By Brad Senkiw
Anderson Independent Mail
Posted April 16, 2012 at 11:33 p.m.
The best way to describe South Carolina’s spring football season, which ended Saturday, can be done in one word: quiet.
Quiet is a good thing, most of the time.
It means players are staying out of trouble. It means there are no suspension stories running in the paper. It could mean a team is flying under the radar.
The biggest story being chased by USC beat reporters the last two months was Bruce Ellington and his decision to play football or basketball. (He ultimately decided on trying both for the second consecutive year.)
Even some interesting words by coach Steve Spurrier to ESPN.com recently were just fodder for a day or so. The Head Ball Coach poked at Georgia a little for the plethora of players it usually has suspended when the Gamecocks play the Bulldogs in early September. They meet in October this season.
He didn’t say anything that was untrue.
Spurrier also had some comments about Nick Saban and what it would take for the Alabama coach to become one of the all-time coaching greats. But in the end, there was little harm there.
For the first time in many springs, there was no threat of a certain former USC quarterback getting suspended for who knows what for the who knows how many times.
For the most part, Gamecock players are acting like they’re supposed to and working hard for the upcoming season.
So what about 2012?
Can we read anything from the spring that will share insight on what to expect in the fall?
Well, there’s not much on the field that can foreshadow anything. Many of the Gamecocks’ best players did nothing to very little this spring.
Starting QB Connor Shaw did get some snaps, but Spurrier was also trying to figure out his No. 2 signal-caller behind Shaw.
Marcus Lattimore rehabbed; defensive end Devin Taylor never saw a live snap; the other bookend, Jadeveon Clowney, barley played in the spring game.
The only time anyone got upset the last two months was when Spurrier would blast his offense for not being consistent enough. There’s nothing abnormal about that. Of course, his passing game then threw for 511 yards and six TDs in the Garnet & Black Game.
Ultimately, not much was gained from the spring. Sure, some young players got some much-needed reps, but new defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward never saw his starting 11 on the field the last two months.
That doesn’t mean this team won’t be good. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. There’s an opportunity for a big season.
The real work begins now for the Gamecocks. There’s no better time to get better than the summer.
Players will be in the hands of strength and conditioning coaches, but it’s really when leaders emerge and young men come together.
So for those who went to the spring game last Saturday, that wasn’t the real Gamecocks.
You’ll have to wait until August to catch a glimpse of what the 2012 squad will look like.
Things might not be so quiet by then.Quiet spring good for South Carolina football team.
Link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bgark?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football
Anderson Independent Mail
Posted April 16, 2012 at 11:33 p.m.
The best way to describe South Carolina’s spring football season, which ended Saturday, can be done in one word: quiet.
Quiet is a good thing, most of the time.
It means players are staying out of trouble. It means there are no suspension stories running in the paper. It could mean a team is flying under the radar.
The biggest story being chased by USC beat reporters the last two months was Bruce Ellington and his decision to play football or basketball. (He ultimately decided on trying both for the second consecutive year.)
Even some interesting words by coach Steve Spurrier to ESPN.com recently were just fodder for a day or so. The Head Ball Coach poked at Georgia a little for the plethora of players it usually has suspended when the Gamecocks play the Bulldogs in early September. They meet in October this season.
He didn’t say anything that was untrue.
Spurrier also had some comments about Nick Saban and what it would take for the Alabama coach to become one of the all-time coaching greats. But in the end, there was little harm there.
For the first time in many springs, there was no threat of a certain former USC quarterback getting suspended for who knows what for the who knows how many times.
For the most part, Gamecock players are acting like they’re supposed to and working hard for the upcoming season.
So what about 2012?
Can we read anything from the spring that will share insight on what to expect in the fall?
Well, there’s not much on the field that can foreshadow anything. Many of the Gamecocks’ best players did nothing to very little this spring.
Starting QB Connor Shaw did get some snaps, but Spurrier was also trying to figure out his No. 2 signal-caller behind Shaw.
Marcus Lattimore rehabbed; defensive end Devin Taylor never saw a live snap; the other bookend, Jadeveon Clowney, barley played in the spring game.
The only time anyone got upset the last two months was when Spurrier would blast his offense for not being consistent enough. There’s nothing abnormal about that. Of course, his passing game then threw for 511 yards and six TDs in the Garnet & Black Game.
Ultimately, not much was gained from the spring. Sure, some young players got some much-needed reps, but new defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward never saw his starting 11 on the field the last two months.
That doesn’t mean this team won’t be good. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. There’s an opportunity for a big season.
The real work begins now for the Gamecocks. There’s no better time to get better than the summer.
Players will be in the hands of strength and conditioning coaches, but it’s really when leaders emerge and young men come together.
So for those who went to the spring game last Saturday, that wasn’t the real Gamecocks.
You’ll have to wait until August to catch a glimpse of what the 2012 squad will look like.
Things might not be so quiet by then.Quiet spring good for South Carolina football team.
Link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bgark?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football