Nov. 6, 2006
The University of South Carolina football squad (5-4, 3-4 SEC) began its preparations for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. CBS tilt with sixth-ranked Florida (8-1, 6-1 SEC) by working out at the Bluff Road practice fields on Monday afternoon. The Gamecocks are relatively healthy heading into the contest, as only reserve linebacker Curtis Rice (sprained foot) is listed as out for the week. Following the practice session, head coach Steve Spurrier met with the media:
On the performance of Blake Mitchell:”He played pretty well except for one play and unfortunately that play took away our chance to win the game, because we couldn’t get the ball back the other night. But that one is history. We had some guys really compete well. Sidney (Rice) and Kenny McKinley had spectacular games as they’ve had a lot. Syvelle (Newton) wasn’t all that bad. We just felt Blake deserved a shot to go in there and see if he could throw a little bit more accurately. He did except for the last ball.”
On the limited playing time for Cory Boyd: “We only had 55 plays. We only had three possessions in the second half. We only had about three runs the second half. That’s just the way the game unfolded. Even with all that, we had the ball with five and a half minutes or so and six points down on their side of the field and first down. We pitched it away and couldn’t get it back.”
On who will play quarterback: “We’re getting both of them ready. We’re not saying this is Blake’s game all the way. We’re getting both guys ready. There will be a place for both guys to play maybe the rest of the season. That’s how we’re going to approach it.”
On the offensive line: “They’ve done pretty well. Thomas Coleman and Seth Edwards are seniors who came here as walk-ons and earned scholarships. They’re starting right now. With Chris White, we have three seniors in there right now. We had two true freshmen starting a while back, but we’re letting them rest awhile and letting those guys play.”
On thoughts of changes to the return team: “Yeah – lot of changes there. We’ll have some changes on the kickoff return.”
The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Tuesday afternoon.
