Oct. 26, 2004

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina’s football team (5-2/3-2) worked out in full pads Tuesday afternoon, as preparations continued for Saturday’s showdown against 11th-ranked Tennessee (6-1/4-1). The two teams will square off at Williams-Brice Stadium with kickoff set for 12:33 p.m. Jefferson Pilot Sports will televise as the SEC Game of the Week.

* Injury update from the Gamecock camp: QB Dondrial Pinkins (bruised rotator cuff) participated full. He threw some deep balls and the shoulder seemed to respond okay … QB Syvelle Newton (ankle sprain) was limited in his participation. He went through individual drills and threw some after practice. He did not go through team drills. Newton said Tuesday evening that the ankle is getting better, but it is a slow process …OL Woodly Telfort suffered a mild concussion in Monday’s workout and did not practice Tuesday. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday. WR Noah Whiteside suffered a bruised right shoulder in practice and was not able to finish. He will be re-checked on Wednesday. DB Chris Hampton sprained his left ankle during Tuesday’s practice and he will be re-evaluated on Wednesday …WR Travis Lee (broken finger) did not practice and is out.

* Head coach Lou Holtz met with the media following the workout. Here are some of his comments: “Syvelle (Newton) was unable to do much. Right now, I don’t see him being much of a factor in Saturday’s game. Dondrial (Pinkins) threw the ball more today than he had previously. He winced a couple of times on the deep throws, but he said he would be okay. We’re a better football team right now on the practice field than we’ve been all season. The question is, can we take that into the stadium? Josh Brown is kicking the ball well. He hit a 48-yarder in practice today. If Syvelle can’t go, then you’ll see Michael Rathe and Blake Mitchell along with Dondrial. I certainly have some concerns about our quarterback situation with the injuries, but I don’t have concerns about our team in general. They are practicing to win. We have put a heavy emphasis on protecting the football this week. Fundamentals are the key. Tennessee will hit you on defense. It won’t be a game for the timid and weak. Demetris is playing great when he has the ball. It’s when he doesn’t have the ball that he needs to make improvement. We will need to have success on offense against Tennessee and that will be difficult to do. Since the Auburn game, Tennessee’s defense has come of age. We have not had much success throwing the ball against them the past four or five years. I’m anxious to see us play. As I said, I believe we are a better team than we were before the open date. I see us starting to do things more naturally. Can we take that into the stadium? We’ll have to see.”

* Tim Frisby, USC’s 39-year-old walk-on wide receiver, will be featured on NBC’s Today Show Wednesday (10/27). A crew from the national news program came to Columbia last week to do the piece.

* Following the workout, here is what quarterback Dondrial Pinkins had to say: “The shoulder feels much better. I was able to throw several deep balls today (in excess of 50 yards). I think I will be ready by Saturday.”

* Here’s what quarterback Syvelle Newton had to say: “The ankle felt better today. I was able to do some of my drops. Hopefully, I will be able to go through all of Thursday’s practice. It’s getting better; it’s just taking a while.”

* For the media — Assistant head coach Skip Holtz will be available to the media following Wednesday’s workout at approximately 6:45 p.m. outside the players’ entrance to the stadium.