March 22, 2008

The South Carolina Gamecock football team took to the Bluff Road practice fields for the second time in 2008, working out for over two hours on Saturday morning in helmets and shorts. It was the second of 15 spring practice sessions for the Gamecocks.

Defensive back Stoney Woodson (leg) joined the list of players wearing yellow jerseys, signifying they were on the injured list. Those that were held out of practice for the second straight day included Captain Munnerlyn (foot), Nathan Pepper (knee), Gurminder Thind (back), Kenny McKinley (toe), Marvin Sapp (hernia), Dustin Lindsey (knee) and Nick Prochak (leg).

The biggest news to come out of camp Saturday was sophomore Chris Culliver moving to safety from the wide receiver position. “We moved Chris Culliver over to defense,” said Coach Steve Spurrier following practice. “We needed a little help there. It just wasn’t working that well on offense. We just felt like maybe it was time to let him see if he can become a starter at safety on defense. We generally allow each player to pick where he wants to play, but after that, if it’s not working, we need help over here. He was very comfortable with it. In fact, it was sort of his idea and we were also about ready to make the move also, so we’re all happy right now.”

The quarterbacks saw more opportunities to run the ball in today’s practice. “We’ve got a few running plays in (for the quarterbacks) and hopefully that will help our running game if the quarterback is a little bit of a threat. They all can run about 4.7 (in the 40), so they’re all capable.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields Monday night at 7 p.m. They will work out next week on Monday, Wednesday (7 p.m.) and Friday (4:15 p.m.), leading up to their first scrimmage of the spring next Saturday (10 a.m.). All spring practices are open to the public.