July 29, 2004

Columbia, S.C. –

* South Carolina head football coach Lou Holtz, accompanied by senior defensive end George Gause and senior center John Strickland, attended SEC Football Media Days Thursday in Birmingham, Ala. More than 600 media were in attendance at the event hosted at the Wynfrey Hotel.

* Here are some comments from coach Holtz: “The last couple of years we have lost some heartbreakers. A play or two away. Then, the last game we got embarrassed like I’ve never been before. I don’t think you can say we are a play away. When you talk about the tradition of South Carolina football, you think of our fans. We have the best fans in the country. Their enthusiastic support is second to none. Our season ticket sales are among the top three all-time and our fund-raising is over $11.9 million, which is a record. What we’ve got to do, is change the culture. The way we think and the way we approach things. That’s my responsibility. We need to de-recruit the athletes. We haven’t done a good job of that. The talent level is not void at South Carolina, but you can’t win on talent alone. … I taught a class to the team this spring. We met on Monday nights and went over things like attitude, perseverance, what it takes to be successful, how to handle yourself with class; those types of things. But, all of this is not going to help if we don’t block and tackle and play together as a team … Our team may have more question marks than any other team here. We have question marks at quarterback. Demetris Summers had a wonderful first year, but he’s got to improve. We have question marks in the secondary and with our pass rush. But, at the same time I have hopes and beliefs that we can be a pretty good football team … but as you know, pretty good is not good enough in the SEC … I feel rejuventated. Not that I had neglected the program, but I’ve got to go back and coach the way I believe in my heart and that’s what I intend to do … I’ve never put a timetable on my future. If you say you are only going to coach one more year, then you’ve already quit. You’re just passing time. If you retire, you never get a day off. Think about it. I am a teacher and that’s what i enjoy doing. I enjoy seeing someone grow and develop and have success.”

* Comments from senior George Gause: “Our team is more together now. We’ve been working hard and coming together. We have some new defensive schemes and if we listen to the coaches and execute, we can have success … Vanderbilt is a huge game. Everyone is coming back for them and they are going to be really good. … I want to be a senior leader. You do it by playing hard and setting a good example, on and off the field. “

* Comments from senior John Strickland: “During the spring, we met as a team each week. We’re a family and we’re not giving up. We want to have a winning season and we want to go to a bowl. Last season was a hard pill to swallow. We lost some close games. The experience made us work harder and become more focused on the task ahead … Dondrial Pinkins wants to win. Syvelle Newton had a different style and can make plays. It doesn’t matter who plays quarterback; we just want to win. Whoever gets the job done will be the quarterback.”