Oct. 21, 2002

Columbia, SC – ? South Carolina’s game against #16 Tennessee, Nov. 2 in Columbia, has been chosen by CBS-TV as its national telecast for that day. Kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium will be shortly after 3:30 p.m.

? Following Monday’s workout, head coach Lou Holtz noted that after viewing the film of last Saturday’s 38-14 loss to #10 LSU, there were some positive things that came out of the game. “We played well in the first half, particularly on offense,” said Holtz. “The play of the offensive line was outstanding; probably the best we’ve played up front. We couldn’t stop them in the second half and it was difficult for us to play catch up. We tried to gain some momentum on a couple of offensive plays and the execution wasn’t there. We’re going to regroup and move on.”

? Holtz said while the two interceptions thrown by quarterback Corey Jenkins came at inopportune times in the second half against LSU, he couldn’t let Jenkins shoulder all of the blame. “I can’t fault just Corey on those two interceptions,” said Holtz. “On the long pass, the receiver was supposed to run a crossing route to tie up the safety, but he didn’t do that. Don’t ask me why. He had done it properly in practice. On the second one, LSU actually was misaligned on defense and the cornerback came up and made the play. The tackle wasn’t able to kick out with the block. They blitzed the linebacker and the execution broke down.”

? Holtz said that Jenkins was having to handle the ball too much on offense. “Corey is ending up with the ball way too much on offense,” said Holtz. “We need to get the ball in the hands of Andrew Pinnock, Daccus Turman and some of our other running backs.” Holtz went on to say that Turman has the chance to play a key role in the offense. “Daccus is the kind of player that doesn’t look that good in shorts,” said Holtz. “But, he moves the ball down the field effectively. He doesn’t break off a lot of long runs, but he gets you consistent yardage.”

? Holtz said that redshirt freshman Fran Person has moved from offensive tackle to defensive end.

? Holtz was pleased with the offense’s ball security. “We didn’t put the ball on the ground and that was a positive,” said the USC coach.

? Senior tailback/wide receiver Ryan Brewer is in the hospital, suffering from a stomach ailment and dehydration. Brewer also had his left ankle put in a cast Monday after suffering a high ankle sprain Saturday against LSU. Coach Holtz said that Brewer could miss the Tennessee game. “Today was the first practice I can recall that Ryan Brewer has missed since he’s been here, and to be honest, it wasn’t the same out there without him,” said Holtz.

? Offensive tackle Jeff Barnes, who sprained his wrist Saturday night against the Tigers, will see the doctor again on Tuesday to determine the extent of his injury. Barnes has his wrist heavily wrapped and he did not practice on Monday.

? Many of the younger players scrimmaged the final 40 minutes of Monday’s practice. Tuesday and Wednesday will be heavy work days for the team. Holtz noted that running backs Regis Edgerson and Kenny Irons showed some good things during the scrimmage session. “Both of them get to the same destination in different manners,” said Holtz. The Gamecocks will have Thursday, Friday and Saturday off, before returning for a meeting on Sunday.

? Coach Holtz said that the open date week is the ideal time to evaluate everything. “We’re taking a close look at all aspects,” said Holtz. “I honestly believe that this football team will make a tremendous amount of improvement over the next 10 days.”

? Coach Holtz noted that while the Gamecock offense ranks near the top in the SEC in yards per play and number of first downs, it ranks near the bottom of the league in number of offensive plays per game. “The last two games, our red zone offense has been pretty good,” said Holtz. “We’re just not getting the ball enough.”