Aug. 12, 2005

The South Carolina Gamecock football squad went through a pair of workouts Friday in preparation for Saturday’s scrimmage. The squad put on full pads during a two-hour session in the morning, then went with helmets and shorts for an additional 90 minutes during the evening practice.

Head Coach Steve Spurrier met the media briefly after the morning session:

“It was not a great practice – it was a hot one today. We had a bunch of guys fall out by the heat – not seriously, but we take them out quickly if there are any kind of heat-related problems. We’ve had beautiful weather, but this has been the hottest day by far. We usually go two hours and 15 minutes, but we went just a little under two today. We cut it down a little bit because of the heat. Hopefully the guys will be fresh and ready to go tonight.”

On whether he’s happy to get Freddy Saint-Preux back: “I am in a way, but I’m still disappointed the guy didn’t do what he should have done during the summer. He’s very fortunate that his appeal went through, so we’ll give him a chance.”

Following the evening practice Coach Spurrier had this to say:

“We were a little bit light tonight. We’re going to let the guys play a little bit tomorrow and hopefully not have any injuries. That’s always a big concern. It’s open to the public. We’ll try to find out the players that can play their assignments. That’s what we’re looking for – guys who can do it the way coaches ask them to do it. “

On the format of the Saturday’s scrimmage: “We’ll go first against second and first against first some and so forth. We’re trying to find out what guys we can count on – which guys can play a little bit. We encourage the fans to come out. It’s open to the public. Free admission. We need to put people in the stands. We need to see if (quarterback) Blake (Mitchell) can play in the stadium with people in the stands. Hopefully we’ll have a little bit of a crowd there.”

INJURY REPORT: Jeremy Burgess (lower back) and Terrell Davis (hamstring) returned to full contact; Fred Bennett (hamstring) and Noah Whiteside (ankle) were limited for both practices. Michael Glass is out indefinitely with a foot injury. Sidney Rice (broken finger) returned to practice but did not participate. Carlos Thomas sat out the morning session due to illness but returned for the night workout. Taylor Rank did not take part in the second practice due to a slight concussion. Defensive end Nathan Pepper suffered a left ankle sprain in the second workout. Wide receiver Michael Flint injured his right little finger in the night practice. Tight ends Jonathan Hannah and Andy Boyd and defensive tackle Seth Edwards were held out of the second workout after leaving the morning practice early due to the heat.

SATURDAY’S SCRIMMAGE: Saturday’s scrimmage, which begins at 4:15 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium is open to the public. Gates open at 3 p.m. on the west side. One concession stand will be open for the public. No coolers will be allowed in the stadium. Seating will be restricted to the west lower grandstand.