South Carolina held its final open preseason scrimmage Wednesday night in front of a good-sized crowd (8,000 or so, maybe) at Williams-Brice Stadium, and here are a few notes that came out afterward ...
Kenny Miles has solidified himself as the No. 2 tailback behind Marcus Lattimore. USC won’t have Brandon Wilds for the next week to two weeks as he recovers from a sprained ankle, which puts his status for the Aug. 30 opener at Vanderbilt in question.
“With Brandon hurt, that opens it up a little bit more for Shon Carson and Kenny,” said coach Steve Spurrier. (Carson would seem to be the No. 3 tailback at this point, ahead of true freshman Mike Davis, who still seems like a legitimate redshirt candidate.)
Whereas Wilds is a bigger back who could serve as a change of pace to Lattimore with his size, Miles adds speed to the backfield. He is 5-9 and 193 pounds, compared to 6-0 and 218 pounds for Lattimore.
Miles said he feels like he has gotten faster during his time at USC – he’s currently a fifth-year senior – and that he is able to mentally process the game faster, too. As one of the team’s older players, he also wants to be a visible presence in the locker room.
“Now that I’m a little bit older of a guy, I feel like I could bring a better leadership role this year than in previous years,” he said. “Whatever my role is this year, I’m going to take it.”
He had a catch for eight yards Wednesday, and you have to think USC’s coaches will continue to use his good hands as a weapon. He had eight catches for 74 yards last season, three for 15 in 2010 and 21 for 137 in 2009, the year before Lattimore arrived, when Miles was the primary tailback (117 carries) as a redshirt freshman. But it was interesting to hear Miles say Wednesday that his reliable hands don’t come naturally.
“Nah, I just worked on it, with the Jugs machine and in the offseason catching passes with a couple guys back at the house,” he said.
By “back at the house,” he meant his hometown of Lawrenceville, Ga., where he has a tradition every May of working out with his friends who went off to play college football – Army defensive back Josh Jackson, Wake Forest wide receiver Terence Davis and former Clemson punter Dawson Zimmerman.
As for what Miles has seen from Lattimore, he echoed Spurrier’s assertion that Lattimore looks ready for game action, as he tries to return to his old form, coming off last year’s season-ending knee injury.
“The last scrimmage (last Saturday), he felt a whole lot better after, getting kind of knocked around a little bit and kind of getting a feel for it,” Miles said. “He said he it feels good, so I’m excited to see him play this year.”
Lattimore carried five times for 23 yards on Wednesday.
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Tight end Jerell Adams figures to be one of USC’s highest-impact true freshmen this season, along with wide receiver Shaq Roland. Spurrier has raved about Adams throughout preseason practices, and Adams has shown why he is drawing praise with his performances in the past two scrimmages.
Adams came to Columbia after spending a postgraduate season at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, to improve his grades. He also got to face better players.
“At Fork Union, guys there were kind of physical so I got kind of used to it,” he said. “I really didn’t play guys my size (in high school) because I went to a small school (Scott’s Branch High in Summerton). Going there and playing bigger guys, I had a chance to show my talent a little bit.”
Adams was considered plenty talented when he went to prep school, after originally signing with USC in February 2011. Rivals ranked him the No. 10 player in the state of South Carolina in the Class of 2011 and the No. 17 tight end recruit in the country.
Playing bigger guys wasn’t the only adjustment at Fork Union, which is located in rural central Virginia, between Richmond and Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia. What was the oddest part about the military school experience for Adams? “Not having electronics,” he said. “It was kind of weird. I wasn’t used to it.”
That meant no phone to play with during his idle time – something that is a foreign concept to most kids Adams’ age. So how did he spend his free time?
“Played basketball and lifted with the guys,” he said. “I just played basketball in my free time.”
Adams, who is 6-6 and 224 pounds and will turn 20 in December, was a pretty good basketball player at Scott’s Branch. He averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds as a junior.
“I got some looks (from colleges for basketball), but most schools didn’t offer me because I had so many offers for football,” he said.
Also, Adams ended up favoring football after some encouragement.
“My high school coach, Leonard Johnson, he told me that you could find a bunch of guys (playing basketball) my size down there in Georgia falling off of trees,” Adams said. “But in football you don’t see many guys my size with my talent. I actually like basketball better. That’s my favorite sport.”
So what will it be like dedicating himself solely to football now?
“It’s a chance for me to get better,” he said.
He has already impressed USC’s coaches with how good he is at this point, even at a position with two returning contributors in Rory Anderson and Justice Cunningham. Adams caught four passes for 83 yards on Wednesday, including a 16-yard touchdown. This, after a two-catch, 66-yard performance in last Saturday’s scrimmage, including a 43-yard touchdown. Did Spurrier expect Adams to be this ready to contribute (or so it seems) this early?
“Didn’t know,” Spurrier said. “I knew he was a guy that was 6-5, 6-6 and a guy that could really play basketball. If you can play basketball, you can usually run and catch. So he can run and catch, although he did drop one tonight, so let’s don’t praise him too much yet. But he’s a talent.”
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Finally, some quicker hitters from defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward and Spurrier ...
** “I thought the first group played well when they were in there,” Ward said. “We got them three or four series, which is what we set out to do. We’re still not there, but we’re improving.”
Ward expects to set his two-deep and scout team in the middle of next week, which is when he will begin preparing his players for Vanderbilt and installing that game plan.
** Backup cornerback Ahmad Christian, who has gotten more reps with Akeem Auguste out with a groin injury (he should be back by early next week), went down late in Wednesday’s scrimmage after colliding with true freshman safety T.J. Gurley as Gurley tried to help with a tackle.
“(Christian) just got a slight concussion, from what I understand,” Ward said.
** Said Spurrier: “I thought we’d throw and catch a little bit better tonight when we had time to throw. We had a few over-throws. We had a few misfires.”
Here were the passing numbers, in order of the depth chart ...
Connor Shaw: 9-12, 98 yards, 22-yard TD
Dylan Thompson 4-11, 77 yards, 2 INT
Andrew Clifford 10-13, 142 yards
Seth Strickland: 3-7, 41 yards, 16-yard TD, 1 INT
** Spurrier said Saturday morning’s scrimmage will mostly involve the younger players, and that he is “pretty close” to determining the guys who will actually play in the Vanderbilt game. Saturday’s scrimmage is closed to the public and media, as are the rest of the scrimmages, practices, workouts, etc. for the rest of the season.
link: http://www.postandco...mentId=blogDest
Kenny Miles has solidified himself as the No. 2 tailback behind Marcus Lattimore. USC won’t have Brandon Wilds for the next week to two weeks as he recovers from a sprained ankle, which puts his status for the Aug. 30 opener at Vanderbilt in question.
“With Brandon hurt, that opens it up a little bit more for Shon Carson and Kenny,” said coach Steve Spurrier. (Carson would seem to be the No. 3 tailback at this point, ahead of true freshman Mike Davis, who still seems like a legitimate redshirt candidate.)
Whereas Wilds is a bigger back who could serve as a change of pace to Lattimore with his size, Miles adds speed to the backfield. He is 5-9 and 193 pounds, compared to 6-0 and 218 pounds for Lattimore.
Miles said he feels like he has gotten faster during his time at USC – he’s currently a fifth-year senior – and that he is able to mentally process the game faster, too. As one of the team’s older players, he also wants to be a visible presence in the locker room.
“Now that I’m a little bit older of a guy, I feel like I could bring a better leadership role this year than in previous years,” he said. “Whatever my role is this year, I’m going to take it.”
He had a catch for eight yards Wednesday, and you have to think USC’s coaches will continue to use his good hands as a weapon. He had eight catches for 74 yards last season, three for 15 in 2010 and 21 for 137 in 2009, the year before Lattimore arrived, when Miles was the primary tailback (117 carries) as a redshirt freshman. But it was interesting to hear Miles say Wednesday that his reliable hands don’t come naturally.
“Nah, I just worked on it, with the Jugs machine and in the offseason catching passes with a couple guys back at the house,” he said.
By “back at the house,” he meant his hometown of Lawrenceville, Ga., where he has a tradition every May of working out with his friends who went off to play college football – Army defensive back Josh Jackson, Wake Forest wide receiver Terence Davis and former Clemson punter Dawson Zimmerman.
As for what Miles has seen from Lattimore, he echoed Spurrier’s assertion that Lattimore looks ready for game action, as he tries to return to his old form, coming off last year’s season-ending knee injury.
“The last scrimmage (last Saturday), he felt a whole lot better after, getting kind of knocked around a little bit and kind of getting a feel for it,” Miles said. “He said he it feels good, so I’m excited to see him play this year.”
Lattimore carried five times for 23 yards on Wednesday.
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Tight end Jerell Adams figures to be one of USC’s highest-impact true freshmen this season, along with wide receiver Shaq Roland. Spurrier has raved about Adams throughout preseason practices, and Adams has shown why he is drawing praise with his performances in the past two scrimmages.
Adams came to Columbia after spending a postgraduate season at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, to improve his grades. He also got to face better players.
“At Fork Union, guys there were kind of physical so I got kind of used to it,” he said. “I really didn’t play guys my size (in high school) because I went to a small school (Scott’s Branch High in Summerton). Going there and playing bigger guys, I had a chance to show my talent a little bit.”
Adams was considered plenty talented when he went to prep school, after originally signing with USC in February 2011. Rivals ranked him the No. 10 player in the state of South Carolina in the Class of 2011 and the No. 17 tight end recruit in the country.
Playing bigger guys wasn’t the only adjustment at Fork Union, which is located in rural central Virginia, between Richmond and Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia. What was the oddest part about the military school experience for Adams? “Not having electronics,” he said. “It was kind of weird. I wasn’t used to it.”
That meant no phone to play with during his idle time – something that is a foreign concept to most kids Adams’ age. So how did he spend his free time?
“Played basketball and lifted with the guys,” he said. “I just played basketball in my free time.”
Adams, who is 6-6 and 224 pounds and will turn 20 in December, was a pretty good basketball player at Scott’s Branch. He averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds as a junior.
“I got some looks (from colleges for basketball), but most schools didn’t offer me because I had so many offers for football,” he said.
Also, Adams ended up favoring football after some encouragement.
“My high school coach, Leonard Johnson, he told me that you could find a bunch of guys (playing basketball) my size down there in Georgia falling off of trees,” Adams said. “But in football you don’t see many guys my size with my talent. I actually like basketball better. That’s my favorite sport.”
So what will it be like dedicating himself solely to football now?
“It’s a chance for me to get better,” he said.
He has already impressed USC’s coaches with how good he is at this point, even at a position with two returning contributors in Rory Anderson and Justice Cunningham. Adams caught four passes for 83 yards on Wednesday, including a 16-yard touchdown. This, after a two-catch, 66-yard performance in last Saturday’s scrimmage, including a 43-yard touchdown. Did Spurrier expect Adams to be this ready to contribute (or so it seems) this early?
“Didn’t know,” Spurrier said. “I knew he was a guy that was 6-5, 6-6 and a guy that could really play basketball. If you can play basketball, you can usually run and catch. So he can run and catch, although he did drop one tonight, so let’s don’t praise him too much yet. But he’s a talent.”
---
Finally, some quicker hitters from defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward and Spurrier ...
** “I thought the first group played well when they were in there,” Ward said. “We got them three or four series, which is what we set out to do. We’re still not there, but we’re improving.”
Ward expects to set his two-deep and scout team in the middle of next week, which is when he will begin preparing his players for Vanderbilt and installing that game plan.
** Backup cornerback Ahmad Christian, who has gotten more reps with Akeem Auguste out with a groin injury (he should be back by early next week), went down late in Wednesday’s scrimmage after colliding with true freshman safety T.J. Gurley as Gurley tried to help with a tackle.
“(Christian) just got a slight concussion, from what I understand,” Ward said.
** Said Spurrier: “I thought we’d throw and catch a little bit better tonight when we had time to throw. We had a few over-throws. We had a few misfires.”
Here were the passing numbers, in order of the depth chart ...
Connor Shaw: 9-12, 98 yards, 22-yard TD
Dylan Thompson 4-11, 77 yards, 2 INT
Andrew Clifford 10-13, 142 yards
Seth Strickland: 3-7, 41 yards, 16-yard TD, 1 INT
** Spurrier said Saturday morning’s scrimmage will mostly involve the younger players, and that he is “pretty close” to determining the guys who will actually play in the Vanderbilt game. Saturday’s scrimmage is closed to the public and media, as are the rest of the scrimmages, practices, workouts, etc. for the rest of the season.
link: http://www.postandco...mentId=blogDest
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