Connor Shaw went into a different sort of BEAST MODE tonight.

Well. That was a lot more stressful than I had expected.

No. 9 South Carolina defeated Vanderbilt 17-13 tonight in Nashville, but USC was lucky to come away with the victory, and had Vandy not failed to capitalize on scoring chances, this recap would be a whole lot more negative. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win, and we’ll take those any way we can get them.

Marcus Lattimore fumbled on Carolina’s first play of the game, giving Vandy the ball. Connor Shaw was intercepted on the next possession, and the Commodores looked to be in business. Luckily for us, they couldn’t find the end zone and those early mistakes were basically irrelevant. Then Shaq Wilson nabbed a pick of his own, catching a pass from birthday boy Jordan Rodgers. That put the Cocks in a solid position for the first time in the game, and after Shaw ran for 20 yards, Lattimore went 29 yards to take it to the house and put Carolina on the board.

The Gamecocks again got into the red zone on their first possession of the second quarter, but ending up going for – and making – a field goal, which put them up 10-0. Things were looking up and the nerves seemed to have vanished. And then things got bad.

Vanderbilt’s Jordan Matthews took the ball 78 yards to the end zone, cutting the lead to 10-7. Their next possession tied the game. Then things really got bad.

With about five minutes of the quarter (and the half) remaining, Shaw ran for a gain of two yards, then came up off the ground looking like he was in extreme pain. He was wincing and grimacing and generally looking miserable on the sidelines, necessitating the entrance of Dylan Thompson. Unfortunately, Thompson was unremarkable in his season debut. He had only one possession in the first half, and notched five rushing yards and an incomplete pass. The teams went into the locker rooms tied at 10 points each, but the more pressing concern for Carolina was the health of their starting QB. Shaw left the sidelines before halftime and was keeping his right arm as still as possible. Things looked grim.

» Continue reading “Gutsy Shaw, Healthy Lattimore Help Cocks Squeak Past Dores”

IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!

Shaw and Lattimore both helped the Cocks outscore the Dores last season.

After months and months of waiting, Gamecock football will kick off tomorrow night in Nashville. After a history-making, record-breaking 2011 season, USC is poised to have another banner year.

Behind the leadership of guys like Connor Shaw, Devin Taylor, D.J. Swearinger, and Marcus Lattimore, the Cocks will look to duplicate – or better yet, improve upon – last year’s successes. Even the Old Ball Coach likes the way things look for this season. Don’t crown them the conference (or national) champs yet, but Carolina will certainly be in the mix when it comes time to discuss who the legit contenders are.

For the first time in years, there is no QB controversy at South Carolina (insert sigh of relief here). Shaw is, at least right now, the quarterback with the highest winning percentage ever at USC. He has all the necessary tools, including a strong work ethic and dedication, to lead this team to victory.

Combine that with the fact that he’s got a solid number of starts and experience under his belt, and there’s no reason anyone should doubt that he’s our guy all season long, barring some sort of crazy circumstance.

Lattimore is back and healthy, which means he’ll probably get the bulk of the carries, at least in the early going. If he does well (and it’s almost unfathomable that he won’t), he’ll factor into Heisman talks. With Brandon Wilds missing time due to injury and a corps of young guys, Lattimore and Kenny Miles will be looked at to lead the way for the running game.

The loss of Alshon Jeffery is obviously going to be a factor, but the Cocks have a strong set of guys ready to step up. D.L. Moore, Ace Sanders, Bruce Ellington, Shaw Roland, and a supporting cast of others all look to see playing time this season. Will anyone be Alshon? No, but as long as they get catch the ball, move the chains, and find the endzone, we’ll be more than fine.

» Continue reading “2012 Season Kickoff: South Carolina – Vanderbilt Preview”

I know the odds of this are probably slim to none, but in case you forgot, the Gamecocks will kick off the 2012 college football season Thursday night with an SEC East match up against Vanderbilt.

Some quick news and notes:

• Brandon Wilds won’t be in action, as he’s got an injured ankle and will miss time while that heals. It’s not clear how much time (Coach Sands said a week, Spurrier said two-three), though.
• Connor Shaw will be under center, because he seems to be fine after dealing with some back spasms that kept him out of practice last week. He’s ready to go and everyone’s confident that he’ll do well.
• Backup Sheldon Royster won’t see the field for the Gamecocks, because he’s decided to transfer. Best of luck, Sheldon!
• Qua Gilchrist is back on the offensive side of the ball.
• It’s still up in the air (ha!) as to who the punter will be on Thursday (either Patrick Fish or Tyler Hull).
• Kareem Auguste (Akeem’s brother) and Kane Whitehurst (you might remember his cousin Charlie…) have both walked on to the team.

Coach Spurrier had his first game week press conference tonight. Some highlights:

• “Marcus is ready to carry 25 or 30 times. Again I think Kenny (Miles) is such a good back (that) he should play a bit here and there. That’s where I think we need to go through the season also, but Marcus could carry 30 to 40 if we needed to.”
• “Usually the guys that catch in practice and the scrimmages, those are the guys you want in the ball game. D.L. [Moore] has done well.”
• “Shaq [Roland] is in line to play some. He’s done well in the scrimmages. He’s still learning here and there the offense, but he’s pretty much ready to go. Hopefully he’ll get in there several plays.”
• “Ronald Patrick looks like he’s ready to play. We were talking the other day and I think all five of our guys are 300 pounders. Mike Matulis at right tackle may barely be 300, but I don’t think we’ve ever had an all-300 pound line here. At times they look pretty good up there. At times we can play better.”
• “We’re expecting it to be very loud. We snap with our foot in the shotgun and don’t do a lot of vocal signals. Noise shouldn’t affect our team very much.”

The Cocks and the Dores kick off at 7 ET on ESPN. Check back tomorrow and Wednesday for Cocky Country’s game previews!

Shon Carson

The reinjury bug has bitten the South Carolina football team.

Both Shon Carson and Akeem Auguste  suffered injuries this weekend and will be out for an unknown period of time. Carson, a reshidrt frishmen RB reinjured his wrist on Friday, while senior CB Auguste reinjured his groin on Saturday.

Per Gamecocks Online:

“Carson underwent a surgical procedure on his left wrist this morning to repair an injury suffered in practice on Friday. The procedure was performed by Dr. John Walsh at Palmetto Hospital.

Akeem Auguste

Auguste underwent a procedure on Sunday afternoon after injuring the muscle in his right thigh during Saturday’s scrimmage. He will be re-evaluated by Dr. Jeffery Guy in four to five weeks.”

This is heartbreaking news for both guys, and especially for Auguste, who missed all of last season with an injury. I can’t even imagine how tough it would be to have to watch your teammates play while you’re sidelined and hurt. Best of luck to both Akeem and Shon and get well soon, guys!

While the RB corps is fairly deep, the same can’t be said for the secondary. Jimmy Legree will get the start in place of Auguste, with Jared Shaw and Ahmad Christian as back ups. The Gamecocks begin the season in a week and a half (!!!!!) on the road against Vanderbilt.

The Gamecocks continue to make history.

Based on the success they had last season, and their potential to meet or exceed that level this year, Sports Illustrated ranked South Carolina No. 7 on their list of the top 25 teams in college football. That’s one spot higher than in last season’s rankings (you may also remember that was the issue with the “Alshon looks fat” cover which billed the team as the best to ever don the garnet and black).

SI’s Heisman campaign ad for Marcus Lattimore.

Citing the new offense (“The Gun is gone…but the Gamecocks will have plenty of Fun”) and the strong defense, Andy Staples highlights the weapons in Steve Spurrier’s arsenal this season.

Among the leaders: Marcus Lattimore, back from injury, Jadeveon Clowney, now fully knowledgeable about the playbook, and Connor Shaw, who now has solid starts under his belt.

The Cocks will no doubt have their work cut out for them this season, especially because UGA, considered to be the favorite to win the East again, has, at least on paper, an easier schedule. The Dawgs will travel to Williams-Brice for this year’s game, though, which will hopefully be an advantage for Carolina.

The SEC also had three other schools make the top 10 (Alabama, LSU, and Georgia) and Arkansas and Auburn landed in the top 25. The Fighting Dabo’s came in at No. 14. The complete SI Top 10:

1. Alabama
2. Southern Cal
3. LSU
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Wisconsin
7. South Carolina
8. Michigan State
9. Georgia
10. West Virginia

SI also has a feature on top Heisman contenders and unsurprisingly, Lattimore is one of them. Other candidates include Wisconsin’s Montee Ball, Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, and Southern Cal’s Matt Barkley. Each player has a campaign ad and platform; Lattimore’s reads, “Six yards and a cloud of dust.”

All of this is just more reason to get excited about the 2012 season of Carolina football, which kicks off in just two weeks.

The preseason is young, but Alshon Jeffery has impressed both in practice and on the field.

If you follow me on twitter, you’re well aware that the Chicago Bears drafting Alshon Jeffery made me more excited than I can even properly articulate. As a lifelong Bears fan and a loyal Gamecocks fan, getting to see one of South Carolina’s best players ever come to my hometown is amazing. I CANNOT WAIT to go to a game and see him.

Ever since the draft, though, people have asked me what we can expect from Alshon. Will he be focused and hard-working? Can he replicate the success he had in his sophomore season at USC? Will he keep his weight under control? How lucky were we to get him?

I always said I was confident that he’d have it all together and make me proud. Luckily, Alshon has proved me completely right.

The Bears LOVE Alshon. Not a day goes by that he’s not mentioned, either on the news, in an article in the paper, or on social media. It’s AWESOME. I’d obviously be glad that Alshon had found success anywhere, but the fact that it’s with my hometown team is even better.

The team kicked off their preseason games last Thursday against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Chicago didn’t do so well, losing 31-3 (although guys like Jay Cutler and Brian Urlacher didn’t see any playing time), but Alshon made it clear that he’s going to have a serious impact this season.

The announcers and the camera focused on Alshon frequently, even when he was just standing on the sideline. Bears coach Lovie Smith said Alshon was one of the few players they were impressed with after Thursday’s loss, and Smith, along with Alshon’s other coaches and teammates, have praised his work ethic, commitment, and skill level since practice started, one fellow player even comparing him to Brandon Marshall (who is, of course, also a Bear).

» Continue reading “Alshon Jeffery Continues To Impress The Bears (And I’m Thrilled)”

Congratulations to Gamecock alums Lashinda Demus and Jason Richardson, who both earned a silver medal at the Olympics today!

Demus took second in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and was this close to getting the gold medal, missing out by only .07 seconds. Demus also recorded a personal best time, 57.22, and should be incredibly proud (something tells me her adorable sons will be, too).

With a time of 13.04, Richardson placed second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles and should also be very proud. Another former SEC athlete, Tennessee Vol Aries Merritt, came in first place. This is the first Olympic medal for both USC grads.

Congratulation to Lashinda and Jason for making our country – and Gamecock Nation – proud!

Welp. Tanner McEvoy won’t see any playing time at South Carolina this year – or ever – because he’s decided to transfer.

Just days after Steve Spurrier announced that McEvoy had been fully reinstated and wouldn’t miss any games following an arrest for underage drinking and speeding, the redshirt freshman QB evidently decided that USC just wasn’t the place for him.

According to Gamecock Central, McEvoy cited playing time as the reason for leaving. A 6’6″ guy with a powerful arm, McEvoy showed promise in the spring game, but between Connor Shaw and second-stringer Dylan Thompson, as well as the handful of other QBs on the roster, he was at the bottom of the depth chart. Still, many fans were excited about his potential, despite his relative lack of experience under center (he only played quarterback for one year in high school).

Spurrier had this to say in a statement announcing McEvoy’s decision:

“The Gamecock coaching staff and I wish Tanner all the best, as he continues his collegiate career elsewhere.”

McEvoy can either go to an FCS school and play this season, or he can sit out this year and play at an FBS school next season. He would have three years of eligibility left. His departure also means another scholarship is available.

While it’s always sad to see guys go, best of luck to Tanner wherever he ends up!