Aug. 28, 2006

The South Carolina Gamecocks continued preparations for their season opener at Mississippi State, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 31 – now just three days away. USC worked out for two hours at the Bluff Road practice fields in shoulder pads and shorts on Monday. Offensive guard Thomas Coleman and wide receiver Moe Brown, both of whom have been nursing ankle injuries, returned to full practice on Monday.

Following the session, Head Coach Steve Spurrier addressed the media:

“Guys are getting anxious to play, I believe. We’ll be ready to play as well as we can Thursday night.”

“Moe (Brown) is still gimpy. I don’t know if he’ll be able to play. (Thomas) Coleman was back though. He was running around pretty well.”

“These first two games are very important because they’re conference games. We’re just going one at a time. If we’re going to finish high in the conference – every team has got to have hopes they can threaten or challenge in the conference. You always have dreams of winning your conference no matter how small the odds are.”

“Syvelle (Newton) has done well. He’s ready to play some receiver. He can play tailback and he can play quarterback so he’s flexible to play a lot of positions.”

On quarterback Blake Mitchell: “Blake’s improved. He’s had two good practices. Blake is our guy all the way. It would almost take a serious injury for him to come out of the game. He’s our quarterback. There’s no question about that. Hopefully he stays focused and we can protect him well. If we can do that I think we can get some guys open.”

On the attitude at practice: “Good attitude. First time for so many players. First time to get a chance to play on national tv. The Brinkley brothers – at this time last year they were playing in front of what 50 people? 100? They didn’t have any big crowds. It will be exciting.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields from 4:15 – 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Coach Spurrier will hold his weekly radio show Tuesday night at Wild Wings Café in the Sand Hills shopping center in Northeast Columbia from 7-8 p.m.