Sept. 2, 2006

The South Carolina Gamecocks returned to the Bluff Road practice fields for an hour-long practice on Saturday morning. It was their first practice since the 15-0 shutout win at Mississippi State and their first practice in preparation for Saturday night’s 7:45 p.m. ESPN contest versus Georgia.

Quarterback Blake Mitchell (right leg contusion), center Chris White (right shoulder) and fullback Lanard Stafford (left ankle) were held out of the drills.

Following the practice, Head Coach Steve Spurrier addressed the media:

“As of right now, there are no changes in the offensive line, no changes at quarterback, no changes at receiver, no changes at tight end – just maybe giving everybody more opportunities. Obviously we didn’t play well. If that’s the best our players can play, that’s ok. You just have to give the next guy a chance to see if he can play better. We told a bunch of guys that – if that’s the best you can play, that’s all right. We love ya. We’re going to give someone else a chance. It was not a good performance. Maybe we could have had some better plays on at times, but when we had some good plays on, we couldn’t hit those – couldn’t execute. So it was a tough night for us.”

On the play of the offensive line: “None of them played well enough for us to beat a team that could score some points. Fortunately, our defense played sensational football and our special teams were close to perfect. We won the game with defense and special teams. Sometimes you need to be able to win like that.”

“Chris White was semi out there today but he didn’t participate in the team work.”

On the extra time to get ready for Georgia: “We had a month – we had six months to prepare for Mississippi State. That stuff is overrated. If anything, they get our tape earlier than we get their tape, so maybe it’s to their advantage. Whoever plays best and has the right plays called at the right time will give their team the best chance to win.”

On the status of suspended offensive guard James Thompson: “He’s out the first four games. He’ll be on the scout team here for the next four weeks.”

The team will take Sunday off before resuming practice on Monday.