Sept. 14, 2004

Columbia, S.C. –
The South Carolina Gamecocks worked out in full gear Tuesday afternoon as preparations continued for this Saturday’s clash against the South Florida Bulls. Kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium is 7 p.m. There is no live television.

* Injury update: OL Kris Mick (out) may require additional surgery on his wrist; TB Demetris Summers (ankle) is doubtful for Saturday; WR Sidney Rice (hyperextended knee) is out indefinitely. Rice had an MRI performed late Tuesday. CB Johnathan Joseph (fractured foot) had surgery Tuesday and is out. QB Dondrial Pinkins has a shoulder bruise and has not thrown in practice Monday or Tuesday. He is expected to throw on Wednesday.

* Following Tuesday’s workout, head coach Lou Holtz met with the media. Here are some of his comments: “I was disappointed with the crispness of the workout. We got some good work in, but we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. When we went live against one another, we looked good. There are three redshirts who are looking good — Matt Raysor (DL), Trent Usher (DB), and Antonio Heffner (QB). They have impressed me with their play. (Thomas) Hooper has kicked well from short range. I’d say from 35 yards in, he’s pretty accurate. If we attempt a field goal longer than that, we’ll probably use either Josh Epps or Josh Brown. We didn’t handle Georgia’s slants and stunts along the line very well last week. We’ll probably see a lot more of the same from South Florida this week. Demetris (Summers) has a high ankle sprain. Those (injuries) are difficult to come back from in a quick fashion. We want to get him well; that’s the important thing. We need to get him healthy. We’ll play Syvelle (Newton) at quarterback every third series this week. When we get into the third quarter, then we’ll go with the hot hand. We want to give Syvelle a shot to see what he can do.”

* This is what Syvelle Newton had to say after practice: “Dondrial (Pinkins) is the starting quarterback. There’s no question about that. It’s like when you take a long road trip in a car. After a while, you change drivers. Someone gets tired and you use another driver. That’s what I am; another driver. I’ll prepare the best I can this week and do what I can do to help lead the team when my number is called. Dondrial is #1 and I’ll continue to do what I need to do to help the team.”