september 9, 2015 • Volume 37 • Issue 14 • $1.50
CELEBRATING 75 YEARS! Home opener part of Gamecock Club Appreciation Week Carson touchdown, strong second-half defense lead Gamecocks to border battle win
2 • Spurs & Feathers
Spurs & Feathers Published by Aiken Communications, Inc.
Contact Us: 326 Rutland Drive N.W. PO Box 456 Aiken, SC, 29801 To subscribe: Please call 800-559-2311; annual subscription price is $50 Ellen Priest Publisher Aiken Communications, Inc. Tim O’Briant General Manager tobriant@spursandfeathers.com (803) 335-1400 Ext. 500 Brian Hand Executive Editor bhand@spursandfeathers.com (803) 335-1399 Ext. 506 Ed Girardeau Contributing Editor/ Advertising Account Executive ed@spursandfeathers.com (803) 646-9807 Dee Taylor Advertising Director (803) 644-2371 Kathy Boyette Advertising Sales Manager (803) 295-3654 kboyette@spursandfeathers.com Brooks Rogers Advertising Representative (803) 446-4022 brooks@spursandfeathers.com Reporter Kyle Heck Photographers Allen Sharpe and Jenny Dilworth Mary Watson Graphic Designer Cover Design Brian Hand (photo by Allen Sharpe) 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.
September 9, 2015
Fans fill up Gamecock Club headquarters in Charlotte by Kyle Heck Reporter
Hours before South Carolina was to take on North Carolina in the season opener in Charlotte, North Carolina, Gamecock Nation invaded the city. The Charlotte Observer parking lot was the home of the official Belk College Kickoff event and also featured the site of the Gamecock Club headquarters where South Carolina fans could mingle with each other. The lot was also UNC’s headquarters as well, leading to a large assortment of fans. It was clear how excited people were that the season was finally here. “I didn’t sleep last night,” said Daniel Stokes, who came up from Charleston early Thursday morning. “It’s awesome.” There were food and drinks for fans in addition to live music and an appearance by Cocky and the Gamecock cheerleaders. For Assistant Director of the Gamecock Club Jay Brown, he was excited to be able to have a central location in Charlotte where South Carolina fans could gather.
photos by brian hand
And did they ever. “It’s pretty apparent what kind of passion the South Carolina fans have because this place is jammed packed,” Brown said. “Everybody is fired up and ready for the game.” The event was right across the street from Bank of America Stadium, where the game was played, making it a perfect location for the kickoff event. Charlotte Sports Foundation Executive Director Will Webb said in the days leading
up to the game that he expected more South Carolina fans than North Carolina fans. One walk around the Belk College Kickoff event made that even more evident. “We have some passionate fans,” Brown said. “I think just walking around, the garnet outnumbers the light blue by about four to one it seems like.” For some fans, a certain level of anxiousness was mixed in with the excitement for the start of the season. “I’m a little more anxious just to see the team and see what we’ve got,” said another South Carolina fan, Nick Disk. “But I think we’ll have a lot better feel for what kind of team we are after the game tonight.” Traveling to these kinds of events is something that Disk and friend Tim Sedgwick have been doing for quite some time. They are thankful that the Gamecock Club sets up headquarters so that they can interact with fellow Gamecocks. “We do it every year,” Sedgwick said. “Every away game we go to, we team up with the Gamecock Club. It’s nice to be around your own folks.”
Aiken Gamecock Club annual kickoff party fun for the entire family by brian hand Executive Editor
up for grabs. Before the program portion of the evening commenced, Cocky also took pictures and The Aiken County Gamecock Club Kickoff interacted with all of those at the kickoff event. Party has become a staple in the CSRA with the He even helped Fulmer with the raffle. event held every year since 1994 according to Spurs & Feathers’ Brian Hand also held a chapter President Chris Fulmer. question and answer session with those in attenThis year’s event was another fun-filled dance about the upcoming football season. evening with well over a hundred people in atDuring the raffle, Fulmer even referenced all tendance at the Aiken County Shrine Club on the recent upgrades to South Carolina athletic Tuesday, Sept. 1 for the annual event. facilities such as the addition of Springs Brooks “It was a lot of different people (at the event) Plaza on the Williams-Brice Stadium grounds. tonight, which is good,” Fulmer said. “It’s so “It’s hard for me to believe how we wouldn’t tough (to get a great crowd) with soccer, basehave the nicest stadium in the SEC now,” Fulball and all kinds of stuff (going on). We had a mer relayed to the crowd. “Make sure to get good crowd and it was a good time.” to the Kentucky game early so you can walk Over the course of the evening those in ataround and see all the changes.” tendance had the opportunity to receive free The special kickoff is one of many events that Gamecock Club materials as well as the 2015 the Aiken County Gamecock Club will be holdGamecock football poster. In addition, Triple ing throughout the year. C Sports in the Aiken Mall was on site to sell In fact, Fulmer told the crowd that they are Gamecock materials. There was also a raffle working on setting up a South Carolina-Clemthat featured numerous Gamecock memorabilia son event the day before the rivalry game in
downtown Aiken that will be modeled after the Border Bash held every year in Augusta, Georgia the day before the South Carolina-Georgia game. More details will be made available in the future. “It’s going to be exciting,” Fulmer stated. “I don’t know if it’s going to be on the level of the Border Bash just yet, but we’ve got a great representation among Clemson fans and Gamecock fans (in Aiken County). It’s going to be a fun time I think. They’re expecting anywhere from 3-5,000 people, so that should be fun.” To learn more about the Aiken County Gamecock Club, make sure and like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AikenGamecockClub.
Spurs & Feathers • 3
September 9, 2015
75th anniversary logo incorporates old and new by brian hand Executive Editor The special 75th anniversary Gamecock Club logo has become an instant hit. But how did it come about? The logo was designed by freelance graphic designer Jessie Kavana, who by day works as a graphic designer for the Phoenix Suns. “I’m very humbled to have had the opportunity to work with the Gamecock Club in developing a valuable piece of both their identity and that of the University of South Carolina,” Kavana stated. “Being given a clear vision, but having artistic freedom allowed me to thoroughly enjoy the creation process and led to an end result that accomplished our goals. Working with the staff was a pleasure. Communication was always clear and effective and I look forward to continuing this partnership in the future.” That clear vision and communication led to a 75th anniversary logo that embodied exactly what the Gamecock Club desired in the special logo. “The main idea behind the 75th Anniversary logo was tying in the current logo and the look and feel of the Gamecock Club with its history and past representations of the organization,” Kavana said. “I really wanted to focus on merging the two in such a way
where it felt cohesive and called upon the ‘throwback’ feel while relating to the current identity. That played a huge part in choosing colors and other elements. The cream color and Gamecock image used in the commemorative logo were cornerstones of the original BAM logo and I incorporated the garnet and black and the main banner element from the current Gamecock Club logo.” Kavana incorporated the current Gamecock fonts along with the old-school BAM fonts. “The fonts I used tied heavily to the same idea of new school and old school working together,” Kavana relayed. “The original BAM logo from 1940 used a font called Columna so I thought that would be nice to use as the main font, while also calling upon the font used in current South Carolina marketing materials, ITC Machine for the number “75.” Gamecock Club Executive Director Patrick McFarland is extremely pleased with how the final product turned out. “The logo to me is really neat,” McFarland noted. “What we did is we incorporated the first Gamecock Club logo with our mission today. There are new Gamecock Club decals that say 75 years. Obviously our special commemorative 75th anniversary 2015 calendar also has the logo on it as it is a throwback calendar.”
“The Ribs & Wings are Great!”
TAKE-OUT SPECIALS #1: 24 Wings (up to 3 flavors), pint of Baked Beans or Cole Slaw & a Gallon of Tea $26.99 #2: 30 Wings (up to 3 flavors), 25 Chicken Tenders, 1/2 pan of Wing Chips & a Gallon of Tea $57.99
CAYCE, SC 2423 Fish Hatchery Rd. 803-926-9622
RED BANK, SC 1767-E S. Lake Dr. 803-808-0488
LEXINGTON, SC 105 Northpoint Dr. 803-356-6244
CarolinaWings.com
BALLENTINE, SC 1000 Marina Rd. (803) 851-4500
#4: 50 Wings (up to 3 flavors), 1/2 pan of Wing Chips, & a Gallon of Tea $48.99 #5: 100 Wings (up to 4 flavors), full pan of Wing Chips & 2 Gallons of Tea $82.99 #6: 50 Wings (up to 3 flavors), 25 Chicken Tenders, full pan of Wing Chips & 2 Gallons of Tea $80.99 #7: 100 Wings (up to 3 flavors), 50 Chicken Tenders, full pan of Wing Chips & 3 Gallons of Tea $135.99 #8: 2 1/2 rack of Baby Back Ribs, & 50 Wings (up to 3 flavors), full pan of Wing Chips & 2 Gallons of Tea $88.99
AS20-1362492
Tailgate Headquarters
#3: 2lbs of slow roasted Pork BBQ, with Rolls, pint of Baked Beans or Cole Slaw & a Gallon of Tea $25.99
4 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
by brian hand Executive Editor
tage with 12:45 to play in the game. The Tar Heels looked as if they might score once again with just under four minutes to play in the contest, but Moore came up huge as he intercepted Williams once again in the end zone to keep the score 17-13 in the Gamecocks’ favor with 3:29 to play in the game. The two interceptions in the game by Moore were the eighth and ninth of his career. He now has three games in his Gamecock career where he has brought in two interceptions. South Carolina would not allow the Tar Heels to get the ball back over the final minutes with the Gamecocks holding on for the four-point win. In total, North Carolina finished with a 440394 advantage in total yards in the game, but the Gamecocks held a 254-208 advantage in rushing yards. South Carolina thoroughly owned the time of possession in the contest at 35:38-24:22. The Gamecocks finished with 22 first downs to North Carolina’s 20. Wilds finished with 95 all-purpose yards (51 rushing, 44 receiving) to lead the Gamecocks, while Carson led the way in rushing yards with 75 on four carries that included the 48-yard touchdown scamper. In his first career start, Mitch was 9-for-22 with 122 yards passing and the one touchdown. Defensively, Moore put together a monster game with 10 tackles (four solo) to go along with his two interceptions. Kelsey Griffin had 1.5 sacks in the game for the Gamecocks. Jordan Diggs had South Carolina’s third and final interception in the game. It was the first interception of his career. Elijah Hood led North Carolina in the game with 138 yards rushing. Williams was 19-for-31 with three interceptions and one touchdown to go along with his three crucial interceptions including the two pivotal ones to Moore in the end zone. “He threw it to the guys in the red and not the blue,” North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora said of Williams’ three picks after the game. “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t have an answer for you. If I would have had an answer, I would have gotten it changed. I kept thinking that he was going to get it and early on we did some good things. It just wasn’t consistent enough.” South Carolina will now open SEC play and its home schedule against Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Williams-Brice Stadium. The game will be nationally televised by the SEC Network.
The real Carolina: Strong secondhalf defense leads Gamecocks to win
CHARLOTTE - It might not have been the most beautiful win. But it was a win. To South Carolina (1-0) that’s all that matters as the Gamecocks opened their season with a 17-13 victory over North Carolina (0-1) before a crowd of 51,664 at Bank of America Stadium in the Belk College Kickoff Game. “The football gods smiled on the Gamecocks tonight,” South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier, who is now 6-0 all-time against the Tar Heels, relayed to the media after the Gamecock win. Spurrier knows in such a tight game anything could have happened, but he’s happy his team came out on the winning side of things. “We’re very fortunate and we’ve got a lot to correct,” Spurrier said of South Carolina’s sixth win over North Carolina in their last seven meetings. “We didn’t play our best. I think North Carolina’s a dang good team. I think they’re going to beat a lot of people this year. I really do.” Much maligned all of last season, the story of the Gamecocks’ season-opening victory was South Carolina’s defense not allowing a single point to North Carolina in the second half. The defense was not perfect on the evening as they allowed 440 yards, but that shutout in the second half and the win at the end of the day is all that matters. South Carolina co-defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward knows that type of performance in the second half can go a long way. “That’s what you want,” Ward noted. “You want confidence and you can get better when you’ve got positive things because you can be hard on the corrections, so we’ll get back to work on Saturday. They’ll be off tomorrow and we’ll get back to practicing Saturday and try and make corrections on the things we did wrong.” Spurrier agreed with Ward, pointing out that in the first game in new co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke’s system the Gamecocks held strong. “Like Coach Hoke said, we hung in there,” Spurrier relayed. “We hung in there and stopped them in the red zone, but we’ve got enough to yell and scream (about to) the entire team.” South Carolina went three and out on its first series of the year and it looked as if the Tar Heels would take advantage on their first opportunity with the football as they advanced the football all the way to the Game-
photo by allen sharpe
Moore finished the Gamecock win with 10 tackles to go along with two interceptions. cock six-yard line. The Gamecocks would not let the Tar Heels score though as Skai Moore intercepted a Marquise Williams pass in the end zone to get the football back for the Gamecocks. South Carolina would pick up its inaugural first down of the year on its next offensive drive on a 17-yard run on a Sean Kelly fake punt, but nothing else would materialize as the Gamecocks were forced to punt. The Tar Heels would make something happen on their second drive with Williams connecting with Bug Howard for a 21-yard touchdown reception that garnered North Carolina a 7-0 lead after Nick Weiler’s successful extra point. The touchdown that came with 5:21 left in the first quarter concluded a five-play, 91-yard drive over 1:11 for the Tar Heels. The Gamecocks would respond on their next drive, capturing their first touchdown of the year to tie the game at 7-7 after Elliott Fry’s extra point. South Carolina’s opening touchdown of the year came on a nine-yard pass over the middle to Pharoh Cooper on the first play of the second quarter. The touchdown that concluded an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:25 off the clock marked the first touchdown pass of Connor Mitch’s career. North Carolina would take the lead back shortly thereafter at 10-7 when Weiler connected on a 47-yard field goal with 12:23 re-
maining in the opening half that finished off a seven-play, 45-yard drive. The drive took 2:33 off the clock. Fry would match Weiler on South Carolina’s next possession, connecting on a 25-yard field goal with 7:11 remaining in the second quarter to even the game at 10-10. The Fry field goal was the culmination of an 11-play, 68-yard drive that encompassed 5:12. Weiler would tack on another field goal in the ensuing minutes to give the Tar Heels the lead back once again at 13-10 with 1:44 to play in the first half. The 38-yard field goal ended an 11-play, 54-yard drive that took 5:27 off the game clock. The field goal would be the final points of the first half and the final of the game for the Tar Heels. North Carolina narrowly out-gained South Carolina, 243-216, in the first half. The Gamecocks dominated the time of possession in the first half at 18:17-11:43. The South Carolina defense particularly played incredibly well in the third quarter to leave the game still at 13-10 as the two teams commenced the final quarter. The Gamecocks would take the lead for good at 17-13 when Shon Carson broke loose down the sideline for a 48-yard touchdown run. The touchdown run by Carson finished off a four-play, 64-yard drive for the Gamecocks that took 2:08 off the clock and garnered South Carolina the four-point advan-
Spurs & Feathers • 5
September 9, 2015
Gamecock Club celebrating 75 years of supporting student-athletes by brian hand Executive Editor
photo by brian hand
administrator is extremely thankful of what Fan of the Game.” they do to make our student-athletes successes In addition, the Gamecock Club logo will be possible,” McFarland said. painted on the field. To celebrate how much the Gamecock Club “We’ve wanted to do that for a while and we means to the University of South Carolina, the got it approved,” McFarland relayed. “It’s goentire week leading up to the home opener will be Gamecock Club Appreciation Week. “We’re very excited about it,” Gamecock Club Executive Director Patrick McFarland said. “75 years is a big deal. We’re really planning on having a big celebration for the first home game against Kentucky.” As part of the special day, the rally towels will have the Gamecock Club 75th anniversary logo, the band has some special things planned for halftime and the videoboard will have some Official Clothier of did you know facts throughout the course of the game. Other surprises are planned as well. Coach Steve Spurrier During the pregame on field, the Gamecock Club will recognize their longest-tenured member at each level. These individuals will receive a jacket and a plaque much like the “Legendary
Game Day Traditions
2818 Devine Street • Columbia (803) 771-2700 www.BrittonsOfColumbia.com PHONE ORDERS WELCOME
AS20-1357023
Exclusively at
AS20-1362495
The Gamecock Club has come a long way since being established as the BAM Club in 1940. Records show that by 1958 the then renamed Gamecock Club was bringing in $50,000 a year in contributions. Now the Gamecock Club brings in millions of dollars each year and had a record year of well over 19,000 members last year. Established to provide financial support to University of South Carolina student-athletes, presently the Gamecock Club supports over 500 Gamecock student-athletes. There are 62 Gamecock Club chapters around the country. The Gamecock Club is reaching record numbers year-by-year, which is the goal every year according to Executive Director Patrick McFarland. “The biggest positive right now with the Gamecock Club is that we have more renewals this year at this point than we did last year,” McFarland noted. “That’s fantastic. People are taking advantage of the 10-month payment plan. We think that is very customer and fan-friendly. We want to continue to grow the Gamecock Club. It’s always our goal to be better every year because unfortunately costs continue to rise in college athletics, so we have to continue to raise money and raise more money. Our fan support has been there and it’s continuing to grow.” The current year for the Gamecock Club is very special in that it is the 75th anniversary of the club. “We wouldn’t be here without the support of Gamecock Club members. We need their continued support. We understand that it takes sacrifices to be able to provide what they do to this athletic department and every coach and every
ing to be pretty much where the Palmetto Tree usually is on the field and it will be for the Kentucky game only. We’re excited to have Gamecock Club on TV and in front of everybody in the stadium. It’s a big deal.” The Gamecock Club 75th anniversary celebration at the Kentucky game will not just be confined to the game itself. “One thing we are really excited about is the opening of the Springs Brooks Plaza,” McFarland stated. “It’s phenomenal. When people step into Williams-Brice Stadium for Gamecock Club Appreciation Day during the Kentucky game people are going to be floored with what that whole project brings to the gameday experience.” McFarland encourages all South Carolina fans to come to Gamecock Park before the Kentucky game and visit with the Gamecock Club. “You’ll see our big tent out there,” McFarland commented. “We also have some special things planned prior to the game.” For more information on the Gamecock Club, visit www.scgamecockclub.com.
6 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
Tanner on Springs Brooks Plaza: ‘This is very special for us’ by brian hand Executive Editor
South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner is not shy about what the Springs Brooks Plaza means to the University of South Carolina, putting it simply by saying “this is very special for us.” According to South Carolina, Springs Brooks Plaza on the Williams-Brice Stadium grounds was made possible by a generous donation from Tami Springs Brooks and family of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The beautification of the plaza removed asphalt and hundreds of cars, replacing them with brick pavers, sod, trees, shrubs, flowers, light poles with banners, wrought iron fences and gates, beautiful planters and benches. “For 81 years I guess it is, our fans and our alumni and donors have entered this stadium the same way,” Tanner said at a press conference before joining others for a tour of the new updates. “And for the first time in many, many years we have a different look. We’re excited about what Tami Brooks and her family have engaged in to change the appearance that many of you remember as a lot of asphalt. Some people say it was a concrete jungle and very much of an industrial area and it’s changed considerably.” South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier has obviously been involved with the project and he used the words of quarterback legend Brett Favre visiting the Gamecocks’ practice on Saturday, Aug. 29 to explain just how impressive all of the recent updates truly are for his program. “He was amazed at our facilities also,” the HBC said of Favre. “He said, ‘you know, I live in Hattiesburg (Mississippi) so I’m out there at Southern Miss all the time. But you guys don’t know how good you got it right here.’ So I think our players do know that now. Not only our practice fields and our academic center, but the new residence hall (650 Lincoln) that’s open this year is as luxurious as it is anywhere. It’s like a condominium-style living. Every player has their own TV, own bedroom, washer and dryer in every unit over there. So it is a top of the line living facility.” Tanner could not be happier with the way per usual Spurrier involved himself in the Springs Brooks Plaza process as well as the other upgrades. “He’s very instrumental in all of our projects and this one specifically and our past
photo by allen sharpe
will be recognized inside this stadium as well as we move forward as part of this project,” Tanner relayed. “He has a keen eye for things that are important.” One of the project partners, Kyle Theodore, of Wood + Partners explained the massive undertaking by noting they definitely tried to mimic Gamecock Park across the street as “the intent was to bring a lot of those design elements (from Gamecock Park) and thoughts across the street and incorporate them into the fan experience here at Williams-Brice Stadium.” “The renovations themselves occurred about over 32 acres and of that 32 acres the majority of it was previously asphalt or concrete pavement and now we have a little over two acres of lawn. There is also over two acres of landscaping, so that a little over four acres … equates to about 25 percent of the improvements that took place here on
the grounds. We’re very proud of the fact that we have sort of tamed the environment and made it a lot more exciting and pleasant for USC fans to come and partake in games here,” Theodore continued. South Carolina Director of Planning and Programming and Architect, Derek Gruner, broke the whole project down by articulating, “I think if I can distill this down to the very fewest words, we’ve taken what’s so special about our academic campus and imported it finally to Williams-Brice. I know I speak for a lot of trustees when I say this is a day long, long coming. Whereas this plaza used to be a place to where people would pass through to get to their cars from really what is a beautiful stadium, now this is a place to gather, it’s a place to be.” One of the big bedrocks of Springs Brooks Plaza is the commemorative brick project. The first phase was so successful that a sec-
ond phase was just recently announced. “I think the number is just outside of 3,400 (engraved bricks),” Tanner said. “It was a very successful venture. (Assistant Director of the Gamecock Club) Jay Brown headed up that project and that took a lot of work and now because of the appearance that we have many people have called and said, ‘hey, can I get a brick?’ (I always say) ‘it’s a little bit late for 2015, but we’ll get you on for 2016.’ We’re excited about that. I have a brick out there with my family as well and that’s a very special feature of the plaza.” Tanner in general knows just how meaningful this project could be for Gamecock football and athletics for years to come. “Tami and I have engaged in numerous conversations about how impactful this is and it’s just an opportunity for our fans to have an environment that they have not experienced in so many years,” Tanner said.
Spurs & Feathers • 7
September 9, 2015
‘A group of people that truly care’ about Gamecock athletics by brian hand Executive Editor
South Carolina head baseball coach Chad Holbrook vividly remembers in 2010 the emotions on the field and in the stands at Rosenblatt Stadium when the Gamecocks won their first baseball national championship on June 29, 2010. It’s something the then Gamecock associate head coach will obviously never forget. When asked what the Gamecock Club means to him that is the exact thought that came to his mind. “I don’t know if there is a group of people that care more about their University and their athletic department than the group of people associated with the Gamecock Club,” Holbrook noted. “I’ve worked at other places and I’ve seen from afar other institutions, but I don’t know if anyone cares more about their team and their programs than the core group of Gamecock Club members. I can still think about running through the stands in Omaha and seeing 65 and 70-year-old men crying after we won a national championship. I don’t know if that happens at other places, but it happens here because people care so much.” South Carolina head men’s and women’s swimming coach McGee Moody agrees with Holbrook’s thoughts. “The Gamecock Club is a group of people that truly care about our athletes, our athletic department and our University,” Moody remarked. “They want to see us succeed on every level, not only in the pool or on the field or on the court, they also want to see us succeed the classroom. Their generous donations have made us who we are today. Their loyalty to our athletic department and the University will secure our success in the future.” South Carolina head volleyball coach Scott Swanson realizes his program would not be able to grow the way that it has in his tenure without the support of the Gamecock Club. “After being here at South Carolina four seasons, I have truly appreciated all that the Gamecock Club means to our athletic department, our programs and especially the coaches and athletes that are so lucky to be a part of Gamecock athletics,” Swanson said. “Without the Gamecock Club we would not have the amazing facilities or
support that we are so fortunate enough to enjoy. We are thankful to every loyal member that so generously provides us with the opportunity to compete at the highest level both in the SEC and nationally.” South Carolina head men’s golf coach Bill McDonald has taken his program to new heights over the past few years and he readily understands that is not possible without the Gamecock Club. “The Gamecock Club is the lifeblood of our athletic department and my family and I are extremely proud to be one of its members,” McDonald commented. “As a coach, I am forever grateful for the relationships our Gamecock Club staff cultivates with our boosters and the business community and also for the tremendous support the Gamecock Club provides for our student-athletes.” The head coach of the newest sport at South Carolina, beach volleyball head coach Moritz Moritz particularly knows just how important the Gamecock Club is to South Carolina athletics. “The Gamecock Club is an integral component to our success on and off the sand,” Moritz relayed. “We are grateful to be able to have the opportunities that we do and for the major impact that the Gamecock Club has to allow us those opportunities.” South Carolina men’s soccer head coach Mark Berson is in his 38th season. He has seen the Gamecock Club grow immensely during his illustrious career. “The Gamecock Club provides a complete support system for our student-athletes from the first day they get to campus until well after they graduate and move on in their lives after leaving campus,” Berson said. “They are by our side supporting our student-athletes as they compete for Carolina and they close the loop after graduation with a support network that insures that our student athletes know that they are ‘Gamecocks for Life.’” South Carolina softball head coach Beverly Smith and her team play in one of the top softball facilities in all of the country in Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. The Gamecocks have made the last three NCAA Tournaments and the future gets brighter every day for Gamecock softball and Smith realizes the Gamecock Club plays a big part in their success. “The Gamecock Club epitomizes passion and support,” Smith stated. “In my experi-
photo by allen sharpe
ence I have seen the passion and pride that pours out of all the various county clubs; from Tigerburns to hosting a meal for the athletes, the mission is to always support the Gamecocks. I am so appreciative of all the things the Gamecock Club continues to do for softball.” South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier has guided the Gamecocks to a school-record four straight bowl victories and he knows without the hard work of the Gamecock Club staff that success might not be possible. “(Gamecock Club executive director) Patrick McFarland and his group do an excellent job,” Spurrier said. South Carolina men’s basketball head coach Frank Martin has been working incredibly hard to change the culture of his program and he cannot be more proud of the efforts of the Gamecock Club to help with the process. “It’s phenomenal,” Martin mused. “One thing that is great about this school is how much people care. The Gamecock Club is strong with people continuing to give of themselves to be a part of this University that has meant so much to them. Just this year we’ve been able to re-do this whole area back here (at the Colonial Life Arena)
where our players are at - not where the fans see, but where nobody sees other than our players - because of the Gamecock Club. That’s the kind of impact that they have on our programs. I know that folks that are members of our Gamecock Club care and all I ever ask is that people care. If they care, they’ve got me hook, line and sinker.” South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley has taken her program to unprecedented heights and she realizes that for some the Gamecock Club not only gives means to success during a studentathletes time at South Carolina, but also can change generations. “(The Gamecock Club) gives our student-athletes an opportunity to play, to get a scholarship, to get a student-athlete experience like none other,” Staley said. “I think what they’ve done is they’ve changed generations for some of our kids. Some of our kids will be first-generation college graduates like some of our former players. It gives life beyond the current. I don’t think people understand that part of it. I was a first-generation college graduate, so when you are able to affect a young life in that manner it’s a beautiful thing for them to support us in this way.”
8 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
Ray Tanner on the Gamecock Club
Earlier this year, Spurs & Feathers Executive Editor Brian Hand sat down with South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner to talk about the Gamecock Club and what it means to the University of South Carolina.
S&F: You have had the unique position of working with the Gamecock Club as a head coach and now as the Athletics Director. Talk a little bit about what the Gamecock Club has meant to you over the years. Tanner: The Gamecock Club has been around for a long time and it’s the fabric of our athletic department that supports our student-athletes by providing scholarships and academic support. For our donors and our members to support the club to the extent that they have over the years has enabled us to recruit at a high level and finance scholarships for our student-athletes. It’s been an initiative that, as a former coach and certainly as an administrator, you never take that for granted. Our studentathletes understand and I think all of our coaches make sure that our scholarship athletes understand where the financial support comes from and that’s from our Gamecock Club members. That makes it possible for them to come to school on scholarship. S&F: When talking with your coaches at the University of South Carolina, I am sure the importance of the Gamecock Club is brought up a great deal. I know you cannot speak for all of them, but are there any key points that they bring up when talking about the Gamecock Club and how it relates to their program? Tanner: I think to have quality programs that sustain success it’s a big deal. I think that a lot of our Gamecock Club members understand that there are peaks and valleys in sports and they’ve been around for a long time and continue to support us. But, the staff of the Gamecock Club, they’ve certainly done their part to help the Gamecock Club and send a message that your support is needed and is greatly appreciated. We have a lot of wonderful coaches that engage our members and our student-athletes at numerous times throughout the year. We have opportunities where we show our appreciation and I think those things are helpful. I think that if you look back at the history of the Gamecock Club we continue to grow, but we’ve had a lot of members that have been around for a lot of years. S&F: The Gamecock Club has reached record numbers over the past few years. What steps do you think need to be taken to sustain or even continue the increase? Tanner: I think that the consistent message that I always send - and our coaches visit with Gamecock Clubs throughout the year and engage in different meetings - it’s always a reminder that the Gamecock Club, the membership, supports what we’re trying to do with our student-athletes. I mentioned already the scholarship support and the academic initiatives that they provide for us in its entirety. Our memberships and the contributions have been 50 percent as far as financing our programs. The Gamecock Club has been able to improve memberships and their annual donations have been able to support our scholarship program in its entirety. S&F: You travel around a great deal talking with the Gamecock Club chapters. Your schedule is always filled up, but still you seem to make it a priority to visit these chapters when possible. How important
photo by allen sharpe
is it for the Athletics Director at South Carolina to make these type of visits? Tanner: I do (consider it important) because the majority of our Gamecock Club members have been around for a long, long time. That’s what we’re all abo-ut: tradition and history. It’s an opportunity to say thank you for the many years of support. It’s very special for us as the administrators and coaches to engage in the membership that has been with us for a very long time. It’s a way to say thank you for your consistent support that has given us an opportunity to compete in the Southeastern Conference. S&F: We had the pleasure of watching how hard you work on a football gameday, but just what is a normal day for Ray Tanner? Or is there a normal day? Tanner: I don’t think there is, nor would I like for it to be; I like different things going on and different initiatives I’m involved with. Whether it’s a fundraising visit where I’m out of town or if it’s visiting with members of the Gamecock Club, coaches or members of the SEC meetings or whatever the agenda calls for that day, I’m
blessed to be in a position to work in athletics at this great University and to work with so many great coaches and student-athletes and with a great President like Dr. Pastides. I feel that we’re in a position academically where our collaboration is very, very special on this campus. The brand of this University is very, very important and athletics is just a unit. We’re just a unit as far as this entire University is concerned. We are the front porch, but it’s a special University to be involved with and I’m very fortunate to be in this position. S&F: From your vantage point as Athletics Director do you have any plans or have an idea of what you would like the Gamecock Club to be in the future? Tanner: The dollars that we bring in annually now they go to support our scholarships and our academic mission and those challenges continue to grow with the increase of the school and the support staff and academics continue to grow. But, this is a resource that we invest back into our student-athletes, so it’s important that we continue to grow our membership to support our studentathletes at the highest level.
Spurs & Feathers • 9
September 9, 2015
The view from the North Carolina locker room by kyle heck Reporter
that uncertainty as the Tar Heels limited the Gamecocks to 17 points. North Carolina recorded a 440-394 advanComing into the game against South Caro- tage in total yards, but a greedy South Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, North Caro- lina defense stopped the Tar Heels when they lina head coach Larry Fedora was expecting needed to most. the Gamecocks to use perhaps two quarterThe Gamecocks picked off North Carolina backs. Starter Connor Mitch was one and quarterback Marquise Williams three times he figured star wide receiver Pharoh Cooper and junior linebacker Skai Moore had two would get a couple of cracks in the wildcat end zone interceptions to keep points off the formation as well. board. However, he wasn’t expecting South Caro“You have to give them credit,” Fedora lina to have five different players under cen- said. “They’re the ones that made the stops in ter, which was the case. That variety under the red zone. But on the other side of it, I’m center threw a wrench in the Tar Heels’ plans going to say that we didn’t execute. I thought and played a role in their 17-13 defeat to the we did a poor job executing, especially in the Gamecocks. red zone.” “Defensively, they created some problems Fedora said he wasn’t sure what was up with so many different people at quarterwith Williams. The record-breaking senior back,” Fedora said. “We didn’t know what turned the ball over three times and all of we were going to get with a new quarterback them came deep in South Carolina territory. and I don’t know how many quarterbacks “You have to throw it to the guys in the blue they played tonight. They did a good job. and not the red,” Fedora said. “I kept thinkThey found ways of being able to run the ing that he was going to get it going. Early football.” on, we did some really good things, (but) it South Carolina racked up 254 yards rushjust wasn’t consistent enough.” ing and had four different players record at The star of the night for the Tar Heels was least 40 rushing yards. tailback Elijah Hood. The sophomore ran for Fedora went on to say that he thought his 138 yards on just 12 carries. He impressed defense did a fairly good job of going against Fedora enough to further solidify himself as
Enjoy our beaches every da y... Call about proper ties for sale.
photo by allen sharpe
a starter. “He ran hard for it,” Fedora said. “I think most of it came after contact, breaking tackles. I think Elijah has proven to us that he is the starter.” Both North Carolina and South Carolina came into this year with concerns on defense after historically bad units on that side of the ball last year. Because of that, many expected a high-flying game with lots of points scored. However, both defenses showed significant improvement and that’s something that Fedora will take away from the game. “We have to do a better job of stopping the
run,” Fedora said. “But we played the pass pretty darn well. I thought there was a lot to build on defensively.” Even with those positive takeaways, Fedora knows his team made too many mistakes to be able to come away with a victory and a lot of those miscues were a result of the South Carolina defense. “You have to give South Carolina credit for doing what they did,” Fedora said. “They forced turnovers on the offense, all of them in the red zone I believe. (It) wasn’t good enough to win a football game tonight and we have to get much better.”
Vacation
RENTALS
JAMES W. SMITH REAL ESTATE CO. Real Estate Sales & Vacation Rentals
Over 40 Years....Making Vacation Dreams Come True
North Litchfield • South Litchfield Pawleys Island • Litchfield by the Sea
CALL FOR GAMECOCK SPECIALS! INFO@JWSRE.COM
www.JWSRE.com call 800.746.5651 or 843.237.4246 AS34-1357838
10 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
A Gamecock proposal cemented forever at Springs Brooks Plaza by brian hand Executive Editor Michael Kanwisher knew he wanted to do something different with his proposal. But he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant until one fateful day he received an email from the Gamecock Club about their commemorative brick program that would be a part of Springs Brooks Plaza on the grounds of Williams-Brice Stadium. “I was just thinking it was cool because that’s one of the first things we started doing when we were dating,” Kanwisher relayed. “We would go to the football games together and tailgate together. I thought it would be a cool way to do something that no one else would do, especially because it was a limited time window there.” As with any any proposal, it’s never as easy as was planned. “I ordered the brick and it kind of bephoto by brian hand came a little bit more complicated than I thought because there’s no way to re10-pound brick,” Kanwisher said. “I kind ally subtly propose to someone with a of decided the easiest way to do it without
making it obvious would be with a Christmas present, so over Christmas, I wrapped it up.” That’s when his now fiancee, Morgan Jackson, became suspicious. “Originally, I was going to propose to her after Christmas (2014) since we had been going down to Atlanta with my family, but she started suspecting that I was going to propose,” Kanwisher noted. “She started dropping hints like I have a feeling you’re going to do something in Atlanta and I was like ‘no, what are you talking about?’” Both Jackson (2011) and Kanwisher (2007) are graduates of the University of South Carolina and Kanwisher is presently an Emergency Medicine Resident at Palmetto Health Richland after finishing his studies at the Medical College of Georgia. Jackson concluded her studies at MUSC and she is currently a nurse practitioner at Palmetto Pulmonary-Baptist. Both were on duty this past Christmas and it was at this time that Kanwisher realized he needed to expedite things in the
proposal to Jackson. “I thought the easiest way to make it a surprise was push it forward and so we went to her family’s house,” Kanwisher said. “It was her whole extended family really. It was her grandparents, her parents, sister, cousins. Pretty much everyone was there, and I gave her the (brick) box and went and got the ring and when she actually opened up the brick and read it, I actually had the ring backwards.” What was on the brick that will be housed forever at Springs Brooks Plaza? “Morgan, will you marry me?” - Mike & Morgan ‘14.” Jackson as noted kind of knew it was coming despite Kanwisher’s best efforts, but nevertheless she was thrilled with how their proposal was so unique. “I kind of knew it was coming,” Jackson said. “I was surprised with how he proposed. It was different, it was nice. I knew the proposal was coming because he’s not very good at surprises, but it was a nice surprise with how he proposed.”
south carolina athletics media relations
that more people will want a brick once they see how great it looks on the plaza.” The bricks, which are four inches by eight inches and can hold one to three lines of text (15 characters per line), will be available for $250. Gamecock Club members who purchase a brick will receive 2.5 priority points for each purchased. Keepsake replica bricks and display cases are also available, for $100 and $50, respectively. Once installed, a locator map will be available prior to the 2016 season for donors to find their bricks on the Springs Brooks Plaza. To order by phone, fans should call 1-844-GC-BRIKS, or to order online, visit GamecocksOnline.com/Bricks .
Gamecock Club announces Phase II of Commemorative Brick Program at Williams-Brice Stadium JUST IN TIME FOR SCHOOL AND FOOTBALL SEASON!
NEAR USC AND WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM CALL OR TEXT
adesso
Best price on corner unit with private balcony with great views. 2 Bedrooms each with large , private bath. MLS 370686
move in before the season starts
stadium village lofts Best buy in Phase I. Large living area ideal for the perfect Gamecock Experience. Just in time for Football! MLS 341098
AS14-1364113
Novella Taylor, ERA Wilder Realty at 803.730.3738 to see either of these units.
The University of South Carolina Gamecock Club has announced a second phase of the Commemorative Brick Program on the Springs Brooks Plaza at Williams-Brice Stadium. Engraved bricks ordered during this phase will be displayed beginning with the 2016 football season. “There has been a buzz about the commemorative bricks and the plaza since construction started, and we felt like we needed to give our fans another opportunity to etch their name at Williams-Brice Stadium,” assistant Gamecock Club director Jay Brown said. “I expect
Spurs & Feathers • 11
September 9, 2015
Colley adjusting to new country, new team by kyle heck Reporter
Shay Colley had to completely revamp her wardrobe before she came to South Carolina. The Ontario, Canada native knew she was in for a big change when she came to Columbia to play for head coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks. “Down here in the South, the heat kills me,” Colley said. “I went shopping before I came here, checked with the weather and asked the girls what it’s like, so they helped me a lot.” How many more dresses does she own now then when she was in Canada? “Probably like 20 more dresses,” Colley
stated. So how did she end up near the bottom of the North American continent? Well, it happened because of her presence on the international stage for Canada. Colley participated in the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship, the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship and the 2014 FIBA U18 Americas Championship. In the 2014 tournament in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colley helped lead Canada to a silver medal. She particularly shined in two games against the goldmedal winning U.S. team, coached by Staley. In those two contests, Colley averaged 18.5 points, three assists and 3.5 rebounds per game, including a 21-point performance in the final game
against the Americans. While that tournament helped solidify Staley’s interest, Colley said she first heard from Staley after she got back from an AAU tournament in Kentucky a couple of summers ago. Since she arrived on campus, Colley has immensely enjoyed working with Staley, who has tried to help the shy freshman break out of her shell. “I’m working on that,” Colley said. “She’s going to bring out the best in me, I know that for sure. She’ll eliminate my shyness.” Colley was originally going to be the only member of this year’s signing class. However, the Gamecocks got in three talented transfers from ACC schools to bolster the roster, although two of them will have to sit out this season.
“I was very stoked,” Colley said when she heard about the transfers. “I couldn’t believe that they were going to come in and I get to play with them next year. It goes to show that Dawn and her coaching staff are really doing something here at South Carolina.” That was the main reason that Colley wanted to come all the way down here to South Carolina. She’s excited for the opportunity to play under an iconic figure like Staley while also playing alongside some incredibly talented players. “It played quite a role,” Colley said. “Just to play with people on the team like Tiffany Mitchell and A’ja Wilson and to learn from coach Staley was really appealing.”
Stroman enjoys experience with USA East Coast Basketball south carolina athletics media relations
their job,” he added. “They expected so much out of each other and they gelled so well together. I was able to measure my game against the pros Marcus Stroman showed moments of brilliance and saw what I need to do to keep growing. To for the South Carolina basketball team in his play against pros was a big thing in helping defreshman season, and now after a unique experi- velop my game.” ence abroad he is ready to help lead the GameAn important step for Stroman this summer was cocks into the 2015-16 campaign. Stroman spent completing his recovery from a throat infection the beginning of August with the USA East Coast that cost him a number of games in the heart of the basketball club as it toured Europe and squared off conference schedule. Even upon his return to the against some elite competition. lineup, the weight lost due to the infection sapped “The furthest I had been was Las Vegas for an his strength. Now as he reports back to campus to All-Star game with my AAU team, I was kind begin his second season, his strength and stamina of nervous because I had never been that far but I has not only returned, but improved. It pairs with thought it was a great opportunity,” Stroman said. an increased comfort level with the offensive and The team first gathered in New York City for a defensive role he plays with the team. brief training camp, allowing the team to gel be“My confidence level right now is way higher fore heading overseas. The group culled together than last year,” the Columbia native admits. “Last student-athletes from nine different colleges to year I was iffy on what to do at times, but now I play games in Paris and Treviso, Italy. The open- can go out there and just play basketball.” ing camp was followed by a sleepless flight to Wrapping up the tour were a pair of games France to prepare for the opening game against a against the Chinese national team. It entered as the Parisian all-star team. 14th-ranked country in the world according to FIThere would be no jet lag at the start, as the BA, but the East Coast team drew upon its experiEast Coast club cruised to a 90-72 win. Like he ence with Nigeria to give the star-studded national had done so many times as a freshman, Stroman team all it could handle. Stroman would score stacked the box score to the tune of four points, six nine points with four steals in a last-second 89-82 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in just 21 loss in game one, and added five more steals and minutes for the team. four assists in game two. In that matchup, China Rounding out the stop in Paris was a game needed 29 points from former NBA lottery pick against the Nigerian national team. With a roster Yi Jianlian to hold off East Coast 92-84. stacked with current and former NBA players, Helping Marcus along on the trip was a familiar it ran through the East Coast team 127-88 and face, as South Carolina Director of Basketball taught Marcus an important lesOperations Andy Assaley joined son. him as the team’s assistant to the “We went against some top general manager. He helped orgapros who played in the NBA and nize the day-to-day operations of we couldn’t match up with them. the trip, and coordinated the tours They gave us a great show,” Stroof Paris and Venice. man recalled. “You see them in “We set up tours of Notre Dame, person and you think ‘wow, they the Eiffel Tour, tours of the canals really are that good,’ and you see in Venice,” Assaley said. “The nice All Gamecock basketball thing is we had a lot of sightseeing how much hard work it takes to coverage sponsored by built in to each day, it was impormake it to the next level. Yesterdays “I saw how serious they take tant to (East Coast head coach)
submitted photo
Guy Rancourt that we get to experience the culture and learning how people in other countries live. “I had never been to Europe before, so seeing Italy and Paris was awesome,” he added. “The
competition was great, getting to go to Treviso and play the Nigerian and Chinese national teams was something else.” Assaley had a first-hand experience witnessing Stroman as he prepares to play a major role for his Gamecocks this season. “It was fun watching the things that he has been working on in the spring and summer translated on to the court,” Assaley said. “The leadership role that he took on was great, he embraced being a leader for that team.”
BRUNCH
Sat: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m | Sun: 10:00 a.m. – Noon Full Bloody Mary Bar
REGULAR MENU
Sun – Thurs: 11:15 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. (Bar: 12:00 p.m./till) | Fri and Sat: 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. (Bar: 1:00 p.m./till)
Full Menu at yesterdayssc.com
AS34-1269691
12 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
Marchbanks: ‘We won a lot of ball games and we had a lot of fun doing it’ by brian hand Executive Editor David Marchbanks is not shy about what makes playing baseball at the University of South Carolina so special. “Because you’re a family,” Marchbanks mused. “Obviously, all of the guys we played with - our teammates, coaches, we’re all family. That’s the way Carolina baseball has always been. Even the people that come back for the alumni games and everything, I can remember we always felt a bond with the guys that came before us. That’s just the way it is. We come back for alumni weekend and we spend time together and you even build a relationship with the guys that came before you and the All Gamecock baseball guys playing coverage sponsored by presently. It’s DiPrato’s a big family and we take pride in the success that Carolina baseball has had over the last several years and we all feel like we had a part in it.” Marchbanks came to the Gamecock family in the fall of 2000 out of Mauldin High School as Mr. Baseball in the state of South Carolina, so obviously a great deal was expected of him upon his arrival. He did not disappoint in his three years with the program as the left-handed pitcher concluded his illustrious career with the Gamecocks with a career record of 31-8, which included a 15-3 mark in the 2003 season. The 2003 SEC Pitcher of the Year and 2003 first-team AllAmerican was a part of two College World Series teams at South Carolina in 2002 and 2003. The owner of numerous accolades during his time at South Carolina, Marchbanks has recently added another title to his impressive resume - Hall of Famer. He will be inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, Sept. 10 along with seven other Gamecock greats. According to Marchbanks, the whole idea of him being a Hall of Famer is kind of surreal. “It is a surreal feeling and honestly, it really hasn’t sunk in yet, but when Tommy Moody called me up and told me that I was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, I was just totally honored to even be mentioned with some of the great Carolina baseball players to come through our program over the years and also all of the great athletes that have come through our
south carolina athletics media relations
Marchbanks was named a first-team All-American and SEC Pitcher of the Year in 2003. University,” Marchbanks stated. Since learning that he is joining the USC Athletic Hall of Fame, Marchbanks has done a great deal of reflection. “Obviously, playing baseball at South Carolina, it was some of the best times of my life and it was obviously the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball,” Marchbanks noted. “I just cherish every moment at Carolina. It gives you time to look back on that and really take
the time to think about those good times and everything.” Marchbanks left South Carolina as a seventh round pick of the Marlins and since finishing his professional career he and his family have moved back to the Greenville, South Carolina area where he is the Vice President at Gossett Concrete Pipe Co., Inc. As noted, he still keeps up with his Gamecock baseball family and in fact lives next
door to fellow USC Athletic Hall of Famer and current North Greenville head baseball coach Landon Powell. “It’s kind of funny. Honestly, it was kind of by coincidence,” Marchbanks said. “Our sons are the same age and everything, so obviously we’re pretty close. He’s a good one. He’s enjoyed some success up at North Greenville and he’ll obviously be at the Hall of Fame weekend.” In addition, Marchbanks and many of the others on the team during his time at South Carolina still get together every year for a trip to a road Gamecock football game. “We still spend time together and we’ll actually take a little road trip every year,” Marchbanks relayed. “We kind of turned it into a tradition to go to a road football game. We’ve done that the last three or four years and we’re going to continue to try and do it. We’re going to Tennessee this year and take that game in. We still stay in touch. Like I said, it’s a tightknit group and Carolina baseball, it’s a family.” That family atmosphere obviously starts at the top under former Gamecock baseball head coach and current South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner. “Tanner, he’s had a huge impact on my life,” Marchbanks said. “You really don’t realize the lessons you learn, or how the lessons that you learned on the field impact you for the rest of your life. It carries over to the business world and things like that. He’s just an outstanding coach and he’s going to do great things as AD now. Coach Meyers too. He was the guy that taught me how to pitch. He’s an outstanding pitching coach and really one of the best pitching coaches I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing for. Can’t say enough about my coaches and it’s going to be great seeing everyone.” Being around great teammates and elite coaches is one thing, but being able to make it to Omaha with those individuals is what stands out to him from his Gamecock career. “Obviously the best memories I ever had were going to the College World Series,” Marchbanks said. “That’s something we’ll cherish and remember for the rest of our lives. At Carolina, your success is really measured by going to Omaha. That’s kind of become a tradition at Carolina. It’s kind of become a standard, really. Those are moments that we really enjoyed.” Nevertheless, at the end of the day for Marchbanks it all breaks down to that family atmosphere. “It was a fun place to go to college,” Marchbanks said. “We won a lot of ball games and we had a lot of fun doing it. It was some of the best times of my life.”
Spurs & Feathers • 13
September 9, 2015
South Carolina Gamecocks
2015
football Schedule 09/03/15...........vs. North Carolina ............... Charlotte, N.C......................W, 17-13 09/12/15...........vs. Kentucky # ....................... Columbia, S.C...............7:30 p.m. ET 09/19/15...........at Georgia # ........................... Athens, Ga.....................6:00 p.m. ET 09/26/15...........vs. UCF...................................... Columbia, S.C...............................TBA 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
Standings SEC East
CONF OVERALL HOME ROAD
South Carolina
0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 17 13 W1
Florida
0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 61 13 W1
Georgia
0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 51 14 W1
Kentucky
0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 40 33 W1
Missouri
0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 34 3 W1
Tennessee
0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 59 30 W1
Vanderbilt
0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 12 14 L1
SEC West
Alabama
0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 35 17 W1
Arkansas
0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 48 13 W1
Auburn
0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 31 24 W1
Ole Miss
0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 76 3 W1
Mississippi State
0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 34 16 W1
Texas A&M
0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 38 17 W1
CONF OVERALL HOME ROAD
PF
PF
PA
PA
LSU (game cancelled) 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0
STRK
STRK
-
TERRY BISHOP TEAM
#1 RE/MAX agent
in Columbia Former Gamecock Football Player & Letterman
ROSEWOOD 3 BR, 1 BA, 1176 SQ. FT. MLS #384879 $114,500
LAKE MURRAY 5BR, 3.5 BA, 4353 SQ. FT. MLS #367914 $749,900
WOODLAKE 5 BR, 4.5 BA, 4400 SQ. FT. MLS 366154 $429,500
LOST CREEK 4 BR, 3 BA, 3118 sq. ft. MLS #371140 $274, 400
HEATHWOOD 4 BR, 2.5 BA, 2917 SQ. FT. MLS #379341 $569,900
ESTATES ON GERVAIS 2 BR, 2.5 BA, 2100 SQ. MLS #379554 $439,900 MLS # 379565 $449,900 AS14-1360406 AS14-1306245 AS14-1317232 AS14-1317233 AS14-1327742 AS14-1327743 AS14-1337574 AS14-1360405
(803) 665-1442 TerryBishopTeam.com
14 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
Hall of Fame icing on cake for Ward by kyle heck Reporter
Ward said. “Since this (Hall of Fame induction) has happened, talking with friends and everything, it has rekindled that whole conversation Greg Ward is a legend in South Carolina that we really did get the tradition started of baseball. college baseball popularity at Carolina. I think 40 years ago, he was one of the star pitchers we had something to do with the growth of colon a South Carolina team that was the first to lege baseball because Carolina was a special punch a ticket to the College World Series in place for college baseball. Back then, Florida Omaha, Nebraska. State was really big and Miami was starting to During a baseball game this past spring that get good and you had Southern Cal, Arizona honored that 1975 College World Series team, State and Texas, but in the southeast, we kind of Ward was approached by Tommy Moody, ana- started something special and I think it spread lyst for Gamecock Radio baseball broadcasts, to other college teams too. They saw what our who told Ward that he was going to be nomistadium was like and the support that we got nated for the South Carolina Athletics Hall of from the Carolina fans.” Fame. While he will always remember that Omaha “To be honest, I keep up with South Carolina trip, Ward said his best memory by far was athletics close, but it was just something I had beating his home state school N.C. State in the never thought of,” Ward said. “I knew there was Regional Final. a Hall of Fame, but I never followed it year to “Winning that regional that sent us to Omaha year (although) I knew a few people who were was my highlight,” Ward said. “A very good in it who were good friends of mine.” friend of mine from high school played on (N.C. A little while later, Ward received an email State.) Just getting to the College World Series letting him know that he had indeed been nomi- was everything.” nated, but still had to be voted in from amongst Ever since he learned that he was going into a group that included “a lot of good candidates.” the Hall of Fame, Ward has been looking forHowever, at the end of June, Ward got a call ward to the induction ceremony on September from Jeff Grantz, a former teammate of Ward’s 10 and the festivities going on the following and Hall of Fame inductee himself, letting Ward weekend. know that he was going to the Hall of Fame. “It just means the world to me,” Ward said. “I “It was the best honor I had ever received, I think about it every day. My family is going to know that,” Ward said. be there and my wife is a Carolina graduate and Ward came to South Carolina from Greensshe was at Carolina when I was there and we boro, North Carolina in 1972. He quickly dated so she remembers a lot of it. Having my became a mainstay on the pitching staff and family there and just seeing old friends, I can’t racked up 34 wins, third best in school history, put it in words. I’ve been very fortunate with in his four year career. Ward tossed a whopping my family and job and friends and everything 25 complete games, which is three more than but this kind of tops it off and I’m just looking any other player in South Carolina history. His forward to it.” 323 career strikeouts rank fifth in school history. Ward gives some of his biggest credit to the “It was just an era where when you started, South Carolina fans who showed first-class supyou went out there with the idea that you were port of him and his teammates in the 1970s and going to pitch a complete game,” Ward said. still do so today. He recounted a story about a In 1975, the Gamecocks, coached by legend- run-in he had with a Gamecock fan while on his ary coach Bobby Richardson, featured a pitching boat on Lake Oconee in Georgia recently. The rotation that included Ward (13-4), Earl Bass (17- fan noticed the Gamecock flag on the back of 1), Raymond Lavigne (8-0) and Ward’s boat and asked if he went Tim Lewis (11-0). That foursome to South Carolina. Ward told him powered South Carolina to a 44his story and the fan knew exactly 4-1 regular season record. who he was. The Gamecocks hosted a re“He remembered the whole gional and were facing N.C. State team because his father would for a chance to punch the firstbring him to every game,” Ward ever ticket to Omaha. Another All Gamecock baseball said. “Just a huge Gamecock fan dominant pitching performance coverage sponsored by and now I’ve got a new friend at led the Gamecocks to a win over Lake Oconee. I think we’ve got DiPrato’s the Wolfpack and South Carolina the best fans anywhere in the was off to the College World Series. country. That’s meant so much to me with how The Gamecocks advanced all the way to the much support I’ve gotten. I tell people all the CWS Final, where they lost to Texas by a 5-1 time, college baseball has obviously grown so score to finish runner-up with a 51-6-1 record. much, but Carolina baseball has been big for so “I do pride myself in being part of that team,” long.”
south carolina athletics media relations
Spurs & Feathers • 15
September 9, 2015
Kershaw County Gamecock Club holds kickoff event by kyle heck Reporter
There was a National Champion in the house at the Kershaw County Gamecock Club Kickoff Event held at Old South and Catery in Camden, South Carolina on Monday, Aug. 24. Boo Major, head coach of the National Championship-winning South Carolina equestrian team, was one of the featured speakers at the kickoff event, which also featured a raffle. While there still may be some people that aren’t very familiar with equestrian, Major knew that wasn’t the case at the event. People in Camden and the surrounding areas have a love for horses and equestrian. “It’s a very difficult sport to do,” Major said of equestrian. “I don’t think you’re going to hear this from this county, but a lot of folks will say ‘well anybody can ride a horse, it’s easy.’ But everybody who has ever ridden a horse knows it’s not easy. I always respond back with, ‘well anybody can hit a golf ball, or anybody can throw a football, or anyone can play basketball. It’s easy.’” Major talked about how nice it was to win
the program’s third National Championship last season, especially over one of their SEC rivals in Georgia. She also talked about how the horses don’t travel with the team, which means that the visiting squad has to quickly learn how to control a foreign horse, which is a challenge in and of itself. With the national title last year, there are a lot more people in the state that know what equestrian is and Major encouraged everyone to come out to One Wood Farm in Blythewood this upcoming season to watch a meet. “What it all comes down to is you guys,” Major told the crowd. “If we don’t have the fans then we have nothing. I encourage you guys to all come out and watch. It’s a lot of fun to watch. We have horse people that come out, but we also have Gamecock fans that come out that know absolutely nothing about horses and it’s very rewarding to see people come out just because they want to see a different sport at Carolina. It’s really nice to see people come out and support us.” Also in attendance were Assistant Director of the Gamecock Club Jay Brown and current sideline reporter Langston Moore, a former
Casey Robinson was pleased that the club was able to get a unique perspective on football while also bringing in a highly successful head coach in Major. “It was a great night,” Robinson said. “Those guys, anytime we can bring them to town, it brings notoriety to the University, but also helps promote the local club to raise photo by kyle heck money to give back and that’s what it is all Gamecock great himself. about.” Brown talked about the Gamecock Club After being “dormant” for a while, Robinand the commemorative brick program that’s son said the club has enjoyed a surge recently taking shape right outside Williams-Brice over the last three or four years because they Stadium while Moore talked about how the have been able to do more events and fundfootball team is taking shape this year. raisers like the kickoff on Monday night. Moore praised the defensive effort so far in Robinson announced that the Kershaw fall practice and reiterated that he thinks new County Gamecock Club donated $500 to go co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke will make toward the renovation of the football team’s a big impact on the Gamecocks. equipment truck, something he and the fel“This year, these guys will give you a great low members were very proud of. opportunity to be very proud of the effort, “It’s definitely starting to grow,” Robinson technique and the fundamentals that they said of the club. “It’s been nice that people play with, and we haven’t even started talking are finally starting to wake up and realize about the talent that these guys have,” Moore that there is a club here. We’re just getting the said. “You couple those things together and I word out.” You can find the Kershaw County Gamethink that’s going to be one of the big things cock Club on Facebook and follow them on you guys will be surprised about this year.” Kershaw County Gamecock Club President Twitter at @KCgamecockclub.
Inaugural Colleton County Gamecock Club Golf Classic a success
“We’ll be looking forward to hosting some away game viewing parties,” Beard said. At the inaugural Colleton County GameThe Colleton County Gamecock Club cock Club Golf Classic on Saturday, Aug. used to do a “Braggers Cup” that was 22, 2015, more than 50 people showed up between South Carolina and Clemson but to help support the club and South Carolina no longer do so. The Golf Classic is the athletics. new event that the club is hoping to make What makes the feat even more amazing an annual event. The classic was held at is the fact that just two people were rethe newly re-opened Dogwood Hills Golf sponsible for coordinating the event, ColleCourse. ton County Gamecock Club President Lori “This was the first tournament since our Beard and Secretary Brantley Strickland. community here in Walterboro reopened “We had like 13 sponsors and we had the the golf course,” Beard said. support from the community,” Beard said. In addition to the Kentucky field passes “Everybody came out to play. I think it and golf balls, hole sponsors were entered was (Strickland’s) first tournament too, but submitted photo into a drawing for field passes at the South we managed to muck through it. He and I Carolina-Citadel game later this season. made a great team. I talked to (Gamecock The winner was revealed at the Colleton Club Executive Director) Patrick (Mcthe gross score champions each received a County Gamecock Club’s viewing party Farland) and he couldn’t believe that just pack of a dozen Bridgestone E6 Gamecock for the season-opening game against North Brantley and I put on a golf tournament.” golf balls. Carolina in Charlotte. The viewing party The tournament had two winning groups, The result of the tournament was the Col- will be held at the Main Street Grille in with the net score champions receiving leton County Gamecock Club’s biggestWalterboro for anyone interested. field passes for South Carolina’s home ever fundraiser as the club raised a little In addition, the Colleton County Gameopener on Sept. 12 against Kentucky while over $1,000. cock Club will be holding their annual
Carolina-Clemson Pep Rally sometime in November before the big rivalry game. You can like the Colleton County Gamecock Club on Facebook by searching Colleton County Gamecocks.
Caboose For Sale or Rent $2,000 per game or $10,000 for Season Includes: • 50 people passes/5 Parking Spaces • Fully Furnished • Cable Provided • Icemaker
Call Tawny
Open Door Realty (803) 240-4045
AS14-1363450
by kyle heck Reporter
16 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 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 Sherrod Pittman LB 9 Jerad Washington WR 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 17 Carlton Heard WR 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 Jamari Smith CB 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
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 5-8 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 6-0 6-2 6-0 5-9 6-3 6-5 5-10 6-0 5-10 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
Wgt. 186 202 183 193 233 177 225 226 215 211 163 206 189 264 225 158 218 203 231 207 224 210 189 207 175 183 209 185 180 195 209 182 248 203 182 210 180 199 206 200 220 204 220 195 190 185 207 180 235 164 220 198 201 222 222
Cl. RS JR RS FR SO FR SO FR RS JR RS FR RS JR RS SO SO RS SR RS SR JR FR 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 SR RS FR RS SR FR FR SR RS SR RS SO RS SR FR JR SO FR FR RS SO JR JR JR FR RS JR RS SO RS SO 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 Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast 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 Athens, Ga./Clarke Central/Gardner-Webb 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 Jacksonville, Fla./Fletcher 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
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. 34 Scott Grant SS 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 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. 5-10 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 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. 178 154 170 245 258 181 210 209 251 188 269 234 220 240 200 188 213 224 293 203 240 300 319 240 314 301 212 295 325 270 328 320 314 295 293 308 320 314 185 252 194 243 200 160 238 225 185 231 308 250 327 300 316 291 326
Cl. RS FR 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 FR FR FR RS FR FR FR SR SO FR RS SR JR JR SO RS JR
Hometown/High School/Last College Laurens, S.C./Laurens 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 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 9, 2015
Kentucky Wildcats
Football Roster # Name Pos. 1 A.J. Stamps S 1 Ryan Timmons WR 2 Derrick Baity DB 2 Dorian Baker WR 3 Jojo Kemp RB 3 Fred Tiller CB 4 Marcus Walker DB 4 Mikel Horton RB 6 Blake Bone WR 6 Jason Hatcher DE 7 Daron Blaylock LB 7 Drew Barker QB 8 Jabari Greenwood WR 8 Kobie Walker LB 9 Landon Foster P 10 Thaddeus Snodgrass WR 11 Tavin Richardson WR 11 J.D. Harmon CB 12 Reese Phillips QB 13 Jeff Badet WR 14 Patrick Towles QB 15 C.J. Conrad TE 15 Marcus McWilson S 16 Davis Mattingly QB 16 Cody Quinn CB 17 Alex Montgomery WR 17 Zack Blaylock S 18 Glenn Faulkner S 18 Boom Williams RB 19 Garrett Johnson WR 20 Ryan Kendall WR 20 Kengera Daniel DE 21 Chris Westry DB 22 Sihiem King RB 22 Khalid Henderson LB 23 Jared Tucker CB 24 Blake McClain CB 25 Darius West S 26 Will Jackson DB 27 Mike Edwards S 28 Kei Beckham DB 29 Kendall Randolph CB 30 Rhomel Fields S 31 David Bouvier WR 32 Eli Brown LB 32 William Mahone RB 33 Ryan Flannigan LB 34 Jordan Jones LB
Yr. SR JR FR SO JR SR FR SO SO JR SR RS FR FR RS FR SR RS FR FR JR SO SO JR FR JR FR SR SO JR SR SO SO RS FR FR FR FR SR RS FR JR RS FR FR RS FR FR SO RS FR RS FR FR SO SR FR
Ht./Wt. 6-0/205 5-10/192 6-3/180 6-3/208 5-10/200 6-0/180 6-1/185 6-1/226 6-5/208 6-3/252 6-1/226 6-3/225 6-3/195 6-3/210 6-1/178 6-1/190 6-3/218 6-2/197 6-2/225 6-0/182 6-5/240 6-5/245 6-0/208 6-4/225 5-10/180 6-2/210 6-1/193 6-2/208 5-9/196 5-11/182 5-10/193 6-5/260 6-4/185 5-9/172 6-1/235 5-11/175 5-11/195 6-0/206 6-3/200 6-0/200 5-11/170 6-0/180 6-2/191 5-9/163 6-2/208 5-9/190 6-2/225 6-2/215
Hometown/Previous School Vicksburg, MS (Vicksburg HS) Frankfort, KY (Franklin County HS) Tampa, FL (H.B. Plant HS) Cleveland Heights, OH (Cleveland Heights HS) DeLand, FL (DeLand HS) Homerville, GA (Clinch County HS) Lake Wales, FL (Lake Wales HS) West Chester, OH (Lakota West HS) Woodruff, SC (Woodruff HS) Louisville, KY (Trinity HS) Marietta, GA (Walton HS) Burlington, KY (Conner HS) Washington, DC (Gonzaga HS) Olney, MD (Our Lady of Good Counsel) Franklin, TN (Independence HS) Springfield, OH (Springfield HS) Duncan, SC (Byrnes HS) Paducah, KY (Tilghman HS) Signal Mountain, TN (Signal Mountain HS) Orlando, FL (Freedom HS) Ft. Thomas, KY (Highlands HS) LaGrange, OH (Keystone HS) Youngstown, OH (Cardinal Mooney HS) Louisville, KY (Male HS) Middletown, OH (Middletown HS) Weston, FL (Cypress Bay HS) Marietta, GA (Walton HS) East St. Louis, IL (East St. Louis HS) Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) Winter Garden, FL (West Orange HS) Charlotte, NC (Cuthbertson HS) Raleigh, NC (Millbrook HS) Orange Park, FL (Oakleaf HS) Colquitt, GA (Colquitt County HS) Mableton, GA (Pebblebrook) Stone Mountain, GA (Stephenson HS) Winter Park, FL (Winter Park HS) Lima, OH (Central Catholic HS) Washington, DC (St. John’s College HS) Cincinnati, OH (Winton Woods HS) Trotwood, OH (Trotwood-Mason HS) Tallahassee, FL (Lincoln HS) Chicago, IL (Kenwood Academy) Lexington, Ky.Lexington Catholic) Bowling Green, KY (Warren East HS) Cincinnati, OH (Lakota East HS) Missouri City, TX (Marshall HS) Youngstown, OH (Cardinal Mooney HS)
Coaches
Stoops, Mark - Head Coach Ellis, Lisa - Administrative Support Associate Ansley, Derrick - Assistant Coach - Cornerbacks Dawson, Shannon - Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Brumbaugh, Jimmy - Assistant Coach - Defensive Line Eliot, D.J. - Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Mainord, Tommy - Assistant Coach - Wide Receivers Marrow, Vince - Recruiting Coodinator / NFL Liaison Buh, Andy - Assistant Coach - Outside Linebackers Schlarman, John - Assistant Coach - Offensive Line Scott, Chad - Assistant Coach - Running Backs Berezowitz, Dan - Recruiting Coordinator Pruitt, Josh - GA / On-Field Estes-Waugh, Josh - Assistant Director for Recruiting Buffano, Frank - Director of Operations Korem, Erik - High Performance Coordinator Drisko, Max - GA / On-Field Simpson, Sam - GA / On Field Papas, Nick - GA / Off-Field Kalinowski, Tom - Equipment Manager Hill, Marc - Executive Associate AD for Internal Operations Griffin, Sandy - Staff Support Associate
# Name Pos. Yr. 40 Nico Firios LB RS FR 41 Josh Allen LB FR 43 Logan Blue LB RS FR 44 Max Strong K JR 45 Josh Forrest LB SR 47 Jabari Johnson DE SR 48 Will Thomas Collins FB JR 49 Tanner Fink TE JR 50 Marcelys Jones OL SO 51 Courtney Love LB SO 55 David Baumer OG RS FR 55 Denzil Ware DE RS FR 57 Zach Myers C JR 59 Adrian Middleton DT RS FR 59 Kelly Mason LS SR 60 Calvin Taylor Jr. OL FR 62 Dylan Greenberg C SO 64 George Asafo-Adjei OT 65 Jervontius Stallings OL RS FR 66 Jacob Hyde DT SO 67 C.J. Johnson DT SR 67 Jarrett LaRubbio OL RS FR 68 Nick Haynes OG SO 69 Matt Elam DT SO 69 Ramsey Meyers OG RS FR 70 Jordan Swindle OT JR 72 Jon Toth C JR 73 Kyle Meadows OT SO 74 Cole Mosier OG SO 75 Zach West OG SR 76 Levon Livingston OL FR 77 Mason Wolfe OL FR 78 Zane Williams DT JR 82 T.V. Williams WR SO 83 Cameron Fogle WR SO 85 Greg Hart TE SO 86 Darryl Long TE RS FR 87 Joey Herrick WR SR 88 Charles Walker WR SO 90 Melvin Lewis DT SR 91 Farrington Huguenin DE SR 92 Alvonte Bell DE JR 93 Bryan Kirshe P RS FR 94 Courtney Miggins DT JR 95 Miles Butler K RS FR 96 Regie Meant DT SO 98 Tymere Dubose DE RS FR 99 Austin MacGinnis K SO
Ht./Wt. 6-2/230 6-5/210 6-4/245 5-11/181 6-3/255 6-1/272 5-11/238 6-2/233 6-5/315 6-2/245 6-5/307 6-2/255 6-3/300 6-3/295 6-3/235 6-9/295 6-2/308 6-5/325 6-3/335 6-2/320 6-3/300 6-8/297 6-3/308 6-7/360 6-4/300 6-7/306 6-5/310 6-5/298 6-6/335 6-4/305 6-7/250 6-6/325 6-4/285 5-10/155 5-11/203 6-5/240 6-4/246 6-1/203 5-11/203 6-4/332 6-4/282 6-5/260 6-0/150 6-5/285 5-9/171 6-4/302 6-5/315 5-10/175
Hometown/Previous School Longwood, FL (Lyman HS) Montclair, NJ (Montclair HS) Owensboro, KY (Owensboro HS) Louisville, KY (Trinity HS) Paducah, KY (Tilghman HS) Stone Mountain, GA (Stephenson HS) Jackson, KY (Breathitt County HS) Louisville, KY (North Oldham HS) Cleveland, OH (Glenville HS) Youngstown, OH (Cardinal Mooney HS) Cincinnati, OH (LaSalle HS) Crestview, FL (Senior HS) Miamisburg, OH (Miamisburg HS) Bowling Green, KY (South Warren HS) Rockton, IL (Hononegah HS) Augusta, GA (Augusta Christian HS) Tucson, AZ (Salpointe Catholic) West Chester, OH (Lakota West HS) Hoover, AL (Spain Park HS) Manchester, KY (Clay County HS) Columbia, SC (Chambersburg HS) Middletown, OH (Lakota East HS) Niceville, FL (Niceville HS) Elizabethtown, KY (John Hardin HS) Orange Park, FL (Ridgeview HS) St. Johns, FL (Creekside HS) Indianapolis, IN (Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School) West Chester, OH (Lakota West HS) Walton, KY (Walton-Verona HS) Lexington, KY (Lexington Christian Academy) Washington, DC (Ballou HS) Henderson, KY (Henderson County HS) Lexington, KY (Paul Dunbar HS) McKinney, TX (McKinney HS) Hebron, KY (Conner HS) Dayton , OH (Archbishop Alter HS) Westerville, OH (South HS) Maynard, MA (Dripping Springs (Texas) HS) Louisville, KY (St. Xavier HS) Compton, CA (Compton HS) Columbia, SC (Dreher HS) Miramar, FL (Everglades HS) Sarasota, FL (Out of Door Academy) Lithonia, GA (Miller Grove HS) Paducah, KY (Tilghman HS) Cape Coral, FL (Baker HS) Youngstown, OH (Youngstown Christian) Prattville, AL (Prattville HS)
18 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
Girardeau has been a ‘big part of the growth’ of the Gamecock Club by brian hand Executive Editor
PARKING SPACE
FOR SALE Stadium Place
• Gated Facility 14,495.00 • Restrooms • Live Entertainment • Closed Circuit TV • 8 Guest Passes Each Home Game
Call (803) 269-6155
AS20-1360780
Space 33
JR’s Parking
Just Parking for Gamecock Taligating • Over 40 Large Reserved Parking Spaces • $280 for all 7 games! • Right behind Budweiser off Bluff Road • No Gates – Come Early & Leave Late • Clean Porta Potties
Call Johnny 803-600-3905 or Rick 803-530-3191 Today!
AS20-1360177
For Ted Girardeau, the Gamecocks are a family affair. Ted’s father played football at South Carolina from 1911-14 and when Ted was around eight he began taking him to games. That sparked a childhood-long love for the garnet and black that continued into his high school years. And, when it came time to choose a college, he chose the Gamecocks. “He directed me toward the University, but when it came time for me to make a decision, he said he’d leave it up to me,” Girardeau said. “I thought about going elsewhere. At one point, I considered going to Clemson, which didn’t make him happy, but in the long run I came back to my good senses and chose the University.” He went to Carolina on a full scholarship to play football in the late 1950s. He said that his favorite memory was getting to run out onto the field for the first time and that it was “the thrill of a lifetime.” After his time at South Carolina he felt like it was still important to give back to the University that he loved so much and that had given him so much. “I went on a full scholarship and I felt that the fact that the football program and the University paid my way through school that I really owed them something,” Girardeau said. “A lot of people don’t feel that way. Yes, we worked hard and there were a lot of blood, sweat and tears out there on the practice field, but at the same time I felt that I needed to pay back and I hope that I have through these years.” Girardeau started working for the Gamecock Club in 1966 when former Gamecock Club Director Ed Pitts asked him to take over the Aiken County chapter of the club. When he took over, the chapter had about 25 members. But, after he ran a promotion offering two free season tickets to football games, he received almost 200 more members. He served as the president for that chapter until 1983 before taking a short hiatus. But, his love for the University pulled him back and in 1996, he took over as a member of the Gamecock Club’s Executive Board. He’s been with them since then, serving 19 years and is the longest-serving board member today. He loves what he does and
photo by allen sharpe
he has made some great memories in the Gamecock Club, like traveling to Tennessee and to other bowl games as well as the recent football success. To him, there was also not much better than winning back-toback national baseball championships. “I think my participation with the Gamecock Club can be described as a labor of love,” he said. “I love the University and the athletic programs through the years have been very special to me and they always will be.” Current Gamecock Club Executive Director Patrick McFarland is extremely appreciative for Girardeau’s labor of love to South Carolina. “Being the longest-serving board member he is great because he brings a lot of historical background with him, but the biggest advantage of having Ted and what he’s done for the Gamecock Club board is he is able to take himself out of any discussion and he always puts the Gamecock Club and athletics department first,” McFarland said. “Sometimes we have some conversations that are difficult, but he always puts what is going to help the program the most first.” Time is a precious commodity and McFarland is incredibly appreciative of his efforts toward the Gamecock Club. “He’s only compensated by thank you’s, but I think he also sees some of the decisions we’ve made with the Gamecock Club have allowed us to be successful,” McFar-
land said. “The time he spends coming up here for meetings, for conference calls, it’s invaluable. He’s a big part of what we do. He’s a former student-athlete that played football here and during his time we’ve grown tremendously and he’s been a big part of the growth.” While working for the Gamecock Club, Girardeau has worked in real estate and in mortgages, lending money to families and helping finance nursing homes and assisted living complexes. Along with bleeding garnet and black, he worked with youth sports, serving as a coach for youth baseball and football. “I am very fortunate to have worked with people who were supportive of me working with not only the University and the Gamecock Club, but with youth sports,” he said. “I spent a lot of time doing that with young people’s football and baseball.” Ted was not the last Girardeau to go to South Carolina. His four children all went and now he has nine grandchildren preparing for their turn through the University. If he has his way, there will be a Girardeau at Carolina for many years to come. “We’ve got four children and all four graduated from the University,” he said. “All four are very supportive of athletics in general and we have nine grandchildren. We’re all very proud of them and proud of the fact that they love the University like we do.”
Spurs & Feathers • 19
September 9, 2015
Darlington County Gamecock Club ready for football season by kyle heck Reporter
There was an obvious theme on Monday, Aug. 31 at the Darlington County Gamecock Club Kickoff Party. Everyone in attendance was excited and anxious to see what the 2015 Gamecocks could do in the upcoming season. “I really truly think we’re going to have a good season,” Darlington County Gamecock Club President Jimmy Griffin said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they put together a good run for the East (divisional championship).” The event, which was held at the Lakeview Country Club in Hartsville, started with music and of course, the playing of “2001.” Cocky then made an appearance to take pictures and interact with the kids and a couple of cheerleaders were also present to help get everyone ready for the season. Spurs & Feathers reporter Kyle Heck talked to the crowd about the football team, previewing each position and what to expect. Gamecock Club Executive Director Patrick McFarland then took the mic to talk about a variety of topics. McFarland previewed the busy week lead-
ing up to the home opener against Kentucky on Sept. 12. That week is a big one for the Gamecock Club as it celebrates its 75th anniversary. There is also a Hall of Fame induction that week and prior to the game on Saturday, there will be a ceremony to unveil a George Rogers statue that will be in the Springs Brooks Plaza outside of WilliamsBrice Stadium. On an interesting note, the presence of McFarland could mean a lot more than people first realize. “The three years that we won 11 games, I was at this event every one of those years,” McFarland said. “I missed it last year and we went 7-6. Now I’m back, so hopefully that’s a good sign.” Griffin was happy to have the guest speakers come out and provide fans with information and was pleased that a good crowd was able to turn out despite several other events in the area that were going on at the same time. “We still had a decent turnout,” Griffin said. “We are a small club and there was a lot going on, but year in and year out, we have pretty good crowds.” Griffin said this was the 12th year they have had a kickoff event and it couldn’t have been done without the loyal fan support in the Dar-
Photo by kyle heck
lington area and the generous support from the University. That support has allowed iconic figures like head coach Steve Spurrier to come down and speak to the Darlington Gamecock Club.
“(The University) has always been good about getting people out here,” Griffin said. “Spurrier has been out here I think three or four times. We’ve had people like Todd Ellis and Tommy Suggs come out as well.”
Staley highlights fun-filled York County event by brian hand Executive Editor
The South Carolina women’s basketball team obviously gets it done on the court, but head coach Dawn Staley is just as proud of what her team does off the court. “In my eight years at the University of South Carolina, we have a 100 percent graduation rate, so we do talk a lot about basketball, but the young ladies that we’ve assembled they’re not only great basketball players … but they are equally as effective in the classroom,” Staley noted to the York County Gamecock Club at their summer event at The Palmetto Room in downtown Rock Hill, South Carolina the evening of Thursday, Aug. 27. Staley articulated this as the featured speaker at the event because she knows the impressive results her team is able to acquire on and off the court could not happen without the hard work of the York County Gamecock
photo by brian hand
Club and really all of the Gamecock Club chapters. “I know you want to hear about what’s happening with our team this particular year, but I certainly have to thank you for all the support you’ve given our team throughout the years,” Staley relayed. “You’ve allowed us to
do a lot of great things in our history and just provide the tradition for women’s basketball at South Carolina.” Gamecock football great Langston Moore could not agree with Staley more. “You guys helped us (as student-athletes) in so many different ways through the Gamecock Club by helping us get our degree, giving us everything we need from pencils, to scantrons, to whatever it was we needed to give us the opportunity to just be studentathletes and go out there and perform. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Moore said at the event where he quickly broke down the upcoming Gamecock football season and promoted his book, #JustAChicken. In addition to Moore and Staley talking on the evening, “Voice of the Gamecocks” Andy Demetra also spoke about the upcoming Gamecock men’s basketball season and much more. York County Gamecock Club chapter Presi-
dent Chip Comer could not have been happier with how things turned out on an evening that also featured a raffle, noting after Staley’s time talking to the group, “this young lady has done so much for the University. If it was a business and you saw that the graph continues to climb up, up and up (you would be more than pleased) and for that we appreciate all that you do so much.” Over the course of the evening, Comer and the York County Gamecock Club also presented McFarland and the Gamecock Club with a generous donation of $6,500. “Anytime we are with the York County Gamecock Club it is a tremendous event,” McFarland said. “They always go above and beyond and I cannot thank them enough for all that they do for the Gamecock Club.” To find out more about the York County Gamecock Club, you can visit their website at www.ycgamecocks.com or like them on Facebook as York County Gamecock Club.
20 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
Previewing the Kentucky football team by kyle heck Reporter
Kentucky does get help in the return of leading tackler Josh Forrest and also return five other players that started every When Kentucky comes into Williamsgame on defense last year. Safety A.J. Brice Stadium for South Carolina’s home Stamps returns after leading the Wildcats opener on Sept. 12, the Gamecocks will be with four interceptions last season. Senior looking for revenge after last year’s heart- cornerback Fred Tiller is another player breaking loss in Lexington, Kentucky. to watch out for after breaking up a teamThe Wildcats overcame a two touchhigh nine passes in 2014. down fourth quarter deficit and scored the However, the biggest question for the winning touchdown with just over two Wildcats on defense is whether they will minutes remaining in the 45-38 victory be able to generate a sufficient pass rush last year. without Dupree and Smith. Senior defenThis year’s edition of the Wildcats will sive tackle Cory Johnson had 2.5 sacks look a lot different on defense. Gone are last year and is the leading returning defensive ends Bud Dupree, who had the player in that department. game-winning interception return for On offense, Kentucky is in good shape. touchdown last season against South Car- Quarterback Patrick Towles returns afolina, and Za’Darius Smith. The two com- ter starting every game last year while bined for 20 tackles for loss and 12 sacks throwing for 2,718 yards and rushing for in 2014 and are currently in the NFL. 303 more. Despite that, the junior was
embroiled in a competition with redshirt freshman Drew Barker this fall and narrowly edged him out for the starting job. Towles will have plenty of options in the backfield. Stanley “Boom” Williams is back after an impressive freshman season where he led the Wildcats with 486 rushing yards. In addition, Jojo Kemp (323 yards) and Mikel Horton (306 yards) return to complete a talented trio. 131 of Kemp’s 323 rushing yards came in the game against South Carolina last year. At receiver, the Wildcats return leading receiver Ryan Timmons, who caught 45 passes for 536 yards and two touchdowns in 2014. However, they do lose Demarco Robinson and Javess Blue, both of whom had over 500 yards receiving as well. Blue led Kentucky with five touchdown receptions last season. True freshman C.J. Conrad is expected to start at the tight end
by brian hand Executive Editor
Avant’s one word answer came when Gamecock Club Executive Director Patrick McFarland was addressing the packed house at Logan’s Roadhouse about the upcoming year and the facility upgrades. “We appreciate what you guys do for us in the Augusta Gamecock Club,” McFarland stated. “You guys do a fantastic job. Who’s going to go up to Charlotte?” Many in the room obviously raised their hand. “If you’re going up Wednesday, we have an event the night before,” McFarland said. “You’re going Wednesday, right?” “Monday,” Avant said. While most did not have the chance to devote the whole week like Avant his answer once again emphasized the fervor for Gamecock football. “We are all very excited,” McFarland told the crowd. “It’s a team I think that is flying under the radar.” On an evening that also featured a raffle with lots of tremendous Gamecock memorabilia and much more, McFarland was the first of two featured speakers on the evening as Tony Morrell of TheBigSpur.com also broke down the Gamecock football team position-by-position before answering questions from those in attendance. Augusta Gamecock Club President Tom Rogers could not have been happier with the attendance on the evening, but he also wanted those there to know they have some special things planned in the future such as more of an emphasis on social media and viewing parties.
spot. The offensive line for the Wildcats could possibly be the strongest part of the team this year. Kentucky returns four starters and there should plenty of talent and experience to help the talented group of tailbacks. Left tackle Jordan Swindle was a preseason All-SEC selection by the coaches, left guard Zach West has started 30 games in his career, center Jon Toth is one of the best centers in the league and right guard Ramsey Meyers started every game last year on the way to being named to the Freshman All-SEC team. The last time Kentucky visited Columbia was in 2013 when the Gamecocks held on for a 35-28 victory. This season, there is no doubt that the players will remember that 2014 game and will be ready to get a new winning streak started.
Enthusiastic Augusta Gamecock Club holds kickoff event Curley Avant of the Augusta Gamecock Club in one word fully captured how ex-
cited Gamecock fans were for the upcoming football season at the annual kickoff meeting of the chapter at Logan’s Roadhouse in Augusta, Georgia on Monday, Aug. 24.
Gameday Traditions The Block C Collection by Southern Tide Available in white, black, garnet, and multi-stripe
Smathers & Branson Limited Edition SEC Block C Belt & Wallet
Official Clothier of Coach Steve Spurrier
2818 Devine Street • Columbia (803) 771-2700 www.BrittonsOfColumbia.com Phone Orders Welcome
AS14-1361358
Exclusively at
photo by brian hand
“This is y’alls Gamecock Club in town,” Rogers relayed to those at Logan’s Roadhouse. “We need your support and we need your participation.” Avant also spoke of one of the biggest events on the calendar every year in the CSRA, which is the annual Border Bash that is held in Augusta, Georgia every year the day before the South CarolinaGeorgia game and celebrates the football rivalry between the border state schools. “This year is the 22nd year of the Border Bash,” Avant said of the event on Friday, Sept. 18. “Through the Border Bash Foundation they’ve brought in roughly $850,000 (for charity) over the last 21 years. This year it’s not going to be at the (Augusta) Commons, it’s going to be at the Augusta Golf and Gardens.” You can like the Augusta Gamecock Club on Facebook. To learn more about the Border Bash, visit borderbash.net.
Spurs & Feathers • 21
September 9, 2015
The result of game matters far more than how game was won It is great to start off any season with a vic- talented than the 2009 version especially on tory and until the team returns to Williamsthe defensive side of the ball and that should Brice Stadium on September 12th to host contribute to an extra win. The offensive line Kentucky, that is going to be something and running game should be an improvement Gamecock fans must remember. Whether it is also, which I expect to give the Gamecocks a a score of 3-2 or 50-49, the result of the game little more of an edge. matters far more than how the game is won. Of course, the 2009 year was the building Under Steve Spurrier, the Gamecocks have block to the 2010 edition of Steve Spurrier’s rarely played well in their season opener. team that would go on to win the SEC EastWho else remembers game one clunkers ern Division and play in the program’s first such as the 15-0 snooze fest at Mississippi SEC Championship game. Will that be the State, the 7-3 victory in Raleigh over North case? It is way too early to tell or even try to Carolina State in 2009 or even the 17-13 predict. But, let’s go back to Thursday night sloppy performance on the road at Vanderfor a minute. bilt in 2012. There have been plenty of those Connor Mitch certainly could have perover the years but it seems that each time the formed a little better, his first quarter was one Gamecocks have bounced back and improved to forget however there were several throws throughout the season to give the fans a team as the game developed that showed he was they are proud to cheer for. finding his rhythm and improving during the In a previous edition of Spurs and Feathers, contest. The defense got off to a sluggish start I predicted a nine win season in 13 games after the performances of 2014, there is zero for the Gamecocks, after watching them on reason that any fan should complain about Thursday night, I feel pretty good regarding shutting an opponent for a half to win the that statement but, and here is the key, it is go- game as Jon Hoke’s unit did. ing to require some patience and understandHopefully this will not hurt anyone’s feeling of where this program is. ings or cause you to become down on the This 2015 edition of South Carolina reminds team but this year’s team is not going to comme a little of the 2009 version pete for a National Championthat featured redshirt sophoship and should not be expected more quarterback Stephen to win the SEC Championship. Garcia and true freshman That does not mean you should Alshon Jeffery. That team not hope for a second Eastern opened the year with a pretty Division Championship, which non-impressive 7-3 victory is not unrealistic. over North Carolina State and However, as the season at times looked very good as progresses fans will need to Garcia learned the ropes of remember this is going to be a quarterbacking in the SEC. work in progress. Mitch should Based on what I saw Thurscontinue to grow as a quarterday night, I believe there will back with each snap he takes Bill Gunter be similar results in 2015 and each game he finishes. Contributing however with a better outThe defense should take steps Writer come. This year’s team is more forward each week under the
photo by allen sharpe
tutelage of Hoke and become more comfortable with his scheme. Opening weekends are so difficult in college football because the head coaches and fans watch a team they generally know little about. They have not seen preseason scrimmages against opposing teams as happens in the NFL and there are times that players at the young age of 18 or 19 are playing critical roles. Improvements happen from week one
to week two, week two to week three and so forth and so on. Remember that as you watch and enjoy this football season. The Gamecocks are 1-0 with a very winnable game against Kentucky up next. Returning to Williams-Brice Stadium in front of a packed house for a night game is sure to be a big lift and I look forward to seeing the steps the team takes to make the necessary improvement.
programs across the board.” Some of the improvements Tanner mentioned were the new indoor and outdoor football practice fields, the beautification project around Williams-Brice Stadium, the new baseball and softball stadiums and locker room improvements to both the men’s and women’s swimming team and equestrian. Tanner also made sure to thank those that allow those improvements to come to fruition. “He told us how important all of the club members are and their contributions and what it means to the athletes,” Morris said. Tanner even gave an update on the football team. “He’s very active and tries to be in it as much as he can,” Morris said of Tanner. “He has his
finger on the pulse for sure.” The Fall Kickoff also had raffles to win prizes that included two field passes for the Central Florida football game and even some Atlanta Braves tickets. All of that together equaled to a great night for the Georgetown County Gamecock Club. “We were overwhelmed and certainly very pleased with the event,” Morris said. “It was a big deal for us down here in Georgetown. Anytime you have (such a) popular figure at the University (Tanner) and Jeff Crane as well, a prominent name associated with Carolina, it’s always a big deal. We were very happy to have them down and very fortunate that they took time out of their busy schedules to come join us.”
Tanner, Crane featured at Georgetown kickoff by kyle heck Reporter
with you,” Georgetown County Gamecock Club President Wayne Morris said. “We were full to the brim. We had no empty seats and It’s not often that you get two of the top athsome people were standing. It was good to letic figures at the University of South Carolina have everybody there.” to speak at the same event, but that was the Crane spoke briefly, introducing himself and case on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015 at the George- letting everyone know what he does for the town County Gamecock Club Fall Kickoff. University. Tanner talked at length about all Athletics Director Ray Tanner and Senior kinds of different things going on with South Associate AD Jeff Crane were the featured Carolina. speakers at the event and as you can imagine, “He kind of addressed the big picture about there was a packed house to watch the two being an AD now and what’s going on with speak. our whole athletics program and how well all The Fall Kickoff was held at the local Veter- of our programs are doing, men’s and womans of Foreign Wars (VFW) center and around en’s, and how important that is to the Univer85-90 people were present. sity,” Morris said. “He also talked about all of “That’s about all it could hold, to be honest the money that is being invested in our athletic
22 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
Depth Charts for September 12, 7:30 p.m. South Carolina OFFENSE WR: WR: WR: LT: LG: C: RG: RT: TE: QB: FB:
1 Deebo Samuel 8 Shamier Jeffery 3 D.J. Neal 11 Pharoh Cooper 15 Matrick Belton 17 Carlton Heard 5 Terry Googer 4 Jalen Christian 71 Brandon Shell 55 Christian Pellage 76 Mike Matulis 78 Zack Bailey 70 Alan Knott 51 Cody Waldrop 75 Will Sport 72 Donell Stanley 74 Mason Zandi 63 Blake Camper 89 Jerell Adams 81 Hayden Hurst 84 Kyle Markway 86 Kevin Crosby 6 Connor Mitch 10 Perry Orth 12 Michael Scarnecchia 19 Lorenzo Nunez 39 Rivers Bedenbaugh
6-0, 202, RFr. 6-1, 198, Jr. 6-3, 193, Fr. 5-11, 207, Jr. 6-4, 209, Jr. 6-0, 182, Sr. 6-4, 226, RFr. 5-9, 177, Fr. 6-6, 328, Sr. 6-6, 314, Fr. 6-5, 293, Sr. 6-6, 320, Fr. 6-4, 270, So. 6-2, 300, Jr. 6-5, 295, Sr. 6-4, 320, RFr. 6-9, 314, Jr. 6-8, 295, Fr. 6-6, 231, Sr. 6-5, 252, Fr. 6-4, 243, Fr. 6-1, 238, RFr. 6-3, 211, So. 6-1, 203, Jr. 6-4, 210, RFr. 6-3, 210, Fr. 6-2, 245, So.
Inman, S.C. St. Matthews, S.C. Stone Mountain, Ga. Havelock, N.C. Columbia, S.C. Athens, Ga. Atlanta, Ga. Damascus, Md. Goose Creek, S.C. Brooksville, Fla. Boynton Beach, Fla. Summerville, S.C. Tyrone, Ga. Seffner, Fla. Milton, Fla. Floydale, S.C. Chapin, S.C. Virginia Beach, Va. Pinewood, S.C. Jacksonville, Fla. St. Louis, Mo. Bamberg, S.C. Raleigh, N.C. Ponte Verda, Fla. Fleming Island, Fla. Kennesaw, Ga. Leesville, S.C.
OFFENSE TE: LT: LG: C: RG: RT: WR: WR: WR:
QB: FB:
87 C.J. Conrad 6-5, 245, Fr. LaGrange, Ohio 86 Darryl Long 6-4, 246, RFr. Westerville, Ohio 70 Jordan Swindle 6-7, 309, Sr. St. Johns, Fla. 68 Nick Haynes 6-5, 308, So. Niceville, Fla. 75 Zach West 6-4, 309, Sr. Lexington, Ky. 65 Jervontius Stallings 6-3, 335, RFr. Hoover, Ala. 72 Jon Toth 6-5, 310, Jr. Indianapolis, Ind. 57 Zach Myers 6-3, 300, Jr. Miamisburg, Ohio 69 Ramsey Meyers 6-4, 320, So. Orange Park, Fla. 67 Jarrett LaRubbio 6-6, 297, RFr. Middletown, Ohio 64 George Asafo-Adjei 6-5, 325, Fr. West Chester, Ohio 74 Cole Mosier 6-6, 335, So. Walton, Ky. 13 Jeff Badet 6-0, 182, So. Orlando, Fla. 6 Blake Bone 6-5, 208, So. Woodruff, S.C. 82 T.V. Williams 5-10, 155, So. McKinney, Texas 2 Dorian Baker 6-3, 208, So. Cleveland, Ohio 10 Thaddeus Snodgrass 6-1, 190, RFr. Springfield, Ohio 9 Garrett Johnson 5-11, 182, So. Winter Garden, Fla. 9 Garrett Johnson 5-11, 182, So. Winter Garden, Fla. 1 Ryan Timmons 5-10, 192, Jr. Frankfort, Ky. 88 Charles Walker 5-11, 203, So. Louisville, Ky. 14 Patrick Towles 6-5, 240, Jr. Ft. Thomas, Ky. 7 Drew Barker 6-3, 225, RFr. Burlington, Ky. 12 Reese Phillips 6-2, 225, So. Signal Mountain, Tenn. 48 Will Tom Collins 5-11, 238, Jr. Jackson, Ky.
TB:
43 Garrison Gist 22 Brandon Wilds 22 Brandon Wilds 33 David Williams 7 Shon Carson
5-10, 251, Sr. 6-2, 220, Sr. 6-2, 222, Jr. 6-1, 222, So. 5-8, 206, Sr.
Rock Hill, S.C. Blythewood, S.C. Blythewood, S.C. Philadelphia, Pa. Scranton, S.C.
27 Toure Boyd LCB: 17 Chaz Elder 3 Chris Lammons FS: 21 Isaiah Johnson 6 Chris Moody SS: 42 Jordan Diggs 24 D.J. Smith 26 Jasper Sasser RCB: 1 Rico McWilliams 7 Al Harris Jr.
DEFENSE DE: 18 Cedrick Cooper 55 David Johnson 44 Gerald Dixon DT: 95 Dante Sawyer 90 Taylor Stallworth 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
6-2, 248, Sr. 6-1, 240, So. 6-2, 269, Sr. 6-3, 291, So. 6-2, 308, So. 6-2, 316, Jr. 6-3, 327, Sr. 6-3, 319, Sr. 6-4, 326, Jr. 6-3, 264, Jr. 6-6, 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.
Lithonia, Ga. Lithonia, Ga. Rock Hill, S.C. Suwanee, Ga. Mobile, 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.
5-11, 180, Jr. 6-2, 209, Jr. 5-10, 183, So. 6-0, 206, Sr. 6-1, 215, Jr. 6-0, 209, Jr. 5-11, 195, So. 6-0, 203, RFr. 5-11, 186, Jr. 5-11, 163, So.
R. Cucamonga, Calif. Union City, Ga. Lauderhill, Fla. Cary, N.C. McDonough, Ga. Fort Myers, Fla. Marietta, Ga. Jacksonville, Fla. Hampton, Ga. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
SPECIALISTS KO: PK: P: KR: PR: SN: H:
19 Landon Ard 29 Elliott Fry 29 Elliott Fry 19 Landon Ard 13 Sean Kelly 85 Michael Almond 7 Shon Carson 1 Deebo Samuel 11 Pharoh Cooper 3 Chris Lammons 47 Drew Williams 48 Nick McGriff 13 Sean Kelly 19 Landon Ard
5-9, 182, Sr. 6-0, 164, Jr. 6-0, 164, Jr. 5-9, 182, Sr. 5-10, 189, Jr. 6-3, 200, Fr. 5-8, 204, Sr. 6-0, 202, RFr. 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. Scranton, S.C. Inman, S.C. Havelock, N.C. Lauderhill, Fla. Irmo, S.C. Gainesville, Fla. Oakland, Fla. Rock Hill, S.C.
Kentucky RB: -OR-
49 Tanner Fink 18 Stanley Williams 3 Jojo Kemp 4 Mikel Horton 22 Sihiem King
6-2, 233, Jr. 5-9, 196, So. 5-10, 200, Jr. 6-1, 226, So. 5-9, 172, Fr.
CB: S: S: CB:
Louisville, Ky. Monroe, Ga. DeLand, Fla. West Chester, Ohio Colquitt, Ga.
DEFENSE DE: 91 Farrington Huguenin6-4, 282, Sr. 94 Courtney Miggins 6-5, 285, Jr. 92 Alvonte Bell 6-5, 260, Jr. NG: 90 Melvin Lewis 6-4, 332, Sr. 69 Matt Elam 6-7, 360, So. DT: 96 Regie Meant 6-4, 302, So. 99 Adrian Middleton 6-3, 295, RFr. DE/LB: 35 Denzil Ware 6-2, 255, RFr. 20 Kengera Daniel 6-5, 260, Fr. 99 Landon Stokes 6-4, 235, RFr. SLB: 47 Jabari Johnson 6-1, 272, Sr. 41 Josh Allen 6-5, 210, Fr. MLB: 45 Josh Forrest 6-3, 255, Sr. 40 Nico Firios 6-2, 230, RFr. WLB: 33 Ryan Flannigan 6-2, 225, Sr. -OR- 22 Khalid Henderson 6-1, 235, Sr. 32 Eli Brown 6-2, 208, Fr. NICKEL:24 Blake McClain 5-11, 195, Jr.
Columbia, S.C. Lithonia, Ga. Miramar, Fla. Compton, Calif. Elizabethtown, Ky. Cape Coral, Fla. Bowling Green, Ky. Opp, Ala. Raleigh, N.C. Orlando, Fla. Stone Mountain, Ga. Montclair, N.J. Paducah, Ky. Longwood, Fla. Missouri City, Texas Mableton, Ga. Bowling Green, Ky. Winter Park, Fla.
5 Kendall Randolph 21 Chris Westry 11 J.D. Harmon 3 Fred Tiller 15 Marcus McWilson 27 Mike Edwards 1 A.J. Stamps 25 Darius West 16 Cody Quinn 29 Derrick Baity 5 Kendall Randolph
6-0, 180, So. 6-4, 185, Fr. 6-2, 197, Jr. 6-0, 180, Sr. 6-0, 208, Jr. 6-0, 200, RFr. 6-0, 205, Sr. 6-0, 206, RFr. 5-10, 180, Sr. 6-3, 180, Fr. 6-0, 180, So.
Tallahassee, Fla. Orange Park, Fla. Paducah, Ky. Homerville, Ga. Youngstown, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio Vicksburg, Miss. Lima, Ohio Middletown, Ohio Tampa, Fla. Tallahassee, Fla.
SPECIALISTS SNAP: HOL: K: P: KOR: PR:
59 Kelly Mason 9 Landon Foster 99 Austin MacGinnis 95 Miles Butler 9 Landon Foster 93 Bryan Kirshe 22 Sihiem King 11 J.D. Harmon 1 Ryan Timmons 13 Jeff Badet 1 Ryan Timmons 82 T.V. Williams
6-3, 235, Sr. 6-1, 178, Sr. 5-10, 175, So. 5-9, 171, RFr. 6-1, 178, Sr. 6-0, 150, RFr. 5-9, 172, Fr. 6-2, 197, Jr. 5-10, 192, Jr. 6-0, 182, So. 5-10, 192, Jr. 5-10, 155, So.
*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.
Rockton, Ill. Franklin, Tenn. Wedowee, Ala. Paducah, Ky. Franklin, Tenn. Sarasota, Fla. Colquitt, Ga. Paducah, Ky. Frankfort, Ky. Orlando, Fla. Frankfort, Ky. McKinney, Texas
Spurs & Feathers • 23
AS14-1360861
September 9, 2015
24 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
South Carolina Gamecocks
Recruiting Round-up By Phil Kornblut
OL Pete Leota of Asheville has narrowed his decision to USC and Virginia Tech eliminating North Carolina from the equation. His plan now is to visit Virginia Tech for the Ohio State game and USC for the Kentucky game. Soon after that trip to Columbia he plans to make his decision. At this point, USC remains the leader as has been the case since he attended the Showcase Camp in July. He said the USC visit will be unofficial but he might make the Virginia Tech visit an official one. Leota said Phil Kornblut he’s in touch with USC Contributing offensive line coach Writer Shawn Elliott regularly on Twitter and he’s also been talking with recruiter Deke Adams. ‘I’m looking for the coaches that will get me to the NFL,” Leota said. “I’m looking for a family environment. I’m looking for a school with a great environment.” USC is no longer involved with OL Landon Dickerson of Hickory, NC. He had USC on his short list but said it’s been weeks since he was last contacted by offensive line coach Shawn Elliott. He is now down to Michigan, Florida State, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Georgia and Tennessee. USC commitment DB JJ Givens of Mechanicsville, VA will visit Arizona State later this month and USC for the Clemson weekend. He’s also looking at Clemson and Penn State
for possible official visits. LB Vosean Joseph of Miami remains a Florida commitment but USC continues to recruit him hard and he continues to listen. Joseph is looking at an official visit with the Gamecocks the weekend of October 10th when they play host to LSU. He also plans to take an official visit to Florida and right now those are the only two trips he’s planning though he’s also talking with Notre Dame, Louisville and South Florida. Joseph camped at USC this summer and got the chance then to talk with Botkin about the linebacking situation with the Gamecocks moving forward, and he continues to get a strong message from Botkin. “Coach Botkin is telling me he wants to come me and Coach Ward said they want me to come and replace Skai Moore because he might be leaving,” Joseph said. “My commitment to Florida is good but it’s not like it was before. The recruiting process is getting more open and I’m trying to make a decision for the rest of my life.” But the process is not much open for Joseph between USC and Florida at this point. He’s focused on those two and said he’ll probably go to Signing Day before making a decision. DE Jordan Woods of Orlando has scheduled official visits to Tennessee October 10th, Miami October 17th, USC January 15th and West Virginia January 22nd. He’s also looking hard at Florida. USC target TE Naseir Upshur of Philadelphia committed to Florida State this week. He had narrowed his decision to the Seminoles and Michigan. WR Kelvin Harmon of Palmyra, NJ appears
by brian hand Executive Editor
though. South Carolina definitely has some things to work on heading into the Kentucky game. But they enter the home opener and the SEC opener at 1-0. That’s a lot more fun than being 0-1 and trying to figure out how to get into the win column as you enter league play. Steve Spurrier obviously was not ecstatic after the North Carolina win, but the thing he focused the most on was the win. “I’m encouraged that we played poorly and won,” Spurrier said to the media after South Carolina’s win. South Carolina safety Jordan Diggs felt much the same after the game. “It’s an awesome feeling,” Diggs said of the Gamecock season-opening victory. to watch the film, correct our mistakes and “It’s great. We’re going to enjoy it tonight, prepare for the next opponent. Celebrate but Saturday we’re gonna come together a little bit tonight and enjoy, but we won’t
to be set with his recruiting process from now until his announcement day October 1st. He has two official visits set, NC State September 12th and USC September 26th. At this point, he’s not sure he’ll set any others. He will go to Temple for the Penn State game September 5th. Harmon did visit Rutgers last month. USC is still recruiting TE Jordan Giberti of Gainesville, FL. He was verbally offered by the Gamecocks last year and recruiter Steve Spurrier Jr. has told him they want to review some of his early game film before making an official, committable offer. Giberti said he plans to visit USC unofficially for the Florida game though he might come in earlier as well. The Gators also are showing interest in him and want to see his early season work. Some of his other offers are Florida International, Utah, Georgia Southern, Ohio, Army, South Alabama and Buffalo. He does not have a favorite at this point. Richland Northeast LB TJ Brunson, who is coming off hip surgery, wants to show those recruiters holding back offers until they seem him perform that he’s back to being the linebacker who had 237 tackles over the last two seasons. One of those schools now showing interest in Notre Dame and he will take an unofficial visit there September 5th. He has been a Louisville commitment since mid July and still considers himself committed but he does want to see what else might come his way. Brunson plans to take official visits to Louisville and Purdue. He does remain in touch with USC and hears from linebackers coach Kirk Botkin on a regular basis. “He’s telling me the
same stuff, that he wants me to still be around,” said Brunson who plans to take in USC home games against Kentucky, LSU and Clemson. He’s not planning on an official visit with the Gamecocks because he wants to take those to schools out of the area. Brunson’s other offers include NC State, Georgia Southern, North Carolina, East Carolina and Appalachian State. USC commitment DB Marlon Character of Atlanta planned to be at the Louisville-Auburn game in Atlanta Saturday. Former USC signee DB Octavis Johnson, who was expected to enroll at Fork Union Prep, VA, instead has enrolled at Gulf Coast Mississippi JC. That means he won’t be available to USC, or any other team, until 2017. Basketball News: 6-2 Seventh Woods of Hammond has set his official visit to Georgetown for September 13th according to Hoyas.com. He also plans to set officials with USC, North Carolina and Florida. 6-10 Dewan Huell of Miami has set official visits to Miami October 2nd, Florida State October 9th and USC October 16th. 6-6 De’Riante Jenkins, the former Lake Marion standout who will play this season at Hargrave Prep, VA has four of his official visits scheduled and is still working on the fifth. Jenkins has penciled in VCU for this weekend, Tennessee September 11th, Rutgers September 25th and Clemson October 3rd. Jenkins said the remaining schools under consideration are USC, Georgia Tech and LSU. He made an unofficial visit to USC earlier this summer.
Lots to build on from season-opening victory over the Tar Heels
What if I would have told you that the South Carolina defense would hold the vaunted North Carolina offense scoreless in the second half? What if I would have told you that Shon Carson would have broke loose for the eventual game-winning 48-yard touchdown? Let’s be honest, you would have probably considered me criminally insane. I’ll be truthful and say, I never would have predicted those things either. But that’s football. Football in general is a microcosm of life and all of these crazy things happening just go to show that you never know what is going to happen. It was a win. That’s all that matters
photo by allen sharpe
dwell on it and just move on to the next game. It’s an awesome feeling.” On to the next one.
Spurs & Feathers • 25
September 9, 2015
Langston Moore: It’s a start
The Gamecocks showed vast improvement in a lot of areas last Thursday night against the other powder blue Carolina. They came up with stops, had big plays in the running game and got pressure on the quarterback. The last point may be the most encouraging, especially for a team that couldn’t generate the pressure needed last year when it counted (or at any time). The combination of sacks and big plays in the run game makes Langston Moore me “giddy” at Contributing the possibilities Writer for this season’s outcomes. Even with unanswered questions at quarterback, we saw some glimpses of the ways this 2015 Carolina team will win games this season. Will it be pretty? No. Will you feel “giddy” too if what I’m saying turns out to be true? Yes! We look out how this 2015 squad and the new ways we can win.
Impose our will, Running the ball downThursday night the Gamecock offense made big plays on the ground as opposed through the air. Gone for now are the long pass plays we’ve grown accustomed to with a Steve Spurrier offense. I’m not suggesting that these plays won’t be there but we will look to impose our will through the ground game and allow that facet of the offense to open up later. We won’t have the signature blowout wins we’ve been accustomed to seeing with a Steve Spurrier team either, but we will have wins. Ultimately that’s what’s most important. Utilizing our offensive line the way we did late in the UNC game to secure the win will be indicative of how we close out games this season. How we will win games this season won’t make you something you wish on your friends but how these wins will make us feel and the confidence that can be built off of that. Getting sacks and turnovers- This may sound elementary but this time last season we would have gladly taken this improved defensive play that showed up this past Thursday. The Gamecock defense worked well together for the most part giving us some glimpses of this “rush & cover” idea Coach Hoke has been hinting at. The garnet D came up with pressures, stops and sacks when it was needed. Regardless of what the offense was doing or not doing, the defense used
consistent pressure and discipline coverage to effect a seasoned quarterback that holds 18+ offensive records for the Tar Heels. The line, linebackers, and defensive backs weren’t perfect but they executed and did there jobs when it counted. Special teams as a weapon- No we didn’t find the next Ace Sanders but we did find another tool Thursday night, our punt team. I know, I know, in an era when some coaches speak of never punting the ball back to the opponent, we used this group to pin back the Tar Heels. Pinning the highly-talented UNC offense deep in their territory constantly allowed our defense multiple shots at stoping them. Former walk on Darius Paulk proved he is worth every penny of scholarship, leading the charge on this unit helping to down the ball multiple times after a great punt. Even though Elliott Fry barley missed the 50+ yard field goal, our special team showed readiness by covering the attempted return after the miss. We’ve seen other team lose games by not finishing in this special teams department. Joe Robinson had our guys prepared. What could’ve been another non-offensive touch down by the Tar Heels, something that they have excelled in over the past seasons (eight non-offensive touchdowns), ended up being nothing more than an attempt to steal points. Hats off to Joe Rob for finding ways to make this unit a weapon. Much like the field at BOA stadium after the game, the win wasn’t pretty but it was earned. We like to try and bring “style points” into the football world like it’s a beauty pageant to explain wins and losses at times. But the way and manner this 2015 squad utilized all three phases to bring a win back to Columba shows Coach Spurrier and the rest of the Gamecocks are not ashamed to win games the old football purist way: play with lots of effort, get pressure on qbs/stops on defense, run the ball, run the ball, run the ball and have your special teams show up. Wins in football aren’t always pretty but they always give us satisfaction and makes us proud regardless. In the end looks fade away and wins don’t seem as “ugly” when we look back on our past wins and losses at the end of the year. The Gamecocks might not have had the prettiest win this first weekend of football but in the end 11 “ugly” wins will still look just as attractive as 11 pretty ones. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder and this Gamecock thinks we look pretty good right now sitting at 1-0. Follow Langston Moore on Twitter at: @reMovetheChains #justachicken #eat2win #yoby
photo by jenny dilworth
Tailgate on an island of your own.
Quality material, fine craftsmanship, innovative technology: SEDONA by LYNX
1421 Atlas Road • Columbia, SC 29209 “Serving the Midlands for over 50 years” www.jeffersmcgill.com • (803) 776-4466
AS20-1292708a
26 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 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-Kentucky television The South Carolina-Kentucky game will be available on the SEC Network. 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
Florence County Gamecock Club steps up for Gamecock Country by brian hand Executive Editor
photo by brian hand
new facility and $5,000 for women’s basketball. “When we started this tournament years ago it was a work in progress and over the years the community has been very, very good to us and they come out and support us and then we’re able to give back. It’s a lot of fun,” Florence County Gamecock Club chapter President Michael “Scat” Scaturro said. The kickoff luncheon featured Tony Morrell of TheBigSpur.com as the speaker and he gave a detailed position-by-position breakdown of the Gamecock football team leading into the 2015 season. Scaturro overall was pleased with this year’s kickoff luncheon. “We had a good turnout,” Scaturro noted. “Tony’s always very informative and he kind of kicks the football season off for us and gets everybody excited and shares a little different perspective.” To learn more about the Florence County Gamecock Club, you can like their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/FlorenceCountyGamecockClub.
an Dream It.. If You C . We Can Build It! Partner With An Award Winning, Established and Respected South Carolina Swimming Pool Company With Endless Referrals of Satisfied Customers. Owned O w and operated ope by Bill Bill Muller, USC team t a captain te for fo ‘66, ‘67, ‘68 fo Swim Sw Teams.
Since 1972 Si
South Carolina’s Largest and Oldest Pool Builder!
www.aquarianpools.com
AS34-1250428A
Gamecock Club Executive Director Patrick McFarland knows that when asked the Florence County Gamecock Club is going to step up. And step up for the Gamecock Club and Gamecock athletics in general they did recently at their eighth annual William Rhea Memorial Golf Tournament that was held in early June. The money that was generated from the annual event was dispersed to McFarland, the Gamecock Club and Gamecock athletics on Thursday, Aug. 27 as part of Florence’s annual kickoff luncheon at the Floyd Conference Center in Florence, South Carolina. “The Florence Gamecock Club anytime we ask them for assistance - financially or otherwise they always come through,” McFarland said after the conclusion of the event. The Florence County Gamecock Club presented McFarland with five checks going to different areas at the kickoff luncheon with $2,500 each going to the Gamecock cheerleaders, the National Championship-winning equestrian team and to the updated wrapping of the football equipment truck. The Florence County Gamecock Club also passed along $2,000 for tennis graphics in their
7433 1/2 Broad River Road Irmo, SC 29063 732-3636 ext 10 or “0” info@aquarianpools.com
Spurs & Feathers • 27
September 9, 2015
This bunch of Gamecocks might have a just win mentality There is no bigger ego boost than to stand Ugly or not, it was a significant win for the before a group of South Carolina fans, tell USC program that goes far beyond being them why the Gamecocks are going to win 1-0 on the season. I’ve written in the past a close game, and have it play out like you how chemistry is an important element of wrote the script. winning, but last season reminded me that it I spoke to the Easley Gamecock Club last might come ahead of talent and coaching in Tuesday night and voiced the reasons for deciding how successful a team can become. my optimism about the season opener. I told I had the pleasure of talking to former them the defense would be, not one, but two Gamecock and longtime friend Shed Diggs notches better, and would likely have to make last week, and he shared a couple of things the plays to win the game. Jordan was saying about his team’s readiI said the offense would establish the runness. “Dad, we are so ready to play. Everyning game, give first-time starter Connor body has gotten better every day, and we all Mitch some low-risk, confidence-building are about to jump out of our skin to go hit throws early, and that he would have some somebody.” And Shed added, “To give you struggles, but play well enough for the Cocks an idea of how loose he was, Jordan said, to win. The only prediction ‘tell Mr. Glenn to give me some I missed was that Elliott Fry press.’ I have never heard him so would win the game with a late cocky and confident.” field goal. Well Jordan, here’s press for The 17-13 victory over North you, with your key intercepCarolina would definitely fall tion and for the entire defense, into the “a win is a win is a who played one of the finest win” category, and might qual“bend but don’t break” games I ify for a place on the all-time have ever seen. The Tar Heels top 10 ugliest wins list. Coach amassed 440 yards of total ofSpurrier said it best, “The footfense, but scored just 13 points, ball gods smiled on the Gamenone in the second half. AdmitGlenn Snyder cocks tonight. I’m encouraged tedly, UNC helped by shooting Inside that we played so poorly and themselves in both feet, and Look won.” by not cashing in on several
photo by allen sharpe
“gimme” opportunities, but when it was time to make a big play, the “D” responded. I suspect the defensive players will spend some overtime in the film room next week, with an aim toward correcting the mistakes that gave up those 440 yards. However, it’s obvious Coach Jon Hoke’s defensive scheme can apply pressure and create turnovers, as the four sacks and three picks (two by linebacker Skai Moore) would attest. The real stars offensively were the linemen. With Mitch struggling to a 9-for-22 passing performance, the line opened holes that led to 254 rushing yards. And then there’s Pharoh Cooper. He is one of the top 5 Gamecock athletes and “difference makers” I have ever
seen in a Gamecock uniform. He had four carries for 20 yards, three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. The attention he will draw will make the other receivers better. Again, it was a win, but it’s obvious from the HBC’s comments that he hopes the old adage, “a football teams makes its most progress between game one and two” happens with his team. It was sloppy, mistake-filled, and sometimes downright ugly, but in the end it was SEC-ACC, and we all know how the majority of those matchups play out. We’ll see, but this bunch of Gamecocks might have a “just win, baby” mentality. It’s a great time to be a Gamecock!
AS14-1363819
28 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
McKinley was a ‘good-hearted, kind kid who loved to play football’ by kyle heck Reporter
Kenny McKinley was on the fence about which college to attend during his senior year in high school. A lot of different schools wanted the highly-touted recruit from Mableton, Georgia. However, one day the athlete and high school quarterback got a call from someone who told him that South Carolina was about to hire Steve Spurrier as head coach. That proved to be the tipping point for McKinley. “Kenny got off the call and called me and said ‘Dad, I made my mind up. Coach Spurrier is coming to South Carolina and that’s where I want to go,’” Kenny’s dad, Ken McKinley, recalled. “I could just hear the excitement in his voice.” So McKinley decided to come join the Gamecocks in Spurrier’s first season in 2005 and the rest is history. Despite not catching a ball in high school, McKinley quickly worked his way into the starting rotation at receiver as a true freshman, starting six games that year. As a sophomore, McKinley started all 13 games and recorded 51 catches for 880 receiving yards, which trailed only Sidney Rice on the team. McKinley’s best season came as a junior in 2007 when he garnered first-team All-SEC honors with a school-record 77 receptions to go along with 968 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. After his illustrious four-year career, McKinley remains the school’s all-time leader in receptions (207) and trails only Alshon Jeffery with 2,781 receiving yards. McKinley also caught 19 touchdowns in his career and caught a pass in a school-record 43 consecutive games. With those numbers, it came as no surprise when McKinley was announced as one of eight inductees this year to go into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. McKinley’s family will be there at the ceremony on Sep. 10, 2015 to celebrate the honor. “Someone called my wife and she immediately called me,” Ken McKinley said when they found out about the Hall of Fame honor. “I was driving and I had to pull over because it was just very emotional. Just the fact that South Carolina thought that much of my son. I knew all the hard work that he had put into playing football and I know he would be just smiling from ear to ear.” One of those that thought very highly of McKinley was Spurrier himself. The two developed a special relationship that started when Spurrier met McKinley for the first time at his
the University decided to induct Kenny into the school’s Hall of Fame and for them it couldn’t be any more fitting because of how much he loved South Carolina. Along with the influence of Spurrier, the fans played a large role in why the Georgia boy chose the Gamecocks. Ken McKinley recalled a particular scenario in the 2010 game at home against Georgia, which came just over a week before Kenny passed away. “He was at the game when we were playing Georgia,” Ken McKinley said. “He was injured and was on crutches and they acknowledged him at halftime. Of course, the crowd, they went a little wild. After the game he said ‘dad, I really think they still like me here.’ And I said ‘hey son, of course they like you.’ But now with this recognition, I can truly say I believe that the University really loves him.” McKinley was known for much more than his football skills, especially to his family. Another fond memory Ken McKinley has is a game at Arkansas during his son’s freshman year. McKinley had just helped the Gamecocks win a game at Tennessee the week before and Spurrier told the freshman that he was going to start and they were going to feature him more in the offense. McKinley called his dad and asked if him and his mom were going to make it to the game against the Razorbacks. However, McKinley’s parents didn’t think they would be able to make it because of the steep ticket prices. “Coach said he was going to feature me so you want to think about it,” McKinley replied. Ken McKinley did think about it and evensouth carolina athletics media relations tually was able to make it to the game with a good friend of his. He’s forever grateful he did. house in Georgia. “I guess it just showed the relationship that McKinley recorded a team-high 58 receiving While looking at all of the accolades Kenny and Coach Spurrier had,” Ken McKinyards and caught his first career touchdown, a achieved by McKinley in the basement of his ley said. “Kenny always talked highly about 42-yard strike from Mitchell that proved to be house, Spurrier suddenly turned to the recruit, Coach. He always would come home and say who wore No. 11 in high school, and let him ‘hey mom and dad, Coach Spurrier is real fun- the game-winner. “After the game, not only was he excited, but know that he wanted him to wear that number ny.’ He would kind of quote some things that in college. Coach Spurrier would say. He really respected I was excited for him,” Ken McKinley said. “He had taken his gloves and autographed “I want you to wear No. 11 because you know Coach Spurrier and (wide receivers) Coach who else used to wear No. 11?” Spurrier asked (Steve) Spurrier Jr. He really enjoyed and loved them to me when he was in the locker room and it said ‘to dad, my No. 1 fan.’ I was just sitMcKinley. playing for those guys.” ting there thinking ‘you know, I almost missed “I don’t know coach,” McKinley answered. Spurrier Jr. was able to take a guy who had “I did at the University of Florida,” answered never been a receiver and make him one of the this.’ “Kenny was not only a good football player, Spurrier, who won a Heisman Trophy with the best the SEC has ever seen. Ken McKinley he was a great son and just a heck of a human Gators while wearing No. 11. said if his son were here, he would want to It was quite the honor for McKinley, who thank everyone who helped him along the way, being,” continued Ken McKinley. “He was just a good-hearted, kind kid that loved to play went on to wear that same number for the whether it was the aforementioned coaches, football. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t Gamecocks. quarterbacks like Blake Mitchell and Syvelle think about him and it was just quite an honor Earlier this year at the 10 year Spurrier-era Newton or a fellow receiver like Rice. reunion, Spurrier took a moment to recognize “Sidney helped him take his game to another that the University is still recognizing him. I get a kick out of when I go to a game and see McKinley’s family and presented them with a level,” Ken McKinley said. his name in the stadium.” framed portrait. McKinley’s family is beyond honored that
Spurs & Feathers • 29
September 9, 2015
For Jeffrey “Top 10” Torda, there was more to his SportsCenter moment than what you saw on TV
birthday?’” he said. A week later, the senior is still smiling over his unexpected brush with sports and social media celebrity. he commute can be tough, but Jay and “It’s been pretty crazy and pretty cool. Ever Fran Torda make it work. For the past since you’re a little kid you always dream of befour years, the Tordas have attended ing on SportsCenter, especially being on Top 10 about half of South Carolina’s home soccer plays,” said Torda before a recent practice. matches at Stone Stadium, making the trek “It’s one of those great things in soccer. It’s from Colleyville, Tex., to cheer on their son, great that it happened for our guys and our USC midfielder Jeffrey Torda. Fran’s job with fans,” added USC head coach Mark Berson. American AirTorda’s “SportsCenter Moment” came lines - and the midway through the second half, with South ticket perks that Carolina and Georgia Southern tied at two come with it goals apiece. The Gamecocks’ Ryan Arambula makes the trips a served a free kick from near midfield to the little easier. 5’8,” 145-pound Torda, who was posting up a The Tordas GSU defender about 12 yards from goal. With were unable to his back to the goalkeeper, Torda popped the attend the Gameball above his head, jumped, and whipped his cocks’ match legs around, sending a snapping, right-footed against Georgia missile into the side of the net. The motion of Southern August his legs resembled a pair of scissors - hence the 31. Mondays are move’s name. hard to get off Torda says he occasionally messes around work, and bewith scissor kicks during practice. But even he sides, it was Jay’s was stunned to see his shot go in. 62nd birthday. “To go for it in a game and have it come off Andy Demetra Instead, he called successfully, it’s pretty rare,” he said. Contributing his youngest of Berson, who’s in his 38th season at South Writer three children Carolina, likens it to a halfcourt shot in basketwith a request. ball. “All over the world, on fields every day, “He said, ‘You gotta score a goal for me,’” Jef- millions of kids do that in practice. Everybody frey Torda recalled. tries that in practice,” he explained. Did he ever. But when a scissor kick actually produces Torda’s spectacular scissor kick goal not only a goal? It’s one of the more impressive feats put the Gamecocks ahead for good in a 4-2 win, in soccer, a powerful, acrobatic illustration of it landed at #2 on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top the “beautiful game.” It can also go viral in a 10 plays of the night. Video of the goal – or hurry. In a bit of foreshadowing, Torda watched golazo, in soccer-speak - played on a near-con- a highlight of a scissor kick goal on Instagram tinuous loop the next morning. Fittingly, Torda two days before his match against Georgia scored it in the 62nd minute. Southern. James Rodríguez, a star midfielder “I called him immediately afterwards and for Real Madrid, buried one in a Spanish La said, ‘Was that a good enough goal for your Liga game.
T
“It was literally an identical play. I had seen it over the weekend. When that ball popped up [for me], it was going through my mind - ‘I gotta do it.’ It definitely played into my subconscious,” Torda said. The reaction to his goal was immediate. Gamecock Athletics posted videos to Twitter and Instagram before the final whistle, adding the hashtag #SCtop10. South Carolina fans followed their lead, hoping to catch the attention of the highlight harvesters at ESPN. Torda knew his goal had generated some buzz online, but he had no idea a campaign was underway to get him on SportsCenter. When he returned to his apartment that night, he and some teammates were hanging out when goalkeeper Craig Duggan shot them a group text, informing them he had just seen him on ESPN. Torda and his roommates rushed to the TV. They missed the highlight, but saw a graphic inviting fans to vote for their #2 favorite play of the night. “My name was sitting there in the corner. So we’re like, yeah, it’s a real thing, it’s definitely happening. We all immediately went and voted on Twitter,” he said. Wait, so Torda voted for his own play? “Of course. I had to!” he laughed. “You don’t get 73 percent [of the vote] without yourself influencing others to vote for you.” Torda and his teammates stayed up, waiting for SportsCenter to repeat, so they could watch the countdown themselves. Shortly before 1 a.m., there he was. The highlight led to several other highlights that week. He received dozens of texts and tweets from relatives and friends, some he hadn’t heard from in years. Teammates sang him the SportsCenter “DaDaDa, DaDaDa” jingle whenever they passed him. His two older siblings – brother Alex played soccer at the University of Dayton, sister Jackie played at TCU – were both impressed. By Friday, a SportsCenter tweet showing video of his goal
photo by juan blas
had been favorited 1,400 times. He even enjoyed some BMOC (Big Midfielder on Campus) treatment around USC. “Randomly I got a couple of people who said, ‘Hey man, I saw your goal the other night. That was sweet.’ That was really cool,” he said. For now, though, Torda prefers to look ahead. A veteran of 51 career starts, he brings an attacking, tough-minded presence to the Gamecocks midfield, considered one of the stronger units in Conference USA. After losing in the CUSA Tournament final last year, he’s eager to lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011. If he rises to the challenge, it won’t be the first time. On the day of South Carolina’s season opener against Mercer, Torda posted a picture of himself on Instagram with a caption inviting fans to come to Stone Stadium. The picture was of him doing a bicycle kick, taken during the team’s preseason photo shoot. His sister couldn’t resist commenting. “Bet ya can’t do that in the game,” she wrote. So when’s her next birthday?
30 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
South Carolina/North Carolina postgame notes and quotes south carolina athletics media relations
dang good team. I think they are going to beat a lot of good people this year. I really do.” South Carolina sophomore quarterback Connor Mitch On how he would evaluate his first game “There is still a lot to work on for starters. I will have to take a look at the tape first and go from there.” On whether or not it was hard to stay in the rhythm with several guys taking snaps “No, it is football. You just go out there and play.”
GENERAL NOTES • South Carolina defeated North Carolina 17-13 to open the 2015 season. The Gamecocks have now won six of the last seven meetings vs. the Tar Heels. • Captains for South Carolina for the game were: junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper, senior spur T.J. Gurley, senior offensive tackle Brandon Shell and senior defensive tackle Gerald Dixon Jr. • South Carolina is 81-37-4 in 122 season openers with head coach Steve Spurrier 24-2 all-time in season openers as a collegiate head coach as well as 10-1 in season openers since taking over South Carolina. • Steve Spurrier now owns a 6-0 career record vs. North Carolina. He was 3-0 as head coach at Duke (1987-89) and is now 3-0 against North Carolina as head coach of the Gamecocks. • Attendance was 51,664.
South Carolina junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper On what his thoughts were when Shon broke through and all the way to the end zone “It was a great feeling. It was when I was off the field. I saw him score and just take off. Carlton made a great block on the sideline. Scoring is a good feeling. We were already behind and scoring to take the lead was a really good feeling.” On a lot of guys taking snaps “Yes sir. That is our offense. We don’t really have a lot of experienced guys so everyone is going to be rotating in to see who can play. We will see who can stay out there through midseason, the year and find out who our actual starters are.”
OFFENSIVE NOTES • The 9-yard touchdown pass by sophomore quarterback Connor Mitch to Pharoh Cooper in the second quarter marked the first career touchdown pass for Mitch. Mitch finished 9-for-22 in the air for 122 yards. • Senior tailback Shon Carson’s 48-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter marked his fourth career touchdown run. Carson was the leading rusher for the Gamecocks with 4 carries for 75 yards. • Junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper caught 3 passes for 45 yards. His three receptions moved him into the top-25 in Gamecock history with 75 in his career with the Garnet & Black. Cooper also rushed 4 times for 20 yards as well. • Senior tailback Brandon Wilds rushed 14 times for 51 yards and added a team-high 4 receptions for 44 yards as well. Junior quarterback Perry Orth was 2-for-2 in the air for 24 passing yards. DEFENSIVE NOTES • Junior linebacker Skai Moore tallied a pair of interceptions. It marked the third time in his career that he has recorded two interceptions in a game. Moore had two interceptions for the Gamecocks in the 2014 Capital One Bowl vs. Wisconsin and had two last year vs. South Alabama. Moore also led the Gamecocks with 10 tackles in the contest. • Junior safety Jordan Diggs’ interception in the third quarter was the first of his career. Junior defensive tackle Kelsey Griffin tallied a career-high 1.5 sacks in the contest. He finished with three tackles for the evening. • Sophomore defensive tackle Dante Sawyer recorded his first career sack as a Gamecock as well. Senior defensive tackle Phillip Dukes picked up a sack and junior defensive end Darius English had 0.5 as the Gamecocks finished with four in the contest. SPECIAL TEAM NOTES • Junior placekicker Elliott Fry connected with a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter. He is 11-for-11 in his career in field goals inside the 30. • Junior punter Sean Kelly 60-yard punt in the third quarter was the longest by a Gamecock since Joey ScribnerHoward’s 60 yard punt at Mississippi State, Oct. 15, 2011. Kelly finished with five punts for 231 yards for an average
North Carolina head football coach Larry Fedora “First you have to give South Carolina credit for doing what they did. They forced turnovers on the offense, all of them in the red zone I believe. Defensively we did some good things. I wouldn’t say that we have arrived, but we did enough to win the football game tonight. Special teams we didn’t really commit any game changing plays, we were just solid. So wasn’t good enough to win a football game tonight and we have to get much better.”
photo by jenny dilworth
of 46.2 including two inside the 10-yardline. South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier “I think the football Gods smiled on the Gamecocks tonight. I am really proud of our entire team and our defense. We gave up a lot of yards I guess, but we kept them out of the end zone. We held them to thirteen points. Coach Hoke and all the defensive coaches did a good job of keeping them in thereand holding them down. I think I called a lousy game as I said earlier. On the fourth and one we called it. They put everybody up there and we had no business trying to sneak it but we did. We didn’t have a chance. That was not Perry’s fault. It was our fault. Somehow or another Brandon Wilds and Shon Carson had some nice runs. Other than that, we were fortunate to hit the payroll on the touchdown. They got the best of us. Their defense got the best of our offense pretty much except for the run game there at the end. We are very fortunate and have a lot to correct. We did not play our best. I think North Carolina is a
Category 1st Downs Total Yards Passing Rushing Penalties-Yards 3rd Down Conversions 4th Down Conversions Turnovers Time of Possession Passing Leaders South Carolina COM Mitch 9 Orth 2 North Carolina COM Williams 19 Rushing Leaders South Carolina CAR Carson 4 Wilds 14 North Carolina CAR Hood 12 Logan 7 Receiving Leaders South Carolina REC Wilds 4 Cooper 3 North Carolina REC Howard 6 Switzer 6
SC NC 22 20 394 440 140 232 254 208 8-60 6-30 7-15 5-13 1-2 0-2 0 3 35:38 24:22 ATT 22 2 ATT 31
YDS 122 24 YDS 232
TD 1 0 TD 1
INT 0 0 INT 3
YDS 75 51 YDS 138 37
AVG 18.8 3.6 AVG 11.5 5.3
TD 1 0 TD 0 0
LG 48 10 LG 44 20
YDS 44 45 YDS 114 57
AVG 11.0 15.0 AVG 19.0 9.5
TD 0 0 TD 1 0
LG 20 27 LG 40 16
September 9, 2015
Spurs & Feathers • 31
Always a nice ride back when you win
We are off! After last year’s disappointment in the opener, this year’s win over North Carolina was that much more enjoyable. No it was not a thing of beauty, but beating the Tar Heels in anything is always sweet. Since we return to Charlotte in 2019 and 2023, much less if we get invited to the Belk Bowl (by the way, Carrie Underwood will be there and they said something, I think, about her sitting next to you at the game if you came, so we might want to just go for that reason alone), I thought I would give some tips from my experience. Just because you know how to get to Charlotte doesn’t necessarily mean you know your way around. Once you get there, you better have a clue how to get to the destination. For us, that was the parking lot known as lot #2. Charlotte has become Atlanta, just a little further east. It has very tall buildings with interstates running right through the middle of the city. Traffic started building up to a dead stop just across the North Carolina border, so though we were two hours before kickoff, getting there a bit earlier may have been a photo by allen sharpe good idea. We started on the south side of the staI wish the Tar Heel fan in front of us had and back out to the interstate, where it was more relaxed and smooth. It always is when dium, circled around to the north, came back done the same. Actually, he disappeared at bumper to bumper again. you win. around to east, then to the south, around to halftime, so even that was not too bad. You know what? The ride home was much Nothing beats that. the west, before returning to the north. I call As we all know, the game was not a game it the panoramic route. Asking police officers of perfection by any means. South Carolina directing traffic doesn’t necessarily help found a way to win. Shon Carson’s 48-yard either, but we eventually did find our way touchdown was a thing of beauty and it was there. enough to win. Fortunately, Todd, Tommy, Langston, The defense was not perfect, playing the old Andy, and the rest entertained us as they kept bend but don’t break. Skai Moore came up us company and informed so it certainly was big. Two interceptions in the end zone and 10 not a lost cause thanks to the radio broadcast tackles in what Coach Spurrier called after out of Rock Hill on WVSZ and WRHM. the game “an All-American performance.” I was surprised when watching the replay It was pointed out before the game that of the game that so many people were actuConnor Mitch was not only making his first ally in the stadium. I can tell you there were start, but he also had only been tackled a thousands outside trying to get in at the time time or two in a game since high school like of the kickoff. I know. I was there with them. in the Furman game last year. If you stop and They check everyone with a wand to make think about that, it doesn’t matter how many sure no one is bringing undesirable products snaps you’ve taken in practice, you don’t reinto the game. In this day and age, if that’s ally start learning until an opponent trying to what it takes to keep us all safe, a little incon- knock your head off pops you. venience does not hurt at all. I would say Mitch passed that The crowd was pretty well bewell. He was dinged up, but no haved, thus, it took a while, but turnovers are a great start and in the end, it was worth it. a win in your first start, no one It took about 10 minutes in will ever take that away. the stands for me to notice, but The defense was much better Advertise in Spurs & Feathers they severed beer in the stands. than last year. Both sides of the and www.spursandfeathers.com Now that was interesting. I ball will get better in the comwondered why everyone I was ing weeks. Kentucky will be Call me today! sitting around was not having better than North Carolina and one. That question was solved Georgia will follow. Kathy Boyette, USC Class of 1989 by the price. $7.50 to $9.75 for Take it one game at a time and Advertising Sales Manager Ed Girardeau a draft in a souvenir cup (not a enjoy the ride. Traffic out of the (803) 295-3654 Contributing particularly big one either). game was not too bad. It took Editor I decided I could do without. about 10 minutes to get moving kboyette@spursandfeathers.com AS14-1267214
Market Your Business to the Gamecock Nation!
32 • Spurs & Feathers
September 9, 2015
AS34-1335590c