Sept. 29, 2005

The South Carolina football squad worked out on Thursday afternoon as they continued preparations for Saturday’s 7 p.m. contest at Auburn. That contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Following the practice session, head coach Steve Spurrier addressed the media:

“Another Thursday – they come fast. Hopefully we’ll go play with a lot of effort – maximum effort this week and see what happens.”

How the offensive line shapes up for Saturday: “Today James Thompson was back in there (at right guard). Occasionally, (right tackle) Na’Shan (Goddard) plays in there (at right guard) and Jamon Meredith at right tackle. So I would guess we would do a little of both of that.”

“Antonio (Heffner) has had a good week of practice. He’s done some good things and made some good throws here and there. He’s ready to play. We’ll find out if he’s truly ready once we kick it off.”

On the status of Blake Mitchell: “He’s going to try to be back next week.”

On the play selection with Heffner at quarterback instead of Mitchell: “They may not be as much different as everybody thinks they’re going to be. We’ll see how it plays out. We’re going to let him drop back and throw. That’s what quarterbacks do. It’s not going to be a full-blown option right, option left type stuff I don’t think, unless all those plays start working all of sudden. I’m looking forward to seeing what Antonio does Saturday night. He’s done some good things in practice this week, so it will be interesting to see what happens. This is his opportunity. We all get that first opportunity and this is his, so I think he’ll be best prepared as he can. It’s his game. I hope he goes the distance.”