A lot has happened since we last heard anything from behind the scenes of South Carolina football. Here is a little snippet of our interview with coach Chance: Coach, tell me about this battle brewing at the QB position. You've been quoted as saying the job is Shaw's to lose, but we've seen Dylan Thompson play quite a lot. Well, we're a team and when one member is struggling you have to rely on the rest of the team to keep everything under wraps. We've had to play Dylan more than expected because Shaw has had trouble leading receivers effectively into open space. He's found his legs recently, but its a work in progress. Some of our sources have caught word that you've been scouting hard for quarterbacks despite the lack of space on the depth chart. What does this mean for freshman Tanner McEvoy, who hasn't seen action yet? When you play in the SEC and have this much talent around, you'd be a fool to not always be looking. We'd like to think that we're not fools. With the lack of production in the passing game, we've become a predominantly running team. Is Lattimore going to be back next week after reaggravating his torn pectoral muscle? He is questionable for next week and we aren't pushing him to rush back. Brandon Wilds has been phenomenal and our line has made all this happen. All the credit goes to our big boys for making space for Brandon. I think that he's still first in the nation in rushing yards or at least in the top five after all the stats from this week come in. Thanks for chatting with us and GO GAMECOCKS!
On the recruiting trail... Here's what Coach Chance had to say about the recent events on the recruiting trail: We've seen some weird things from recruits, but this one is new to me. Two recruits had their Twitter accounts hacked and the pranksters made fake commitments to our university. Dan Brown actually signed the next week anyway, saying it was his intention the whole time and that it made him laugh more than anything. Jared Price wasn't as thrilled and has recently withdrawn from social media in response. He is set to visit next week against Tennessee. Tell us about the two newest commits... Jason Greer is a special player and our scouts have reported that he's even been better than advertised. He will likely be in contention for the starting spot at FS along with Sheldon Royster. Keron Miller brings us some more depth that we badly need at corner. It's hard to get a read on how good he really is because he's missed so much time because of a non-football injury that has kept him from seeing the field. His numbers from last season are misleading because he played a lot of receiver too. We feel pretty comfortable in his potential and think he's a solid addition.
On the recruiting trail... This week a lot of recruits came to see the game against Tennessee. Tell us a little about that: We actually had this date set as the target for getting the bulk of these recruits in. We got some in early in the season and most of them are committed. This week we invited ten recruits and their families to see us play against the Volunteers. A couple have soft commitments, but we're hoping to change their minds. We talked to them and let them know how we think we can get them on the field and I think they like what we have going on here in Columbia. Tell us about the newest Gamecock, Michael Utley... Mike's a good kid with the right skills to fit well into our scheme here. He has a knack for reading the QB's eyes and really knows how to lay a runner out when they make it to the second level. He's one of those players who you love to have on running downs because he is like having an extra linebacker on the field. Depending on how our current depth responds to the offseason training, he may have a good shot at seeing the field early and often.
On the recruiting trail... South Carolina is up to 8 commits and currently sits at the #35 recruiting class in the nation. With a significant portion of our defensive starters leaving, where does that leave the Gamecocks next season? There will be some big changes on the defensive side of the ball. We've brought in a couple of safeties who should compete for starting jobs right away and our linebacking corps will lose some older talent, but we have plenty of players waiting in the wings. What about the two newest commits, Tony Joseph and Jared Price? We caught wind of Tony when looking at a tailback in his region, actually. On tape we saw him finding his way to the ball pretty often. Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State were all after him, too, and we're pretty convinced that we found a real steal here and a future starter. Jared is a balanced corner who is strong enough to make plays near the line of scrimmage. We are really focusing on spreading our influence to other states besides Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas. Texas is a major producer of talent and to pick up a 4 star recruit from there is key to our future plans.
#2 South Carolina puts away #15 Arkansas, 30-9 Spoiler: Scoring Summary Spoiler: Team Stats Keys to Victory: - Containing the Razorbacks offense. Holding the passing game reasonably in check and closing gaps to stall the run game leads to 283 yds of total offense for Arkansas. All of their scoring was done by their kicker, who completed one from 52 yds. - Winning 3rd down. Converting all 7 of their 3rd down opportunities and holding Arkansas to 5/13 kept the Gamecocks rolling. - Balanced offensive attack. 500 total yds with ~200 on the ground and 300 through the air kept the defense guessing. - The 12th man. After holding the Razorbacks to a field goal on their opening drive, their next possession was stopped for a safety. On the first play after the punt return, Brandon Wilds broke a beautiful 63 yd run out of the wildcat for a TD. From then on, the crowd and the momentum helped keep the Gamecocks in control. Player of the Game: Connor Shaw - 15-19 for 305 yds, 3 TDs, 5 rushes for 32 yds Notable performances: Right end Devin Taylor adds another as he is the season sack record holder at South Carolina, now with 13.5. He is a semifinalist for the Bronco Nagurski Trophy and the Lombardi Trophy. Defensive tackle Byron Jerideau did not record a tackle, but is also in the running for the Lombardi Trophy. Right guard Ronald Patrick had another solid performance on the line and continues his run at a potential Outland Trophy. Center TJ Johnson did not record any blocking stats, but is in the running for the Rimington Trophy. Freshman kicker Landon Ard remains perfect from the field and has an outside chance at the Groza. WR/QB Bruce Ellington recorded his first receiving TD of the year. He has been anxious to see action as the Gamecocks have featured the run more prominently than anticipated this season. Coach Chance is said to be looking to put the ball in his hands more often going forward. Video Highlights:
WEEK 1 This one was too close for comfort. The offense was executing well, but the passing precision was erratic for Connor Shaw, who was rattled under pressure constantly from an aggressive linebacking corps. Marcus Lattimore was the brightest star, earning player of the game honors with a 200 yd, 2 TD performance. The game was almost lost to turnovers, as the Gamecocks look eerily similar to last year with a TO margin of -2. The defense was not able to slow down the aggressive no-huddle offense used by ASU and the game became a shootout. South Carolina forced some punts in the 4th and drove the ball down the field with a number of ball carriers on the last possession to get in position for a 27 yd field goal. Landon Ard, the sophomore who was a semifinalist for the Groza last season, remains perfect for his career in both field goals and extra points after clinching the game in the closing seconds. The Gamecocks look forward to their first home game of the season against East Carolina next week. Some special recognition for individual performances: Freshman fullback James McNeil recorded his first catch for a 2 yd TD. He also recorded 4 pancakes in the game. Freshman tight end TJ James recorded his first catch as a Gamecock for 23 yds. He also tallied 3 pancakes during the contest. RT Mike Matulis dominated the point of attack and pancaked 8 defenders while allowing no sacks. Ace Sanders was a key factor in the field position battle, amassing 235 yds on returns. Spoiler: Scoring Summary Spoiler: Team Stats Highlights The freshman Jason Greer won the starting job in spring and proved the coach right with his first play as a Gamecock being a pick. Kelcy Quarles came up big for South Carolina, recording 3 sacks on the day. The O-line dominated ASU all day. Here is a short TD run set up by some good blocking. Senior guard Ronald Patrick pulls and makes the last block to pave the way for Marcus Lattimore. Both A.J. Cann and last year's freshman All-American Brock Stadnick clear the way on the left side for a long TD by Marcus Lattimore. The safeties were in deep halves against two receivers going deep on the right side. Hesitation on the coverage led to a long pass to DeAngelo Smith for a 50 yd TD, putting the Gamecocks on top again late in the fourth. Player of the Game Marcus Lattimore - 25 rushes for 200 yds, 2 TDs, 49 yd long
Connor Shaw had the performance of his career today. 11/16 for 237 yards through the air with 2 TDs and 0 INTs with another 65 yds on the ground and 2 rushing TDs. The ground game was not the focal point this game, as Coach Chance unleashed a more wide open passing attack in the 2nd quarter to the tune of 21 points. With the lead being 3 scores half-way through the third, a bevy of ball carriers and a freshman quarterback all made appearances (all 9 ball carriers average 5 or more yds/carry). The Gamecocks held the ball throughout the second half and the T.O.P battle was won 27:15 to 10:07. Some special recognition for individual performances: Freshman QB Daniel Bryant completed his first passes as a Gamecock. He went 2-5 for 13 yds and 1 TD. His TD pass came on a 3 yd toss to TE Rory Anderson in the fourth. He also had two carries for 19 yds. Ace Sanders showed why he's the team's #1 receiver, hauling in 2 TD passes (36 yds and 35 yds). Freshman fullback James McNeil found his stride in the running game, getting 59 yds on 4 carries. Freshamn LB Tony Joseph recorded his first stats as a Gamecock: 1 tackle, 1 FF Landon Ard remains perfect as a Gamecock and is now 3/3 on field goals for the season and 11/11 on extra points. Ronald Patrick is looking to secure his spot on the draft boards with another solid performance on the line. He now has 16 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed on the year. He is currently being projected as high as the second round, but there is a lot of football left to play before then. Freshman power back JJ Watkins recorded his first carries against ECU. He picked up 27 yds on 3 carries. Spoiler: Scoring Summary Spoiler: Team Stats Highlights Ronald Patrick doing work on ECU defenders. Ace Sanders beats the man coverage for a TD. Ace Sanders uses the hole in the zone and a nice juke move to get another South Carolina TD. Connor Shaw tiptoes into the end zone untouched on the designed QB run. FB James McNeil, FB Matt Coffee, and TE Rory Anderson set up blocks for a 15 yd TD run by Brandon Wilds. Player of the Game Connor Shaw 11/16, 237 yds, 2 TDs, 12 carries, 65 yd, 2 rushing TDs
Lots of time off from this, but here are a few clips of the fun I've been having with the run-n-shoot/shootbone offense. I've got the elgato now and installed 10.7.5 Lion so I can use the software (no legacy support on your website???) to capture, so hopefully there will be plenty of fun videos from here on out. Sophomore Cornelius Redd makes a nice catch in the end zone. The Missouri defense gets manhandled by the Gamecocks. Notice how every Tiger ends up on the ground, but one. Star QB Daniel Bryant shakes him off and gets an easy TD. Perennial back-up Dan Brown gets his first catch of his career and makes it count, exploiting the soft spot in the zone for a TD.
2015 hardware round up The big story for the Gamecocks is Daniel Bryant. He came into Columbia with experience as a receiver, return man, and quarterback, but coach Chance saw potential in his arm and put him behind Dylan Thompson to mature. he was used in specialty packages initially and was an option play specialist. He took over the team about half way through last season when Dylan Thompson proved continually ineffective. In the offseason, coach Chance redesigned the playbook around his playmakers and gave Bryant a lot more freedom at the line of scrimmage to react to the defense and adjust the play on the fly. He responded with his best season yet, and led the Gamecocks to another double digit winning season. He put together a spectacular resume and won the Maxwell, Walter Camp, O'Brien, and the Heisman trophy. Other award finalists included: Chad Goolsby (Biletnikov) Brock Stadnick and Kyle Harris (Outland) Kyle Harris (Rimington) Mike Smith (Lombardi) Landon Ard (Groza) Mike Davis and Damiere Byrd (Returner) A number of Gamecocks received honors as All-American and All-Conference selections: 1st team AA QB Daniel Bryant LT Brock Stadnick 2nd team AA LE Mike Smith FS Sheldon Royster K Landon Ard Freshman AA WR Chad Goolsby LE Mike Smith 1st team All-SEC QB Daniel Bryant LT Brock Stadnick C Kyle Harris RG Brandon Shell DE Mike Smith, DE Brian Jackson DT Gerald Dixon Jr OLB Edward Muldrow OLB Kevin Daugherty CB Greg Parker FS Sheldon Royster SS Michael Utley K Landon Ard Rerurner Mike Davis 2nd team All-SEC WR Chad Goolsby DT Eddie Thompson MLB Mason Harris SS Paul Allen P Matt Herman
