Oct. 11, 2005

The South Carolina football squad worked out for two hours Tuesday afternoon. The team will work out again on Wednesday afternoon, then take the rest of the week off. Following the practice session, head coach Steve Spurrier and Syvelle Newton met with the media:

COACH SPURRIER:

“The weather turned a little bit… nice and cool out here. We didn’t have to worry about heat exhaustion. Players had a little extra step.

About the off week: “We’re just practicing. We have a few little things for Vandy. We’re just need to practice a little bit. But (the team is) getting time off – they know that. We’ll regroup Sunday afternoon and start getting ready for Vandy after we meet.

How Newton looked at tailback: “Looks ok at tailback, at quarterback and at wide receiver. He plays a little bit of all right now. The way he ran the other day, I’d like to see him run again and see what happens. We’re just not making many yards, maybe he can make some.”

Syvelle Newton:

“I’m willing to do anything the coach asks me. He’s asked me to do it, so I’ll do it.

“I’ve got a lot of great receivers behind me so he wanted to get those guys in and we’re hurting on the rushing game right now, so coach wanted to try me and see what I could do.

On his experience at running back: “I played about four games in high school. I did pretty good. That’s when I got most of my rushing yards.

Can he take the pounding: “I’m bigger than the average receiver. I’m almost230 (pounds). I’m just as big as the linebackers. I’m sure they’re going to hit hard, so I’ve got to get used to it.

“I thought quarterback was the hardest (position to play), but now, getting a chance to learn what the running backs have to do for us, with blocking responsibilities and everything, it’s kind of hard at running back. Running back is probably the hardest.”