Aug. 16, 2004
Columbia, S.C. –
o South Carolina’s football team received some unexpected news from head coach Lou Holtz Monday afternoon, when he told the team they were going to have the afternoon off from practice. The team did review film of Sunday’s scrimmage during their morning meetings and also had position meetings in the afternoon. The Gamecocks will return to the practice field on Tuesday, when they will have two-a-day workouts.
o Injury report: DT Eric Stroman (foot) will be placed on medical hardship and is not expected to play again this season. RB Cory Boyd has a mild knee sprain and DE Charles Silas has a pulled hamstring.
o Head coach Lou Holtz met with the media Monday afternoon and here are some of his comments: “We decided to give the players the afternoon off from practice. We were going to let them go swimming at the campus pool, but the recreation department wouldn’t allow it. This has been a hard, physical camp. We had a 130-play scrimmage on Sunday. We felt it would be difficult to get the type of effort on the field this afternoon that we would need, so that’s the decision the coaching staff made. We will come back on Tuesday with two physical practices. After looking at the film from the scrimmage, I thought we did some good things. Defensively, the line is playing pretty well. Darrell Shropshire, Jason Capers, Stanley Doughty, Preston Thorne and Marque Hall are all stepping up. At end, we have George (Gause), Moe (Thompson) and Charles Silas. I’ve been pleased with our play at linebacker. Ricardo Hurley and Marcus Lawrence have had outstanding camps. They’re playing the best football they have played. Orus Lambert is not the same Orus Lambert. At safety, Ko Simpson should be one starter, and don’t be surprised if another starter isn’t a freshman – Chris Hampton. Jamacia Jackson, Jermaine Harris and Corey Peoples are also competing there. We have five cornerbacks – Fred Bennett, Jonathan Joseph, Taqiy Muhammad, Tremaine Tyler and Marc Williams … Offensively, I think we have seven SEC-caliber linemen. James Thompson has been very impressive as a freshman. You can’t break him. He’s very talented and very determined. Our receivers have stepped up. Troy Williamson, Noah Whiteside, Matthew Thomas and Wando (Michael Flint). I think Sidney Rice will enter into the mix there. I was disappointed in the overall play of our running backs. We put the ball on the ground too many times and we didn’t do the little things. Andrea Gause may have been our most consistent running back in the scrimmage. Our quarterback play was pretty good. I think it was the best Dondrial (Pinkins) has played since he’s been here. Dondrial knows he’s our #1 quarterback. He’s very mature and I’ve been pleased with the chemistry and tempo he has brought to the team. We want to win. I think you’ll see both Syvelle and Blake (Mitchell) on the field, as well. All three have strengths they bring to the table. The kicking game is wide open. So far, it’s been – who is having a good day? We’ve got to become more consistent in our kicking game.”
o Media availability for Tuesday – Assistant head coach Skip Holtz will be available to the media following the morning workout at approximately 12:15 p.m. outside the players’ entrance.
