July 19, 2007
South Carolina senior linebacker Jasper Brinkley was named to the first-team SEC Coaches’ Pre-Season All-SEC Football squad, the conference office announced today. Brinkley heads a list of five Gamecocks who received pre-season recognition by the league’s 12 coaches.
Tight end Andy Boyd earned second team honors, as did Ryan Succop, who gained second team mention as both a punter and as a placekicker. Running back Cory Boyd and defensive end Casper Brinkley both earned third team recognition.
Jasper Brinkley, a 6-2, 262-pound middle linebacker from Thomson, Ga., was a first-team all-league selected by the Associated Press in 2006 after registering a team-leading 107 tackles, including 85 solo stops. He was fourth in the league and 55th in the country in tackles, averaging 8.2 stops per game. Brinkley is on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy pre-season Watch List, which is awarded to the best defensive player in college football.
Andy Boyd, a 6-4, 267-pound senior from Concord, N.C., earned second-team All-SEC honors by the league’s coaches last season despite playing in just nine games due to injuries. Three of his four career pass receptions have gone for touchdowns.
Ryan Succop, a 6-2, 213-pound junior from Hickory, N.C. handles both the Gamecocks’ punting and placekicking chores. He earned second-team all-league recognition by the SEC coaches last fall as a placekicker after connecting on 16-of-20 field goal attempts, including a long of 55 yards. As a punter, he averaged 43.6 yards per punt in 2006.
Cory Boyd led the Gamecocks in rushing with 823 yards and eight touchdowns in 2006. The 6-1, 214-pound senior from Orange, N.J. is only the fourth player in school history to log 1,000 yards rushing and haul in 70 receptions in his career.
Casper Brinkley joins his twin brother, Jasper, on the all-league squad, gaining a spot on the pre-season third team at defensive end. The 6-2, 257-pound senior from Thomson, Ga. worked at outside linebacker in the spring after finishing the 2006 season with a team-high 7.0 sacks as a defensive end. He was ninth in the SEC with 13.5 tackles for loss last season.
Jasper Brinkley and Cory Boyd will represent the University of South Carolina football squad at the annual Southeastern Conference Media Days, which begin Wednesday at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala.
