam Trip by brad muller South Carolina Director of Content South Carolina’s Erika Rucker and Maddie Frome were in a much different classroom setting than they were accustomed to this summer. Rucker, a fifth year senior on the track and field team, and Frome, a junior on the beach volleyball team, went to Vietnam to teach underprivileged children as part of the Coach for College program, which is a non-profit organization that offers student-athletes the chance to teach youths in rural parts of developing countries. “It was a much greater experience than I ever could have imagined it to be,” Frome said. “I was completely changed when I left.” Both Frome and Rucker had some experience travelling internationally, but this wasn’t anything like what they had done
before. “I was just really looking forward to studying abroad, and I was sort of stuck in the bubble here of being in a routine,” Rucker said. “It was nice to get out of that and immerse myself in a different culture.” “I thought it was a great opportunity for me because I had never been to Asia, and I was excited to experience a different culture,” Frome said. “I wanted to spend time with kids and understand what everyday life was like for them.” Both Frome and Rucker admit to being a little apprehensive about not only teaching subjects such as physics and math to the children, but also about unfamiliar living conditions. Those nervous feelings would soon disappear. “I taught Math to seventh and eighth graders,” Frome said. “It was extremely fun. We had two Vietnamese translators
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who translated the lessons for us. So we taught math, and then I coached volleyball in the afternoon.” “I taught physics,” Rucker said. “I also taught baseball. I wouldn’t say I’m the best baseball player, but it was fun. I was learning while the kids were learning too. Despite having to work through translators because of the language barrier, the two Gamecocks said they had no trouble developing a connection with the children. “A lot of us brought pictures of competitions and of our teammates,” Frome explained. “They thought we were celebrities. They had us signing their t-shirts and everything.” “We had one life skills lesson where we showed them our life in America,” Rucker added. “The kids were very engaged during that lesson.” Frome and Rucker shared a room with another American coach in the program in what could best be described as a hostile, and while the living conditions for the local families weren’t exactly what they were used to in America, they all found ways to be happy with what they had. “On one of the days we went out with the kids into the rice fields, and they showed us around their community.” Rucker said. “The whole scenery was beautiful.” “The best part for me was the day it poured down rain,” Frome recalled. “We all just went outside and got drenched. We played basketball. We kicked puddles at each other. That was just the best day. The worst part was getting accustomed to the
food. Finding chicken feet in your soup can sometimes be a shock.” Rucker and Frome went on the trip expecting to be teachers, but they found out they learned a lot in a short time as well. “Every day we’d see the kids as we rolled up on our bus, and they just looked so happy,” Rucker said. “They were so full of joy. A lot of them wore the same shirt, the same shoes, and the same pants every day to school, but they came and had smiles on their faces. They’re so eager to learn.” “I learned to just be grateful for everything that happens, even the little things,” Frome said. “They would get so excited over anything you gave them.” The two consider it a life changing and humbling experience, and created a lasting bond with the kids they spent so much time with, making it tough to say goodbye. “I remember one girl who got the best academic award out of the entire camp,” Frome said. “She wrote me a note and made me this little bag, and in her note she said I was her favorite coach and that I made such an impact on her life. She wrote ‘I know this bag isn’t much, but I put all of my heart and love into it.’ As we were getting on to the bus, and she comes up to the window, put her hand on the window, and just started bawling. I lost it. It was the most amazing experience.” “It was everything I thought it would be plus more,” Rucker said. “Even without speaking the same language, we still formed a bond and that was really special.”
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September 23, 2015
Langston Moore: ‘We are who we are’ The Gamecocks that showed up at 6 p.m. Saturday came in knowing that they couldn’t hand UGA anything. Carolina knew they couldn’t afford to have a slow start on defense unlike the previous two contests. Everyone in the stadium knew coming in that Carolina didn’t have the offensive personnel proven to come back from a huge deficit, be it against a highly touted UGA offense or any other team we face this season. As my former head coach Dennis Langston Moore Green said one Contributing Monday night Writer post game: “we are who they thought they were.” This now famous rant was directed at the opponent that night, but this is very fitting to the Gamecocks at this point and time. “We are who we are” and who we are is not a very good team right now. Coming in we knew that UGA is running back University. We knew there would be an emphasis on stopping the run, but Georgia felt inclined to expose the Gamecock defense through the air first. Greyson Lambert, the same quarterback that didn’t complete a pass the first half against Vandy, looked to be almost perfect against the Gamecocks. Not because he grew into Aaron Murray in a week, but the Gamecock defense resembled a practice squad “scripted” card, doing little to disguise or to confuse the transfer QB. Showing coverages and pressures with little disguise, and applying very little pressure allowed Lambert to flourish. With the Gamecock defense taking three quarters to force a Georgia punt it was evident that simple routes and elementary execution made the UGA offense that much more potent. Lambert got as close to perfection as a passer could get Saturday (finished 24-of-25 on the day) and the scoreboard showed it. Through three quarters the UGA offense only saw an actual third down three times. Let that sink in for a second... Offensively we knew we had question marks at QB. Inserting a walk-on QB on the road against Jordan Jenkins, Leonard Floyd and the rest of the Dawgs, they ended up nipping at the heels of Perry Orth all day. Unable to establish the run the Gamecocks had to resort to calling
photo by juan blas
on Lorenzo Nuez and his young legs to create some sort of offensive rhythm. It was enough to provide a spark but there was little fuel to create a blaze of points to usher a comeback. To make things more interesting we lost Alan Knott during the game to an ankle injury and ended up with a true freshman Zack Bailey at center snapping to a true freshman quarterback. Not what you want on the road in a hostile environment. Good teams usually carry an air of confidence that they can overcome a few mistakes during a game regardless of the opponent. A mistake here or there isn’t something that can’t be overcome, but we aren’t one of those teams. If it isn’t evident now we have zero room for error,
period. The days of Connor Shaw comebacks and late game Clowney back to back sacks are gone (for now). The players we have are good players and have the talent to win consistently in the SEC, but the margin for error is small. We don’t have the luxury of taking a play off or two in a game effort-wise or assignment-wise. We don’t have the experience of overcoming deficits on the road (or at home) with this young group of unproven talent. Our makeup right now is one of a team that is young mentally, with very little experience, with only a few players wanting to impact the game through their play. Carolina represents an institution of higher learning, but the football team has to revert back to grade school, mean-
ing they need lots of work on basic fundamentals before they can graduate to more complex schemes and ideas. This is a team that has to view every day as a training camp day, where the emphasis is on the basics: tackling, blocking, receiving all the “day 1” stuff. That is the only way to improve and allow ourselves to compete with the rest of our schedule this season. We have to getter better every day at the elementary task or we will be relegated to repeating what happened last Saturday. Follow Langston Moore on Twitter at: @reMovetheChains #justachicken #eat2win #yoby
30 • Spurs & Feathers
September 23, 2015
Former Gamecock Evan Childs motivates others to stay strong by brad muller South Carolina Director of Content
Former South Carolina infielder Evan Childs always played hard during her days on the softball diamond. As one of six children, that intensity was ingrained at a young age through her family, and it continues today as a health and fitness professional. The certified personal trainer is not only motivating others to reach their fitness goals, but also devoted to helping her younger brother in his battle with leukemia. “Stuff like that really hits home to how lucky you are,” Childs said. “I enjoy lifting and being a motivator for other people. A lot of people can’t get out of their bed or their house to be able to work out. I always try to be thankful that I can be active and enjoy it. That’s what motivates me. When you can count your blessings, it makes you mentally strong. I definitely enjoy giving back to the blessing of health.” Childs’ father, Kevin, passed away in July of 2014 due to complications from cancer. In July of 2015, her 18-year-old brother, Ian, was diagnosed with leukemia, and now she is raising money for his medical costs with the help of her friends and clients from all over the world. “I started a GoFundMe page where folks can click on and donate any amount,” Childs said. “I posted that all over my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts because I have a lot of followers on my social media platform. I have nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram alone. I’ve had a ton of clients give. They see my little brother, who they’ve never met before, and they’re supporting me. We raised over $20,000 in the first week through that site. I’m so grateful.” Childs has built those relationships with the development of her own fitness brand. She earned her degree in sports management from South Carolina in 2012 after a solid career in which she was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll each year and led the Gamecocks with 11 home runs and 40 RBI as a senior. While trying to figure out how to start her career, she spent a lot of time in a place that had always been familiar to her – the weight room. Her love of the gym came from her father. “I was such a beanpole when I was younger,” Childs said. “My twin brother and I were always begging my dad to take us to the gym with him. So he walked us through
some stuff, and I was always in competition with my brother to see who could lift more or jump higher or jump rope longer.” That spirit carried over into college, and her time at South Carolina helped develop her career. “My favorite part about playing at Carolina was the relationship I had with all my sisters (teammates), but learning new things in the weight room was a close second,” Child said. “When I was in college I thought I lifted a lot. I’m probably about twenty pounds heavier now than I was in college, but it’s all lean muscle mass. When I was in school and taking classes toward my major and playing softball, I didn’t really have time to research how my body works. While I was at South Carolina, I went through three or four strength coaches who all taught me something different. I’m thankful for that. Our nutritionist helped me a lot. I was the one who was always asking a lot of questions. So I started doing some personal training with athletes after I graduated.” Six months after graduation, she took a job as a head personal trainer at a gym in Tampa, Florida. While there, she received a lot of feedback on her social media accounts from people who were interested in individual workout plans and programs. As a certified personal trainer, she provided that service for free to friends and family, but as more requests came in, she realized this could be the start of a career and that led to the creation of Evan Childs Fitness, LLC. “It really snowballed,” Childs said. “The knowledge I had acquired and the product I was selling was working for people. So I had to start charging for it. Serving people through health and fitness is my purpose, and I’m blessed to be able to work for myself because of all the people who believe and trust in me.” A year later, she left the gym and worked from home as her online business had taken off. “I don’t do any in-person training anymore,” Childs said. “All I do is meal plans and workouts online.” Her five and six week plans provided clients detailed instruction and recommendations on workouts and diet. That would soon change when she developed the more intense “Alpha Female” program, which is a 12-week program for which individuals had to apply for online.
“The athlete in me just wanted something harder and more competitive,” Childs said. “I really wanted to challenge women who had the same mindset as me. I read the applications to make sure they are ready for it and can handle it.” The first Alpha Female class had approximately 20 applicants. For the current seventh edition of the class, Childs received 633 applicants ranging in ages from 18 to 50 from all over the world. “It has really taken off,” Childs said. “Every 12 weeks, I take a whole new class of Alpha Female girls, which is part of Evan Childs Fitness, LLC. This goes more indepth and teaches them how to meal-plan so they can become their own coach. All of my ‘Alphas’ have different goals. Some want to lose weight, and there are some that want to gain some muscle. A lot of that is dependent on how you eat. They really get a full package of information, and they can come to me at any time with questions. I get a lot of feedback.” Childs noted that her business is not simply about body building or weight loss. “I don’t want any woman to feel inadequate to be in this program,” Childs said. “Being an ‘Alpha Female’ is more of a mindset. I have people in the program that are 250 pounds, and others that are really small. The physical part is huge, but I want to teach them to overcome mental barriers too. I send them something about every two weeks to help them with their mental strength, whether it’s self-confidence or leadership or anywhere they might struggle.” Similar to her active workout routines, Childs isn’t one to sit still very long. After
starting online workouts, and transitioning to the Alpha Female program, she is now looking to expand her brand with the creation of an apparel line and has moved her business into a 2200 square foot office/ warehouse. “I’m constantly looking to challenge myself,” Childs said. “This will be the office for myself and personal assistant, and will also be a private gym. It also gives me a place to help grow my business online via social media since that’s my biggest marketing tool right now.” Her ability motivate, inspire and support others in reaching their goals has come full circle as evidenced by the support she is now receiving for Ian, and she and her family are optimistic about the future. “We’re all pretty close, especially with all that has happened in the last couple of years,” Childs said. “My family and I are really big believers that God has a plan. We can control what we can control, and everything else is up to God. Ian has been really good throughout the whole thing.” When Ian gets healthy, Childs is ready to get him on a personal diet and fitness program. “Before he was diagnosed, he had gotten sick, had mono, and his spleen was hurting last year,” Childs said. “I was trying to tell him that a lot of it has to with your diet and what you’re eating every day. He’s an 18-year-old kid, so he was eating a lot of crap. I told him he’s going to have to start incorporating a lot of whole foods into his diet, and cut out all that junk food he’s been eating. His immune system is weak, in part, because of his diet. He’ll definitely be hearing it from me in the future.”
Spurs & Feathers • 31
September 23, 2015
Gamecocks need to right the ship
At some point in Saturday’s game, my wife who was watching with me asked a question: “We don’t have any fun players this year, do we?” Fun players? “Yeah,” she went on, “Like Clowney?” No. With apologies to Skai Moore, we don’t have any “fun” players, particularly on defense. I went into the annual grudge match with Georgia with eyes wide open. I really did not expect the Gamecocks to be able to pull out a win this year in Athens. Aside from the fact that Georgia looked to be pretty good, we had not looked particularly good in either of the first two games. The best to hope for was a close game and maybe have chance at the end. Talk around town was maybe Georgia would throw the ball a lot, as they have been known to do before, and give us a chance. They threw the ball all right. I thought they had a quarterback transfer in from Ed Girardeau Virginia. I didn’t Contributing know it was Editor Peyton Manning, or better yet for them, Tee Martin. Martin on October 31, 1998 against South Carolina, in a year that Tennessee won the National Championship, went 23 of 24, including 23 in a row. Grayson Lambert, starting quarterback for Georgia Saturday night, wasn’t quite that good. He only completed 20 in a row. He did attempt one more pass than Martin, as he threw it 25 times and he completed one more than Martin: 24. On a team that boasts a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate in Nick Chubb (he had 159 yards rushing on the evening), the quarterback set Bulldog and NCAA records with his performance. There was no pass rush. Coverage of the receivers was loose at best. It was like watching a horror movie. It would be nice to think UGA is just that good. I doubt it. Georgia had only four third downs on the night and two came late when the game was over. The hope was that the defense that played so well in the second half of the first two games would show up for the whole game. What occurred was very reminiscent of last year’s season opener in Columbia against Texas A&M. Instead, we got the first half team for two halves this time. All of that being said, it is just one game. A
photo by juan blas
game that quite frankly we weren’t supposed to win anyway. It was not without some ray of hope. The offense was not perfect, however, they worked hard and were able to make some plays. Perry Orth had his moments making his first start. His run for a touchdown was a gutsy play. Lorenzo Nunez had some flashes of what we can expect in the future. His speed is obvious and brings a different dimension. He also scored his first rushing touchdown and threw a few good passes.
Keep in mind it was three years ago that South Carolina pounded Georgia 35-0 (oh yeah, we let them score 7 at the very end) and the Dawg Nation was in disarray. The message boards were flooded with how far they had fallen and how the Gamecocks had passed them for years to come. Georgia did manage to win the next year, but that was the only win for the Bulldogs against Carolina in the last five years before Saturday night. That doesn’t make the loss any easier, but the fact is, things can turn around in a hurry.
Carolina will return home and play a struggling UCF team, which is just what the doctor ordered. Not that it will be a walk over, but with the schedule that follows, it will help to not play as tough an opponent. That will be followed with a trip to Missouri. Mizzou looked beatable Saturday at home against Connecticut, winning 9-6. After Saturday’s disaster in Athens, there is no need to look ahead past next week. Get the ship righted and see where we can go from there. It’s a long season.
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September 23, 2015
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