Aug. 18, 2007

Coach Spurrier Post-Scrimmage Comments | Defensive Coordinator Tyrone Nix Post-Scrimmage Comments | Freshman Mark Barnes Post-Scrimmage Comments

The South Carolina Gamecock football squad scrimmaged for an hour on Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium in front of an estimated crowd of 5,200. As was the case last Saturday, the majority of the work was done by the second and third teamers, with most of the offense coming through the air. For the most part, the defense appeared to still be well ahead of the offense.

“Most of our offensive lineman, not all of them, sort of got overwhelmed,” said Head Coach Steve Spurrier following the scrimmage. “But that’s sometimes the way it is right now. A lot of players did a lot of good things. I think it was beneficial for us.”

The offense scored three times during the 63-play scrimmage. Backup placekicker Spencer Lanning connected on a 53-yard field goal to get the scoring started. Later, Chris Smelley hooked up with Freddie Brown on an 18-yard scoring pass. The final touchdown came on the final play of the scrimmage when Tommy Beecher connected with a sprinting Mark Barnes down the sideline for a 36-yard touchdown.

Smelley, a redshirt freshman, took most of the snaps at quarterback. He completed 13-of-20 passes for 124 yards and a score. Starter Blake Mitchell was 5-for-9 for 55 yards. Tommy Beecher, who was hampered some with a sore shoulder, completed 5-of-8 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. True freshman Stephen Garcia was 4-for-6 for 51 yards with an interception.

Freshman Mark Barnes, who just moved to receiver from safety on Friday, caught four passes for a game-high 80 yards and a touchdown. Freddie Brown added four catches for 52 yards and a score. Brian Maddox also had four catches for 25 yards, while freshman teammate Weslye Saunders caught three passes for 49 yards.

“It was good to see Mark Barnes come in there and catch everything he touched,” said Coach Spurrier. “Chris Smelley made some nice throws there at the end on his drive, so we had some positives. We finally got Freddie out on the field. Freddie can catch. Hopefully if we can get some time to throw, we can get some guys open.”

Maddox was the game’s leading rusher with 21 yards on four carries. The team only called eight rushing plays during the scrimmage.

“These redshirt freshmen offensive linemen need to compete harder,” noted Coach Spurrier. “They just sort of stand around and let guys run by them. They need to get a little meaner and tougher. They’ve got to play ¬¬- we don’t have anybody else. Hopefully we can get them playing at a level good enough. We’ve got to teach blocking first before we teach throwing and catching. That’s one thing we don’t do well right now.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. They are also scheduled to work out on Monday at 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. before classes begin on Thursday.

SCORING PLAYS:

Spencer Lanning 53-yard field goal

Freddie Brown 18-yard pass from Chris Smelley (Thomas Hooper kick)

Mark Barnes 36-yard pass from Tommy Beecher (Hooper kick)

PASSING: Chris Smelley 20-13-0-124; Tommy Beecher 8-5-0-79; Blake Mitchell 9-5-0-55; Stephen Garcia 6-4-1-51. TOTALS: 43-27-1-309.

RUSHING: Brian Maddox 4-21; Clark Gaston 2-6; Patrick DiMarco 2-3; Blake Mitchell 1-2; Jim Hutton 1-2; Stephen Garcia 5-(-9); Tommy Beecher 2-(-10); Chris Smelley 3-(-11). TOTALS: 20-4.

RECEIVING: Mark Barnes 4-80; Freddie Brown 4-52; Brian Maddox 4-25; Weslye Saunders 3-49; Patrick DiMarco 3-25; Larry Freeman 2-31; Dion Lecorn 2-11; Moe Brown 1-13; Jared Cook 1-8; Jim Hutton 1-7; Scott Spurrier 1-7; Clark Gaston 1-1. TOTALS: 27-309.