Oct. 10, 2007

The seventh-ranked South Carolina Gamecock football team (5-1, 3-1 SEC) worked out for two hours on Wednesday afternoon at the Bluff Road practice fields. The Gamecocks are preparing for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET showdown with North Carolina (2-4, 1-2 ACC) in Chapel Hill. The game will be televised regionally by ABC.

The Gamecocks were without the services of cornerback Carlos Thomas, who was injured in Tuesday’s practice. “Carlos probably will not play,” said Head Coach Steve Spurrier following the practice session. “(True freshman) Addison Williams will get his chance to start his first game. (Carlos) could be back next week, but he’ll have to practice and be able to do some stuff, so we’ll hold him out until whenever the doctors say he’s 100 percent. He was always moving a little bit. But it could have been serious.”

Quarterback Chris Smelley will be making his first start of his career on the road. “I hadn’t even thought about that,” said Coach Spurrier. “Does it make a difference? It won’t bother him being on the road. Their defense may bother him and bother us. They have a good defense and a good team. They could easily be 4-2.”

With the injury to Thomas, Addison Williams could get the starting nod on Saturday. “He’s not real big, but he knows his stuff. He can play. Carlos has covered well this year. He’s had a few penalties we could do without, but he’s played pretty well.”

The Gamecocks will be back on the practice fields on Thursday afternoon.