Aug. 10, 2004
Columbia, S.C. –
• South Carolina’s football team went through its fourth workout of the 2004 preseason Tuesday, practicing in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets. Wednesday will be the first day in full pads for the Gamecocks.
• Injury report: freshman DL Matt Raysor was unable to finish practice due to a flare up he had with his allergies. Freshman WR Sidney Rice bruised his shoulder on Monday and was limited during Tuesday’s workout. Following the practice, defensive coordinator Rick Minter met with the media. Here are some of his comments: “We had a pretty productive day. It was our last day in partials. The players are making progress. We are throwing a lot at them. There is a lot of head to head competition and that’s a good thing. Veterans like Jermaine Harris, Rod Wilson and Moe Thompson are really stepping up in their leadership. (Darrell) Shropshire has been pretty vocal out there. Ricardo Hurley has been explosive. Most people on defense have collisions when they hit. Hurley has an explosion. We’ve moved De’Adrian Coley to end and that should give us more depth there. (Stanley) Doughty, (Preston) Thorne, (Chris) Tucker and (Eric) Stroman, and Freddy (Saint-Preux) are all going to play. We look to play a lot of folks and keep our players fresh. This is a fun group; a mature group. We’re keeping our eyes forward, but every now and then, when we aren’t doing the things that we should be doing, we remind them about the past and about how poorly they played down the stretch last season. We want to set a new tone on defense. We’re trying to get this thing back in the right direction. We’ve got a veteran group for the most part … We have five linebackers who are going to play a lot. Marcus Lawrence, Ricardo Hurley, Rod Wilson, Orus Lambert and Lance Laury. We look to play all of them. At cornerback, you’re looking at Jonathan Joseph and Fred Bennett. But, Taqiy Muhammad and Tremaine Tyler will also play. At safety, we have Ko Simpson, Jermaine Harris and Jamacia Jackson. The Lindsey twins (Jordin and Dustin) are going to be good players, as is Marque Hall. I think our first unit can really run.”
• The team enjoyed a bar-b-que supper with group from the USC Lettermen’s Association Tuesday night after practice … The freshmen are in the process of getting their media guides signed by the returning varsity squad … USC will practice in full pads for the first time on Wednesday.
• Wednesday’s practice begins at 2:40 p.m. Pre-practice and the first 20 minutes of individual are open to the media. Head coach Lou Holtz will be available for post-practice comments in the pressroom behind the lobby of the football building at approximately 5:40 p.m.
