Bruce Ellington had finally had enough of watching kickoffs sail through the end zone or having to catch and kneel down deep inside his own goal line.
Through three games, the South Carolina sophomore kick returner hadn’t had a chance to bring one back, and even though the team’s rule is to not take the ball out if it’s at least 3 yards deep, with time running out in the first half he threw caution to the wind and then ran like it.
The resulting 50-yard return Saturday in a 31-10 victory over Missouri set up the Gamecocks at midfield with only 1:20 remaining in the second quarter. Ace Sanders caught a 23-yard touchdown from Connor Shaw four plays later for a dominating 21-3 advantage at the break.
“The rule was don’t take it out from 3 yards deep, but I was a little anxious back there to make a play before the half,” Ellington said. “It’s been a little frustrating back there and I was excited to have them kick it short enough to get a return.”
Sanders had set up USC’s opening touchdown when he returned a punt 49 yards to the Tigers’ 4-yard line to set up Marcus Lattimore’s 2-yard scoring run. After recent years enduring a lack of big plays in the return game, the Gamecocks may have discovered something under the guidance of first-year special teams coach Joe Robinson.
“He’s an excellent special teams coach and I think the players really enjoy playing for coach Robinson and he’s done a super job,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “Special teams were a big part of the game last week.”
Sanders followed his initial long return with a 27-yarder the next time he got a chance to set up South Carolina at its own 37. He ended the day with an impressive six punt returns for 106 yards to improve to third in the SEC with a 16.3 yard average on 12 returns. He’s one of only five players averaging double-digit yardage.
“Once you get that first return out of the way you can see what they’re doing and how quick their line is breaking and getting down the field and you can tell whether or not you’ll have a good return day,” Sanders said. “It felt real good to make the coaches excited about the return game and not just punts but when Bruce popped off a big one on kick returns. There’s just a real big upside for our season on special teams.”
So in addition to now having Robinson in charge, what’s been the big difference?
“I think in past years we’ve had players who didn’t really take special teams as serious as they do now,” Sanders said. “We’ve got 11 guys really taking it serious and playing their hardest out there.”
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8yF3?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football
Through three games, the South Carolina sophomore kick returner hadn’t had a chance to bring one back, and even though the team’s rule is to not take the ball out if it’s at least 3 yards deep, with time running out in the first half he threw caution to the wind and then ran like it.
The resulting 50-yard return Saturday in a 31-10 victory over Missouri set up the Gamecocks at midfield with only 1:20 remaining in the second quarter. Ace Sanders caught a 23-yard touchdown from Connor Shaw four plays later for a dominating 21-3 advantage at the break.
“The rule was don’t take it out from 3 yards deep, but I was a little anxious back there to make a play before the half,” Ellington said. “It’s been a little frustrating back there and I was excited to have them kick it short enough to get a return.”
Sanders had set up USC’s opening touchdown when he returned a punt 49 yards to the Tigers’ 4-yard line to set up Marcus Lattimore’s 2-yard scoring run. After recent years enduring a lack of big plays in the return game, the Gamecocks may have discovered something under the guidance of first-year special teams coach Joe Robinson.
“He’s an excellent special teams coach and I think the players really enjoy playing for coach Robinson and he’s done a super job,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “Special teams were a big part of the game last week.”
Sanders followed his initial long return with a 27-yarder the next time he got a chance to set up South Carolina at its own 37. He ended the day with an impressive six punt returns for 106 yards to improve to third in the SEC with a 16.3 yard average on 12 returns. He’s one of only five players averaging double-digit yardage.
“Once you get that first return out of the way you can see what they’re doing and how quick their line is breaking and getting down the field and you can tell whether or not you’ll have a good return day,” Sanders said. “It felt real good to make the coaches excited about the return game and not just punts but when Bruce popped off a big one on kick returns. There’s just a real big upside for our season on special teams.”
So in addition to now having Robinson in charge, what’s been the big difference?
“I think in past years we’ve had players who didn’t really take special teams as serious as they do now,” Sanders said. “We’ve got 11 guys really taking it serious and playing their hardest out there.”
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8yF3?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football