Oct. 18, 2006

The University of South Carolina football squad (4-2, 2-2 SEC) continued its preparations for Saturday afternoon’s tilt at Vanderbilt (3-4, 1-3 SEC). That contest will kick off at 3 p.m. ET and will be available throughout the states of South Carolina and Tennessee on a pay-per-view basis and across the nation as part of ESPN’s GamePlan package. USC fans at Commodore Stadium can listen to the action on the Gamecock radio network by tuning in to 92.5 FM.

Following Wednesday’s two-hour practice session, USC Head Coach Steve Spurrier addressed the media:

On the suspension of wide receiver O.J. Murdock: “O.J. had a little problem over the weekend down in Tampa. He’s indefinitely suspended and we’ll figure out his status once everything comes out. He’s not suiting up (this week). We’ll let him practice with the scout team and see where his legal status is a little later on. He did something he’s got to answer for.”

“(Mike West) is pretty healthy. He’s running around and is going to try to play some. We’ll wait and see if he can really go full speed. He’s been practicing. Andy (Boyd) has been practicing. Web Brown has been practicing. Andy will probably start.”

On having a week off: “I’ve always said the break doesn’t matter one way or the other. I think we’re ready to play. Sometimes you lose a little bit if you were playing well and have a week off. We weren’t playing all that well, but we did win our game before. Every game stands on its own merit.”

On the emergence of Eric Norwood: “Coach Nix felt like he could really help us this year. He recruited him. He certainly has helped us and hopefully we can get some pressure on their quarterback. He’s maybe as good of pass rusher as we have right now.”

On the status of cornerback Carlos Thomas: “I think he’s going to try to play. He strained his knee a little bit in practice the other day, but he’s says he’ll be able to play. Captain (Munnerlyn) will be in there a lot also because they play a lot of three and four wide receivers.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields Thursday afternoon.