Aug. 6, 2006

The South Carolina Gamecocks practiced for the second time this fall, working for two hours and 15 minutes in nearly perfect conditions for an early August evening. Temperatures were relatively mild as the squad worked out in helmets and shorts for the second straight day.

The Gamecocks are running a little thin at the running back position early in camp. Sophomore Mike Davis watched from the sidelines for the second straight day while attending to an infection in his left foot. Junior Cory Boyd injured his right hand during the practice and may miss a couple of days as well.

The team will return to the Bluff Road practice fields on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Following tonight’s workout, Head Coach Steve Spurrier addressed the media:

“Just another day at practice. The defensive guys are running around pretty well. I thought our linebackers really played some good zone drops tonight which we have not been accustomed to doing very well, so that was encouraging. They got more organized and our quarterbacks were not patient enough to throw underneath. If you play good zone drops, there’s not a lot of land down there to throw it. Give the defense credit – they played their assignments pretty well tonight.”

“The only thing I can tell (after two practices) is that we’re going to be a better team. Hopefully we’ll win more games. We’ve obviously got some youngsters in the offensive line. We’re not going to be able to stand back there a long time to throw it, but we didn’t get to stand back there a long time last year either. We’ve seen better players, better attitude and better coaching.”

“Cory Boyd sort of cracked his hand a little tonight. That was the only discouraging thing. He sort of had a fumble, then dived for it. He might be out for a couple of days. If Cory’s got a little bit of a cracked hand and Mike Davis is out, Taylor Rank is our man. Bobby Wallace is a little spot player. Right now tomorrow, Taylor Rank would line up with the first team. That’s the way it happens sometimes.”

“The defensive coaches said that Rodney Paulk had a good night tonight – playing his assignments, active and quick. Eric Norwood, a freshman defensive end was playing faster than our guys, which always seems to happen in shorts.”