South Carolina spring football practices conclude with Saturday’s spring game, and tonight the Gamecocks held their final practice before that scrimmage.
Coach Steve Spurrier said he doesn’t put more value on the spring game than the rest of the spring practices, since he will mostly play backups. So if you go, don’t expect to see a lot of quarterback Connor Shaw, or defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney and Devin Taylor.
In terms of the big picture, as USC comes off its first ever 11-win season, Spurrier noted that the Gamecocks lost major players such as defensive end Melvin Ingram, spur outside linebacker Antonio Allen and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. And because of the nature of spring practices, he doesn’t feel like he has a good handle on what type of team this will be in 2012.
“We’re still a wait-and-see bunch,” he said, while listing off the players he lost. “We’re an unknown team right now. We don’t do a lot in spring, just to try to keep from having injuries.”
But there were some noteworthy things that happened this spring, and here is a look at some of them, as the notebook gets emptied one final time before the spring game ...
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Wide receiver Bruce Ellington spoke to reporters tonight after practice, for the first extended period of time since he decided to play both football and basketball again next school year.
“I just kind of decided that I wanted to do both,” he said. “I kind of made my decision too early, off emotions, and felt like because I wasn’t there at the beginning of the (basketball) season last year, I kind of put everything on me. But I know that just one person can’t play the game, one person can’t win the game. So I just decided that I wanted to do both.”
He said he isn’t worn out after going from summer football workouts to football season to basketball season to spring football.
“My body still feels great,” he said. “I’m still working out, still going strong. I feel good right now. I can go all day. I don’t take days off.”
He said new basketball coach Frank Martin is OK with him playing both sports.
“He’s a nice guy,” Ellington said. “I’m excited about him being here. I told him I wanted to do both, and he was like, ‘It’s fine with me. Whatever you want to do.’ Because he said he’s a football guy, too. He said he played football. He’s honest with you, straightforward and he’s blunt. That’s everything I wanted in a coach.”
Martin worked out his new team last week, and Ellington said he was able to attend one of those sessions. He said he will work out with the basketball team again next week after spring football ends.
Ellington didn’t get a chance to participate in spring practices last year, so he will be able to ease into the 2012 football season much more so than he did in 2011.
“I just got more comfortable (this spring) with just learning the game and learning the defense,” he said. “Last year I was like a freshman on the field pretty much. I just got better at learning how they’re going to play me, how they’re going to play the defense.”
He expects to have a busier summer in 2012 than he did in 2011, as he prepares to play both sports again.
“Last year, I kind of wanted to see how it would go playing both,” he said. “But this year, I see that I can do more, so I’m going to work out with the football team in the morning and probably do basketball in the afternoon.”
Though he and Martin didn’t talk about it during their chat, Ellington fully expects Martin to go out and get a point guard in the spring signing period. Martin will need somebody to play point guard at the beginning of the season, since Ellington is on the same plan as last year – play football through the end of the regular season, then rejoin the basketball team in late November and split time between the two sports leading up to the football bowl game.
“I’m going to be a junior next year in basketball, so most likely he’s going to have to find a point guard,” Ellington said. “I think, pretty much, he’s going to go find another guy.”
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The backup quarterbacks will get most of the snaps in the spring game, which means you’ll get an extended look at third-year sophomore Dylan Thompson, who is currently tied with senior walk-on Seth Strickland for the backup job. Thompson, who is 6-3 and 212 pounds, was the No. 2 guy last season after Stephen Garcia got kicked off the team.
“I’m much more comfortable now with the offense,” Thompson said. “I really worked hard in the offseason (to learn the offense) and feel a lot more comfortable. We’ve really been working on our checks (from one play to another before the snap) and certain checks based on coverages. The more reps, I’ll understand that more. Just having answers for everything the defense does.”
Spurrier isn’t worried about Thompson from a physical standpoint. It’s all mental right now.
“He’s a big, strong young man that can make all the throws,” Spurrier said. “He’s just got to know what he’s doing. This game is sort of like golf. It’s between the ears for quarterbacks, if you can throw it, and he can throw it. He’s a good passer. It’s just when and where and where you look and all that kind of stuff.”
As Spurrier considered all of his quarterbacks, he said, “They hold the ball too long. They hold it, hold it, hold it, messing around, messing around, throw an interception. We’re having trouble coaching them out of it, but we’ll keep coaching and hopefully get it out of their hands a little quicker at times. But there were some good throws here and there (tonight).”
Thompson wasn’t a big-time recruit – he got just two stars from Rivals.com – but he impressed quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus with his willingness to study film and learn, as he did in the offseason. Combine that with the reps he is getting now, and Thompson’s experience and knowledge are beginning to work hand-in-hand.
“It takes time,” Mangus said. “You’ve got to be patient with these guys. Two years ago, he’s kind of where (redshirt freshman) Tanner (McEvoy) is. Tanner’s got a lot of stuff, the computer hasn’t slowed down yet, and that’s a natural progression of playing quarterback, especially in a system where you ask the quarterback to a control a lot of things.
“I think it’s slowing down for Dylan. There’s no doubt about it. There’s some mechanical things that he still needs to work on, but that’s something you can always get better at. Just using his eyes and shoulders more and kind of looking off (defenders). When you start getting comfortable with the offense, then you can start now using your eyes and your shoulders to kind of help yourself because you know the offense so well that you can look here and throw there.
“Those are things that come with reps and age. But you have to learn the nuts and bolts of the offense first, and that takes time. It’s a progression. There was a day when you didn’t really play quarterback until your junior year. And now, the expectations (are): I’ve got to play right away, and he’s got to be ready right away.
“It takes time when you ask them to do a lot, and we ask them to do a lot. We’ll be patient with them, and it’s paid off with Dylan. I think that’s what’s happened. He’s in his third year and now he’s much more comfortable. I think it’s showed. He’s still got a ways to go, but they all do.”
Mangus also likes what he has seen from Shaw, in terms of staying in the pocket and shifting around while keeping his eyes downfield, rather than taking off so quickly.
“That’s what we’ve worked on in the spring,” Mangus said. “That’s kind of been a point of emphasis with him. He’s done well with that. He hasn’t just taken off. He’s fine. He has worked on that and I’m happy that he’s done that. We’ll see how that translates in August, but he’s definitely made some improvement on that, trying to continue to keep his eyes downfield in the pocket.”
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New running backs coach Everette Sands liked hearing that redshirt freshman tailback Shon Carson is confident enough in his knee, which sustained a season-ending injury last year, that he is now doing back flips. Well, he at least liked hearing that Carson seems confident in his knee.
“They say usually it takes some guys a year before they fully get their confidence back,” Sands said. “I don’t think Shon’s going to have that problem.”
And as for the back flips, which Sands didn’t personally witness?
“I didn’t say I was OK with it, but I’m glad to see he’s pretty confident in it,” Sands said with a laugh.
Sands is going to have a crowded backfield when Carson and junior Marcus Lattimore return. Lattimore, of course, also suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2011. Throw in sophomore Brandon Wilds and fifth-year senior Kenny Miles, who is expected to return after considering a transfer, and Sands has four running backs – one for each class.
“I think Kenny is going to be a great player for us,” Sands said. “I think he’s in the best shape of his life right now. He’s definitely stronger than he’s ever been.”
Wilds was listed on the pre-spring depth chart at 218 pounds, but Sands said he is 230 now, and Sands is fine with that, as long as Wilds embraces the style required of a 230-pound back – which is to say, being a between-the-tackles runner and not getting too cute.
“He’s done a much better job of running like he’s 230 pounds this spring,” Sands said. “He does have feet where he can make some people miss, too, which is good.”
Wilds was not expected to play as a true freshman last season, but when Lattimore went down and Carson wasn’t around, Wilds had to learn on the fly.
“The knowledge is good,” Sands said of Wilds getting accustomed to the system. “Now we’ve got some technique things we’ve got to work on. Things such as moving your feet in pass protection, making sure that you’re in a good football position. Guys have a tendency to make contact and then sort of lunge a little bit. But just getting his butt down and being ready to move his feet in pass pro.
“He knows where he’s supposed to be. As far as knowledge-wise, you wouldn’t know that he only played the last four or five games, as far as his take on the whole offensive system. He knows it. So that’s very good.”
Sands can’t wait to work with Lattimore, who is expected to be cleared when offseason workouts begin at the end of June. Carson will be cleared in early May.
“The thing that (Lattimore) does probably the best that I’ve had a chance to work with is his ability to break tackles,” Sands said. “An arm tackle’s not going to bring him down. He has good forward body lean and he can run away from people. He has good feet where he can make somebody miss in a short area. I’m just excited to work with him.”
Lattimore is excited to get back, too.
“If we would let him, he would come out here now,” Sands said. “He wants to get out here. That’s part of the thing, he’s a little ahead of schedule, so we’ve got to sort of hold him back just to make sure we don’t let him loose too early. But he’s ready to get out, no doubt.”
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Finally, defensive line coach Brad Lawing said he is not just considering playing Clowney inside at tackle during pass-rushing situations, but also doing that with his backup ends, Chaz Sutton and Aldrick Fordham, who played tackle last season but is too light for that spot.
“I could put Chaz inside, too, with Jadeveon outside, so I’m going to be able to do that either way,” Lawing said. “I put those guys inside for a reason, and it’s to affect the quarterback.”
Lawing said Sutton and Fordham are tied for the No. 3 end spot.
He likes putting extra ends in the game, and inside at the tackle spot, because it gives the Gamecocks an athleticism advantage and helps free up edge rushers.
“In the past, I’ve had some groups where I’ve had as many as four ends on the field at one time,” he said. “I like it when I’ve got a tackle in there that can hold the point inside and be a power rusher, like Travian (Robertson) was for us last year. It makes it better. Because that guy’s job is really just to face the quarterback up, and everybody else kind of feeds around him.”
Lawing loves what he has seen this spring from rising senior tackle Byron Jerideau, who is preparing to start for the first time. Lawing said Jerideau is his best tackle right now.
“He’s more of a run-stopper,” Lawing said. “He’s not a big-time pass rusher. The other three, they’re going to be fine. They’re getting better and better. It’s really their first football experience.”
By the other three, Lawing meant his backup tackles – redshirt freshmen Gerald Dixon Jr. and Phillip Dukes and sophomore J.T. Surratt.
As for Jerideau, Lawing said, “He’s had to mature and get better and better and he has. He still does bonehead things every now and then, but he’s changed his whole body, his whole conditioning. When he first got here, he was in no way, form or fashion ready to play college football. He’s in shape. He can actually perform the things we ask him to perform.”
LINK: http://www.postandco...mentId=blogDest
Coach Steve Spurrier said he doesn’t put more value on the spring game than the rest of the spring practices, since he will mostly play backups. So if you go, don’t expect to see a lot of quarterback Connor Shaw, or defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney and Devin Taylor.
In terms of the big picture, as USC comes off its first ever 11-win season, Spurrier noted that the Gamecocks lost major players such as defensive end Melvin Ingram, spur outside linebacker Antonio Allen and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. And because of the nature of spring practices, he doesn’t feel like he has a good handle on what type of team this will be in 2012.
“We’re still a wait-and-see bunch,” he said, while listing off the players he lost. “We’re an unknown team right now. We don’t do a lot in spring, just to try to keep from having injuries.”
But there were some noteworthy things that happened this spring, and here is a look at some of them, as the notebook gets emptied one final time before the spring game ...
---
Wide receiver Bruce Ellington spoke to reporters tonight after practice, for the first extended period of time since he decided to play both football and basketball again next school year.
“I just kind of decided that I wanted to do both,” he said. “I kind of made my decision too early, off emotions, and felt like because I wasn’t there at the beginning of the (basketball) season last year, I kind of put everything on me. But I know that just one person can’t play the game, one person can’t win the game. So I just decided that I wanted to do both.”
He said he isn’t worn out after going from summer football workouts to football season to basketball season to spring football.
“My body still feels great,” he said. “I’m still working out, still going strong. I feel good right now. I can go all day. I don’t take days off.”
He said new basketball coach Frank Martin is OK with him playing both sports.
“He’s a nice guy,” Ellington said. “I’m excited about him being here. I told him I wanted to do both, and he was like, ‘It’s fine with me. Whatever you want to do.’ Because he said he’s a football guy, too. He said he played football. He’s honest with you, straightforward and he’s blunt. That’s everything I wanted in a coach.”
Martin worked out his new team last week, and Ellington said he was able to attend one of those sessions. He said he will work out with the basketball team again next week after spring football ends.
Ellington didn’t get a chance to participate in spring practices last year, so he will be able to ease into the 2012 football season much more so than he did in 2011.
“I just got more comfortable (this spring) with just learning the game and learning the defense,” he said. “Last year I was like a freshman on the field pretty much. I just got better at learning how they’re going to play me, how they’re going to play the defense.”
He expects to have a busier summer in 2012 than he did in 2011, as he prepares to play both sports again.
“Last year, I kind of wanted to see how it would go playing both,” he said. “But this year, I see that I can do more, so I’m going to work out with the football team in the morning and probably do basketball in the afternoon.”
Though he and Martin didn’t talk about it during their chat, Ellington fully expects Martin to go out and get a point guard in the spring signing period. Martin will need somebody to play point guard at the beginning of the season, since Ellington is on the same plan as last year – play football through the end of the regular season, then rejoin the basketball team in late November and split time between the two sports leading up to the football bowl game.
“I’m going to be a junior next year in basketball, so most likely he’s going to have to find a point guard,” Ellington said. “I think, pretty much, he’s going to go find another guy.”
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The backup quarterbacks will get most of the snaps in the spring game, which means you’ll get an extended look at third-year sophomore Dylan Thompson, who is currently tied with senior walk-on Seth Strickland for the backup job. Thompson, who is 6-3 and 212 pounds, was the No. 2 guy last season after Stephen Garcia got kicked off the team.
“I’m much more comfortable now with the offense,” Thompson said. “I really worked hard in the offseason (to learn the offense) and feel a lot more comfortable. We’ve really been working on our checks (from one play to another before the snap) and certain checks based on coverages. The more reps, I’ll understand that more. Just having answers for everything the defense does.”
Spurrier isn’t worried about Thompson from a physical standpoint. It’s all mental right now.
“He’s a big, strong young man that can make all the throws,” Spurrier said. “He’s just got to know what he’s doing. This game is sort of like golf. It’s between the ears for quarterbacks, if you can throw it, and he can throw it. He’s a good passer. It’s just when and where and where you look and all that kind of stuff.”
As Spurrier considered all of his quarterbacks, he said, “They hold the ball too long. They hold it, hold it, hold it, messing around, messing around, throw an interception. We’re having trouble coaching them out of it, but we’ll keep coaching and hopefully get it out of their hands a little quicker at times. But there were some good throws here and there (tonight).”
Thompson wasn’t a big-time recruit – he got just two stars from Rivals.com – but he impressed quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus with his willingness to study film and learn, as he did in the offseason. Combine that with the reps he is getting now, and Thompson’s experience and knowledge are beginning to work hand-in-hand.
“It takes time,” Mangus said. “You’ve got to be patient with these guys. Two years ago, he’s kind of where (redshirt freshman) Tanner (McEvoy) is. Tanner’s got a lot of stuff, the computer hasn’t slowed down yet, and that’s a natural progression of playing quarterback, especially in a system where you ask the quarterback to a control a lot of things.
“I think it’s slowing down for Dylan. There’s no doubt about it. There’s some mechanical things that he still needs to work on, but that’s something you can always get better at. Just using his eyes and shoulders more and kind of looking off (defenders). When you start getting comfortable with the offense, then you can start now using your eyes and your shoulders to kind of help yourself because you know the offense so well that you can look here and throw there.
“Those are things that come with reps and age. But you have to learn the nuts and bolts of the offense first, and that takes time. It’s a progression. There was a day when you didn’t really play quarterback until your junior year. And now, the expectations (are): I’ve got to play right away, and he’s got to be ready right away.
“It takes time when you ask them to do a lot, and we ask them to do a lot. We’ll be patient with them, and it’s paid off with Dylan. I think that’s what’s happened. He’s in his third year and now he’s much more comfortable. I think it’s showed. He’s still got a ways to go, but they all do.”
Mangus also likes what he has seen from Shaw, in terms of staying in the pocket and shifting around while keeping his eyes downfield, rather than taking off so quickly.
“That’s what we’ve worked on in the spring,” Mangus said. “That’s kind of been a point of emphasis with him. He’s done well with that. He hasn’t just taken off. He’s fine. He has worked on that and I’m happy that he’s done that. We’ll see how that translates in August, but he’s definitely made some improvement on that, trying to continue to keep his eyes downfield in the pocket.”
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New running backs coach Everette Sands liked hearing that redshirt freshman tailback Shon Carson is confident enough in his knee, which sustained a season-ending injury last year, that he is now doing back flips. Well, he at least liked hearing that Carson seems confident in his knee.
“They say usually it takes some guys a year before they fully get their confidence back,” Sands said. “I don’t think Shon’s going to have that problem.”
And as for the back flips, which Sands didn’t personally witness?
“I didn’t say I was OK with it, but I’m glad to see he’s pretty confident in it,” Sands said with a laugh.
Sands is going to have a crowded backfield when Carson and junior Marcus Lattimore return. Lattimore, of course, also suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2011. Throw in sophomore Brandon Wilds and fifth-year senior Kenny Miles, who is expected to return after considering a transfer, and Sands has four running backs – one for each class.
“I think Kenny is going to be a great player for us,” Sands said. “I think he’s in the best shape of his life right now. He’s definitely stronger than he’s ever been.”
Wilds was listed on the pre-spring depth chart at 218 pounds, but Sands said he is 230 now, and Sands is fine with that, as long as Wilds embraces the style required of a 230-pound back – which is to say, being a between-the-tackles runner and not getting too cute.
“He’s done a much better job of running like he’s 230 pounds this spring,” Sands said. “He does have feet where he can make some people miss, too, which is good.”
Wilds was not expected to play as a true freshman last season, but when Lattimore went down and Carson wasn’t around, Wilds had to learn on the fly.
“The knowledge is good,” Sands said of Wilds getting accustomed to the system. “Now we’ve got some technique things we’ve got to work on. Things such as moving your feet in pass protection, making sure that you’re in a good football position. Guys have a tendency to make contact and then sort of lunge a little bit. But just getting his butt down and being ready to move his feet in pass pro.
“He knows where he’s supposed to be. As far as knowledge-wise, you wouldn’t know that he only played the last four or five games, as far as his take on the whole offensive system. He knows it. So that’s very good.”
Sands can’t wait to work with Lattimore, who is expected to be cleared when offseason workouts begin at the end of June. Carson will be cleared in early May.
“The thing that (Lattimore) does probably the best that I’ve had a chance to work with is his ability to break tackles,” Sands said. “An arm tackle’s not going to bring him down. He has good forward body lean and he can run away from people. He has good feet where he can make somebody miss in a short area. I’m just excited to work with him.”
Lattimore is excited to get back, too.
“If we would let him, he would come out here now,” Sands said. “He wants to get out here. That’s part of the thing, he’s a little ahead of schedule, so we’ve got to sort of hold him back just to make sure we don’t let him loose too early. But he’s ready to get out, no doubt.”
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Finally, defensive line coach Brad Lawing said he is not just considering playing Clowney inside at tackle during pass-rushing situations, but also doing that with his backup ends, Chaz Sutton and Aldrick Fordham, who played tackle last season but is too light for that spot.
“I could put Chaz inside, too, with Jadeveon outside, so I’m going to be able to do that either way,” Lawing said. “I put those guys inside for a reason, and it’s to affect the quarterback.”
Lawing said Sutton and Fordham are tied for the No. 3 end spot.
He likes putting extra ends in the game, and inside at the tackle spot, because it gives the Gamecocks an athleticism advantage and helps free up edge rushers.
“In the past, I’ve had some groups where I’ve had as many as four ends on the field at one time,” he said. “I like it when I’ve got a tackle in there that can hold the point inside and be a power rusher, like Travian (Robertson) was for us last year. It makes it better. Because that guy’s job is really just to face the quarterback up, and everybody else kind of feeds around him.”
Lawing loves what he has seen this spring from rising senior tackle Byron Jerideau, who is preparing to start for the first time. Lawing said Jerideau is his best tackle right now.
“He’s more of a run-stopper,” Lawing said. “He’s not a big-time pass rusher. The other three, they’re going to be fine. They’re getting better and better. It’s really their first football experience.”
By the other three, Lawing meant his backup tackles – redshirt freshmen Gerald Dixon Jr. and Phillip Dukes and sophomore J.T. Surratt.
As for Jerideau, Lawing said, “He’s had to mature and get better and better and he has. He still does bonehead things every now and then, but he’s changed his whole body, his whole conditioning. When he first got here, he was in no way, form or fashion ready to play college football. He’s in shape. He can actually perform the things we ask him to perform.”
LINK: http://www.postandco...mentId=blogDest
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