Sept. 19, 2004

Columbia, S.C. –
South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz held his Sunday teleconference and here are some of his comments: (on the play of quarterback Syvelle Newton): “Syvelle did a lot of good things. He plays with a lot of enthusiasm and with a love for the game. I thought for his first time out, he did a very good job. I think he proved he is a quarterback, he can move the team and for the most part, can make good decisions. You’ve got to remember, he’s really only gone through one spring practice and one fall camp as a quarterback. He did receive an awful lot of help Saturday, as both the offense and defense played well around him … “We’re not going to have a quarterback controversy. All we are interested in is winning. We are all Gamecocks. We are going to need both quarterbacks (Dondrial Pinkins and Syvelle Newton) in order to be successful … (can someone lose his job because of injury?) “That’s normally the rule of thumb. However, do you remember a guy by the name of Wally Pipp?. He told Miller Huggins (NY Yankees manager) he didn’t feel good one day and that he should go ahead and play that kid, Lou Gehrig. Well, we all know what happened after that (Gehrig went on to play in a record 2,130 consecutive games, which stood until it was broken by Cal Ripken, Jr.).” … “I thought Josh Brown did a nice job placekicking. He kicked with authority. He didn’t worry about this or worry about that. I was not pleased with how we covered kickoffs. In fact, other than the PATs and field goals, I was not very pleased with our kicking game … I was very pleased with the positive manner in which our team played. How they encouraged one another and the way they enjoyed playing. They played as a complete team and that was enjoyable to see … It was the best blocking performance by our backs since I’ve been here. Cory Boyd was outstanding. I thought the cornerbacks played pretty well and did a nice job on playing the deep ball … I think we need to play more wide receivers … Antonio Lamar is doing some nice things in practice of late. He’s starting to look pretty good.”

o Injury report – DT Darrell Shopshire (dislocated finger on the right hand) is limited; TE Brian Brownlee (groin strain) is limited; LB Marcus Lawrence (thigh bruise) is limited; QB Dondrial Pinkins (shoulder bruise) is limited; WR Sidney Rice (hyperextended left knee) is limited; TB Demetris Summers (right ankle sprain) is limited.

o A reminder that Coach Holtz will have his weekly press conference Monday at 12 noon in the Lettermen’s Lounge of Williams-Brice Stadium.