April 6, 2005

The USC football team scrimmaged Wednesday afternoon under blue skies at Williams-Brice Stadium. The scrimmage was open to the public and about 1,750 Gamecock fans saw the offense win 28-25 in a coaches-designed scrimmage. USC will practice again on Friday, April 8 at 4:15 pm on the USC practice fields.

Coach Spurrier commented on the scrimmage afterwards:

“Today we had a little competition between the two sides with the offense winning 28 to 25. Basically the third team offense helped their side win it in the end. Biscuit (what the team calls him), Jermaine Sims is a tough little runner. We had a lot of guys competing today and that’s what we wanted to see today. Brett Nichols had a tough day – the second team struggled today.

“But it was a very encouraging day for the offensive coaches. Antonio Heffner proved he can make some plays. Our receivers are good. They are fearless and they have heart. Syvelle Newton caught a lot of passes today and that is encouraging. Blake Mitchell showed he can throw it a bit quicker. Blake and Antonio showed today they are ahead of the others. All these guys have a chance. It was encouraging today. If our guard and center come around, then we will have a decent offense in the fall. Nobody can block DL Stanley Doughty.

“None of the guys who are listed on the injured list will be back this spring. They will have to learn how to play in the summer. But it hasn’t been that bad of a spring injury-wise.”

The following are some quickie stats from the scrimmage:

The quarterbacks:

Blake Mitchell was 7 of 15 (110 yards); Brett Nichols was 1 of 5 (10 yards); and Antonio Heffner was 6 of 14 (54 yards) with 6 yds. rushing.

The top receivers:

Noah Whiteside: 23 yards (2 catches), Syvelle Newton 89 yards (4 catches) and Jared Jeffcoat: 15 yards (1 catch)

The top rushers:

Daccus Turman: 13 yards (7 carries), Albert Ashcraft: 20 yards (3 carries), Jermaine Sims: 37 yards (8 carries).

Defensive Stats:

Lanard Stafford – 5 tackles; 4 tackles each: Ranzino Valentine, Curtis Rice, Ricardo Hurley

TFL: 11 total by 11 different players

Sacks: 5 sacks by 5 different players

Fumble recovery: Ty Erving: one for a touchdown (38 yards); also 2 pass break-ups

Interceptions: Dustin Lindsay (1); Tremaine Tyler (1 for 43 yard return for a touchdown)

Updated Injury Report: OG Eric Stroman: foot (day to day), DL Charles Silas: left ankle (day to day); RB Cory Boyd: left hamstring (day-to-day), DL Matt Raysor: right ankle (day-to-day), WR Travis Lee: neck strain (out). WR Michael Flint (shoulder) and CB Fred Bennett (shoulder) are limited. OL William Brown (low back strain) and OL John Paul Gillis (back surgery) are out.