Sept. 16, 2010

The No. 13/16 South Carolina Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0 SEC) were back at the Bluff Road practice fields Thursday afternoon as they continued their preparations for Saturday’s in-state showdown with the Furman Paladins (1-0). Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium. Tickets priced at $35 each are still available and the game will be televised throughout the Palmetto State on a pay-per-view basis. Please check with your local cable or satellite provider for more information on ordering the game.

Coach Ellis Johnson, Assistant Head Coach – Defense, addressed the media following the 90-minute workout on Thursday.

Coach Johnson said that physically Spur Antonio Allen is fine after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury. “Obviously he has not practiced in a long time and there’s just a lot of little things he has to pick up on mentally. He did well physically all week. Damario (Jeffery) deserves the start, but we want to play (Allen) because he really needs to get back into the flow of things and he’s physically ok. As the game goes we’ll see how quickly he plays and how much he plays.”

Coach Johnson said he has been pleased with the play of linebacker Josh Dickerson in place of the injured Shaq Wilson. “He’s played very well. I still feel like Shaq is the guy that can control everything out there as far as checks, calls and adjustments and has a better feel for things. But all of our linebackers I’ve been very pleased with. Quin (Smith) is still learning a little bit and has not been as consistent as the other three but Dickerson, (Tony) Straughter and (Rodney) Paulk have all played pretty good. The thing I was most concerned about is we’ve lost our quarterback in there. But those guys have done a good job with it. We haven’t had a whole lot of problems.”

Wilson continues to progress from the injury that has kept him sidelined since the first day of fall camp. “He’s certainly improved, but I wouldn’t venture a guess right now on a time table. But he probably has had the best week this week with it than he’s had in a long time.”