…and all through Gamecock Nation
South Carolina fans were filled with anticipation.
The program had done its recruiting with care,
In hopes that future stars soon would be theirs.

The recruits were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of Williams-Brice danced in their heads.
And Steve in his visor, and Sir Big Spur on his roost,
Had just settled in, waiting to see who’d be introduced.

The next day across the country there’d be so much chatter,
As athletes would announce decisions on a very important matter.
Away to the internet we’d fly like a like a flash,
To the TVs and radios we’d make a mad dash.

The sun on the fronds of the tall palmetto trees
Would glow as the athletes announced with great ease
When playing college ball, it couldn’t be finer
Than to be a Gamecock at South Carolina!

With a coach so respected, so smart, and so clever,
They’d know that failure wasn’t an option – never!
More rapid than eagles, the letters they came,
And each new player was announced, excitedly, by name:

Now Rico! Now Shaq!
Now Mike and Nick!
On Chaz! On Kyle!
On Chris and Kendric!

To the top of the conference!
To the top of the country!
Now win! Win more!
You all must stay hungry!

The players will speak the right words, they’ll show that they care,
And prove they meant what they proudly declared.
Placing the new USC hat on their head,
They’ll all became bound by one common thread.

They’ll meet in Columbia, they’ll wave and high-five,
And on Saturdays, they’ll help make Willy-B come alive.
And you’ll hear them exclaim, as you drive out of sight,
“It’s great to be a Gamecock, y’all! Good night!”

Good off-the-field news: during the Fall 2011 semester, athletes at USC posted their highest-ever cumulative GPA.

The average GPA was 3.202, making this the 10th straight semester the combined GPA has been above 3.0. There were 360 athletes who had an average over 3.0, earning them a spot on the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll.

The football team posted the lowest GPA of all, a 2.704, marking their third straight semester with a cumulative average of at least a 2.7. Women’s golf posted the highest GPA, a fantastic 3.664. Per the school’s official release, sixty-one student-athletes were named to the President’s List with a perfect 4.0 GPA and 181 earned at least a 3.5 GPA and were named to the Dean’s List.

534 Gamecocks made the SEC’s Fall Academic Honor Roll, the most student-athletes from any school in the conference. This is the sixth consecutive fall that South Carolina has been at the top of the list. Congrats to all on a job well done – and keep up the good work!

…and things could be going better for the Gamecocks. They’ve played six conference games so far, and have won only one, against Alabama. They’ve dropped contests against Kentucky, Vandy, Florida, Auburn, and tonight, Ole Miss.

The Cocks came out strong in the second half against Ole Miss and actually had a chance to win, but they just couldn’t quite pull it off. Even though the outcome was disappointing, it does suggest that maybe, just maybe, this team is finally going to turn a corner. They got off to a slow start and were plagued by turnovers, but USC played a decent game and never let themselves get too far out of it.

Murphy Holloway, the Rebel-turned-Gamecock-turned-Rebel-again, reminded us tonight that he would have been a quality asset to the garnet and black. Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be. He led Ole Miss with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Carolina was led by Malik Cooke, who has certainly proved his worth more than once this season. Cooke had 17 points and seven rebounds tonight.

After another loss, the question is still, “can they turn things around?” After beating the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night, it would have been great for USC to keep the positive momentum and establish a two-game winning streak. That didn’t happen, obviously, and now the team must avoid getting too discouraged and instead find a way to put more games, especially the close ones, in the win column.

Any hopes of a postseason berth are long gone, but if the Gamecocks can manage to find ways to win and finish the season with a winning record, some of the frustration with the program might cool down a little. If the Cocks finish under .500 again, though, Darrin Horn’s seat might just combust.

USC faces a tough challenge in their next game, Thursday against No. 13 Florida. The game will tip off at 9 ET and be televised on ESPN2.

I’ll just let Rebecca Black handle this one…

(image via memegenerator.net)

A Christmas gift from my BFF - she knows me so well.

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m chomping at the bit for some Gamecock baseball. Football season is over, and even if I were a fan of basketball, our games are so painful to watch that it wouldn’t do me much good anyway (although the team beat Alabama tonight to finally get their first SEC win!). The women’s team is obviously faring better so far this season, but nothing can quite take the place of the Yardcocks.

The Baseball America preseason poll released yesterday put South Carolina at No. 3 behind Florida and Stanford. The Gators are the top-ranked team in Collegiate Baseball’s poll, too. The Cocks are No. 2 in that one. I don’t quite know why the defending national back to back champs didn’t make the top spot in either poll, but being the underdog has never been a problem for USC before.

Carolina returns numerous experienced starters, including recently announced 2012 team captains Matt Price, Michael Roth, and Adam Matthews. The Gamecocks have a legitimate chance to not only make it back to Omaha, but to also earn their third straight title. They have plenty of talent, not to mention whatever kind of “win anyway” magic it is that’s helped propel them to their back to back ‘ships.

The most obvious missing piece will be Jackie Bradley, Jr., who is now a member of the Boston Red Sox organization. JBJ was no doubt an integral part of Carolina’s success, though they did manage to win games when he was out with an injury last season. As important as he was on the field, Jackie was certainly an asset off of it, too. It will be interesting to see who steps up athletically and personally now that he’s moved on to the pros.

The first series of the season, at home against VMI, begins Friday, February 17. In preparation for that, the team will have three scrimmages this weekend (Friday at 4, Saturday/Sunday at 1), all of which are open to the public.

Since President Barack Obama will be giving his State of the Union address tomorrow night, now seemed like a good time to present Cocky Country’s Gamecocks State of the Union address. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

My fellow Gamecocks, we have seen some of the highest highs in our university’s athletic history over the past few years. Our baseball and football teams have earned national prominence, putting both those athletes and USC on the map. At the same time, there are still goals to achieve at Carolina.

Before we get to that, though, let’s take a look back at the many accomplishments of the aforementioned programs. Coach Ray Tanner and the Yardcocks are back to back national champions, making South Carolina only the sixth school to achieve that feat. By doing so, they brought the first and second titles in a major sport to USC. The 2011 team also set a record for number of wins, as they went undefeated in NCAA tournament and CWS play. They overcame adversity, found ways to “win anyway”, and brought us all a sense of pride, inspiration, and excitement.

They’re poised for another successful run at a national championship and are ranked No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. Adam Matthews, Michael Roth, and Matt Price were announced as the 2012 team captains today.

The football team has reached a new pinnacle of success, as the 2011 season culminated with a win in the Capital One Bowl, giving the program its first 11-win season and first bowl victory since 2006. They achieved a variety of other firsts this season, including first time to sweep the SEC East, first time defeating Clemson three consecutive years since 1968-70, first time beating the “Big Three” (Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee) for two straight seasons, and first Top-10 finish in the final BCS poll.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks State Of The Union Address”

Ugh. I’m getting tired of writing stories about bad behavior and suspensions, but here we go.

Freshman Brison Williams has been suspended indefinitely for what Steve Spurrier called “conduct detrimental to the South Carolina football team.” A message board poster who said he is Williams’ uncle explained that the suspension is based on attitude, not drugs, alcohol, or grades, and that Williams simply needs to learn when to be respectful and act accordingly. Other details are not yet available.

Williams, who missed the first five games of the season with a broken arm, played in the remaining eight games and had 11 tackles.

Stay tuned for more if (and when) it becomes available.

Photo property of the South Carolina Athletics Department.

Out with the old, in with the new...

Another day, another coaching change for the Gamecocks. After spending three years in the garnet and black, strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald resigned from his position this afternoon to “pursue other opportunities.” We quickly found out what those “other opportunities” entailed – Fitzgerald will be the new strength and conditioning coach at Penn State. He’ll join special teams coach John Butler, who left Carolina for PSU about a week and a half ago. Fitzgerald will be replaced at USC by assistant Joe Connolly, who has been at South Carolina since 2009.

Coach Steve Spurrier released this statement following the announcement:

“We feel very fortunate to have had Joe Connolly right here for the past three years. He and Coach Fitzgerald together put in the running and lifting programs we have in place at South Carolina. We will not miss a beat with Coach Connolly in charge of our strength and conditioning program. We wish Coach Fitz and his family all the best.”

Spurrier had praised Fitzgerald often, so if Connolly can keep up Fitz’s success, the Gamecocks should really be fine. The team will work only with their strength and conditioning coach between the Spring Game and the beginning of fall practice, so hopefully the transition will be seamless.

Players tweeted that they were sad to see Fitzgerald go, and I think they probably spoke for all of Gamecock Nation. That being said, best of luck in Happy Valley to Coach Fitzgerald and congratulations to Coach Connolly on his promotion!

The Auburn Tigers are the next opponent on the schedule for both the USC men’s and women’s basketball teams. The ladies tip off Thursday night at 7 ET, and the guys play Saturday at 1:30 ET. Both games are at Auburn.

This will be the sixth conference game for the women, who are 3-2 right now in the SEC, which puts them at fourth place in the SEC East and fifth place in the conference as a whole. They’ve lost their two previous games (at LSU and versus Kentucky), marking the first time they’ve lost two in a row this season. The team is off to one of their best starts in years, and will certainly be looking to bounce back against the Tigers.

Auburn’s team, on the other hand, is struggling a bit. They’re 9-9 so far this season, which isn’t all that bad, but they’ve had difficulty recently and have spent the rest of the season going back and forth between the win and loss columns. They’ve won only one of their five SEC games, and are coming off a three-game losing streak. The Tigers are fifth in the SEC West and 11th overall in the conference.

This will be the fourth SEC contest for the men, who are 0-3 in conference play right now. They’re ranked last in the SEC East and in the conference overall. Unlike the women, the guys have struggled all year, and have an 8-9 record on the season. Prior to the three-game losing streak they’re on, the men had won four in a row, their best stretch this season. If they have any hope of salvaging this year, they need to start winning.

The Tigers aren’t much better, as they’re 1-3 in the conference. They do have an overall record of 11-7, though. Auburn will be looking to bounce back after dropping their last game, at LSU, in overtime. The game before that was a one-point win over Ole Miss in double overtime, so it will be interesting to see if OT happens three games in a row. Auburn is last in the SEC West and 10th in the conference overall.

The women’s game will not be televised, but the men’s game will be shown on the SEC Network. Best of luck to both teams!

News out of the USC football program today:

• Everette Sands has been hired as the running backs coach for the Gamecocks. Sands comes from North Carolina State and was at The Citadel, his alma mater, before that. He is also a South Carolina native, and was born in Conway. He is well-liked and respected, and is also known as a quality coach with strong ties in the Palmetto State. Sands rushed for over 100 yards in the 1990 upset by the Bulldogs over the Cocks, and he was never tackled for a loss during his four years as a running back. Upon the announcement of the hiring, Steve Spurrier released this statement:
  

  “We are pleased to announce Everette Sands as our running backs coach. He’s from Conway, was a running back at The Citadel and has been in coaching for several years. He will do an outstanding job with our running backs. He will also assist Coach Robinson with our special teams, as will several of the other coaches.”

  Welcome to Gamecock Nation, Coach Sands!

• The SEC All-Bowl Team was announced today, and five Gamecocks made the cut. QB Connor Shaw, WR Alshon Jeffery, OL Kyle Nunn, DE Jadeveon Clowney, and CB Stephon Gilmore were all selected to the team. Congrats on well-deserved honors, guys!
• Four USC seniors have been invited to the NFL combine. DE Melvin Ingram, SPR Antonio Allen, DT Travian Roberston, and OL Rokevious Watkins will all be attending. The list of non-seniors attending has not yet been released. Good luck to all Gamecocks at the combine!