Aug. 15, 2004

Columbia, S.C. –
• South Carolina’s football team went through its first scrimmage of the preseason Sunday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium. The controlled scrimmage consisted of more than 120 plays and lasted nearly three hours.

• Injury report: DT Eric Stroman has a sprained left foot and is out indefinitely; RB Cory Boyd suffered a mild right knee sprain in the scrimmage; DT Charles Silas pulled his hamstring during the scrimmage.

• Offensively, all three quarterbacks did some good things for the Gamecocks. Starting quarterback Dondrial Pinkins tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Thomas and scored on a 15-yard run. Pinkins also picked up 38 yards on the ground. Syvelle Newton also had his share of big plays, including six carries for 41 yards on the ground. Newton completed a 31-yard pass to freshman receiver Sidney Rice and a 26-yarder to Travis Lee. Blake Mitchell threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Michael Flint.

• Gonzie Gray was the leading rusher on the day, picking up 57 yards on the ground. He had the longest run of the day – a 30-yarder.

• Defensively, cornerback Jonathan Joseph intercepted a pass thrown by Blake Mitchell. He also turned in the day’s hardest hit, knocking a pass attempt loose from receiver Troy Williamson.

• Following the scrimmage, USC head coach Lou Holtz met with the media. Here are some of his comments: “We gave everyone equal reps. The quarterbacks all did some good things. Dondrial did a nice job of running team and did not turn the ball over. Syvelle … well, he was just Syvelle. Like I told our linemen, if you miss a block, don’t lay on the ground. You’d better get up and block again, because he will be back around there eventually. We threw one interception (Blake Mitchell). We did a pretty good job of protecting the football. I was disappointed with the play of our running backs. They put the ball on the ground and didn’t run north and south. You’ve got to know when to get four yards and when to get 40. The receivers played well … Matthew Thomas, Troy Williamson and Noah Whiteside. Sidney Rice really stepped up. Our first team offensive line is impressive. But, the drop off between our first team line and our second team line is greater than the drop off at the Cliffs of Dover … Defensively, Stanley Doughty and Preston Thorne showed up. Jonathan Joseph looked like he had a good afternoon. Ko Simpson seemed to play well. I think Cody Wells has a chance and the Lindsey twins always seem to be around the ball. We’ll have to look at the film before we make many evaluations. We had too many penalties, but the hitting was pretty good … We had our kicking scrimmage in the morning. Josh Brown punted the ball pretty well. The punter’s job is pretty much between him and Grayson Mullins. Mullins is left-footed and really gets the ball off quickly. Our placekickers have been inconsistent.

• Coach Holtz returned to Columbia around 10 a.m. Sunday after traveling to Orlando, Fla., early Saturday evening to check on his wife, Beth, who braved Hurricane Charley as that storm raged through the state of Florida on Friday. Coach Holtz said the storm uprooted eight large trees in the yard of his Orlando home. Electricity was restored early Sunday morning. “I went down there to support my wife and make sure she was okay,” said Coach Holtz. “The damage this storm did in Florida was unbelievable. Anything you can replace is really not a loss. So many people down there lost so much. It makes you so thankful for what you have.”

• Following the scrimmage, Coach Holtz posed for photos and signed autographs for more than 50 of the ladies who had attended the Lou Holtz Football Clinic for Ladies last month at the Colonial Center. One of the perks of the clinic is that the ladies are able to attend USC’s first scrimmage of the preseason.

• South Carolina will have a walkthrough Monday morning. The media may attend the first part of the afternoon practice (pre-practice and the first 20 minutes of individual) beginning at 3:15 p.m. at the practice fields. Head coach Lou Holtz will be available to the media following practice at approximately 6 p.m. in the press room behind the lobby of the football building.