Shawn Elliott didn’t mince words after Wednesday’s practice when discussing the removal of freshman left tackle Brandon Shell from last week’s 17-13 win against Vanderbilt.
After USC coach Steve Spurrier said earlier in the week said that Shell coming out of the game was a combination of fatigue, an ankle sprain and performance, the offensive line coach was more direct.
“He came out of the game the other night because he needed to come out of the game the other night. That was a decision Coach (Spurrier) and I made, so we pulled him,” Elliott said.
It was clear that performance was a big part of the issue.
“He gave up a sack there in the third quarter. I wasn’t pleased about it,” Elliott said. “I said, ‘Man, I can go do that.’ So we gave somebody else another chance. It was another opportunity for a guy to go out there to get better, and that’s what happened.”
And he didn’t believe that Shell was fatigued.
“Let us get this straight. It had nothing to do with heat. It wasn’t hot. He wasn’t tired. He was a redshirt freshman playing in his first SEC contest. That’s the bottom line,” Elliott said.
Elliott expects Shell to keep improving and become more consistent as the season progresses. He praised the play of Cody Gibson, who took over at right tackle when Mike Matulis moved to left tackle for Shell. He also called the play of center T.J. Johnson and left guard A.J. Cann “solid,” while stating left guard Ronald Patrick must show more consistency. The players understand the critique.
“As a unit, we had a lot of mess-ups,” Johnson said. “There is a lot of room for improvement. I feel like we have been addressing those needs this week in practice.”
Elliott would not discuss the projected starters at tackle against East Carolina.
“We’re going to play guys that want to go out there and play, and if they’re not out there playing at the level we expect, we’re going to implement another guy,” he said.
http://www.gogamecocks.com/2012/09/05/278385/practice-report-elliott-expects.html
Shawn Elliott doesn’t mince words…isn’t an understatement.
After USC coach Steve Spurrier said earlier in the week said that Shell coming out of the game was a combination of fatigue, an ankle sprain and performance, the offensive line coach was more direct.
“He came out of the game the other night because he needed to come out of the game the other night. That was a decision Coach (Spurrier) and I made, so we pulled him,” Elliott said.
It was clear that performance was a big part of the issue.
“He gave up a sack there in the third quarter. I wasn’t pleased about it,” Elliott said. “I said, ‘Man, I can go do that.’ So we gave somebody else another chance. It was another opportunity for a guy to go out there to get better, and that’s what happened.”
And he didn’t believe that Shell was fatigued.
“Let us get this straight. It had nothing to do with heat. It wasn’t hot. He wasn’t tired. He was a redshirt freshman playing in his first SEC contest. That’s the bottom line,” Elliott said.
Elliott expects Shell to keep improving and become more consistent as the season progresses. He praised the play of Cody Gibson, who took over at right tackle when Mike Matulis moved to left tackle for Shell. He also called the play of center T.J. Johnson and left guard A.J. Cann “solid,” while stating left guard Ronald Patrick must show more consistency. The players understand the critique.
“As a unit, we had a lot of mess-ups,” Johnson said. “There is a lot of room for improvement. I feel like we have been addressing those needs this week in practice.”
Elliott would not discuss the projected starters at tackle against East Carolina.
“We’re going to play guys that want to go out there and play, and if they’re not out there playing at the level we expect, we’re going to implement another guy,” he said.
http://www.gogamecocks.com/2012/09/05/278385/practice-report-elliott-expects.html
Shawn Elliott doesn’t mince words…isn’t an understatement.