March 13, 2006

The University of South Carolina football squad took advantage of temperatures in the 80s on Monday and went through a two-hour practice in helmets and shorts, their first of 15 spring practices. Head coach Steve Spurrier addressed the media following the practice:

“Practice was pretty good today. Most of the guys were bouncing around – excited. The tight ends caught just about everything they touched. That was encouraging. The quarterbacks did ok. The defense did ok. Not too many interceptions. Carlos (Thomas) got one. It was a good first day.”

“Cory (Boyd) is ready to play. We have a little offense with he and Mike (Davis) in the backfield. So both of them could be in the game at the same time a lot. Cory could play a slot receiver and catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s already a starter, depending on what formation we use. He took his punishment (last year) and didn’t whimper or complain and he’s ready to go.”

“We have about three starters back on the offensive line. A lot of guys have to step forward. We’re not going to get Clarence Bailey until July. Probably one or two freshman will get the chance to play for us this year (on the offensive line).”

“Noah (Whiteside) was running around like he did last year (before breaking his ankle in the spring game). He couldn’t run like that in practice last season. He’s back to his form before the injury. If we had to play tomorrow, he, Kenny (McKinley) and Sidney (Rice) would probably be our first three receivers.”

“The quarterbacks did ok. They threw it around fairly well today. They made a few errors here and there. Tommy Beecher did some good things and Cade (Thompson). Brett Nichols had the flu bug so he wasn’t out here.”

In addition, Syvelle Newton updated the media on his progress. Newton suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in the win over Vanderbilt last fall:

“As of right now, everything is going good. I’m looking to start running in the pool in a couple of weeks and working on drills. They gave me six to eight months to be good, but the way it’s looking I’m going a little faster than normal. I’m going to be ready (this fall). I have no doubts in my mind. If I’m not 100 percent, I’m not going to push it.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice field three more times this week, with practices scheduled for the Bluff Road practice fields on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. All practices are scheduled from 4:15 – 6:15 p.m. and are open to the public.