Aug. 20, 2008

The South Carolina Gamecocks practiced Wednesday night at the Bluff Road “Proving Grounds.” It was the squad’s final workout before the start of fall classes at the University. The team will not practice Thursday before beginning their final week of preparation for the home opener, scheduled for Thursday, August 28, against NC State. Kickoff is set for 8 pm on ESPN.

“School starts tomorrow,” said Head Coach Steve Spurrier following the two-hour practice session. “Our guys are pumped up, fired up about going to class, sitting up front, dressing appropriately and trying to be outstanding student-athletes here at Carolina. We’ll take tomorrow off,” continued Coach Spurrier. “Our guys haven’t had a day off in about three weeks so we’re going to give them a day off tomorrow from practice. Hopefully we’ll be ready to play our best Thursday night.”

Coach Spurrier had some good news regarding one of the Gamecock recruits. “Tori Childers passed his test,” said Coach Spurrier. “He was very excited. We’re happy for him. He’s been through a long road to qualify academically. We’re proud that he made it. He’ll be with us hopefully tomorrow. He’ll be a defensive player.”

After reviewing the tape of Tuesday’s scrimmage, Coach Spurrier remained unimpressed with how the offense performed. “The tapes were about what we thought. We had a few good plays here and there by the offense. We had a lot of bad plays though. The defense covers well. When we play man-to-man, nobody can get open. We’ve got to give the quarterbacks some better plays. They cover us like a blanket. We’ve got to try to find a way to get them open better I guess. We’ve got some work to do.”

Senior tailback Mike Davis returned to practice for the first time in a while. “He looked ok. He looked like he’s healthy,” said Coach Spurrier.

The team is scheduled to practice next on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Bluff Road practice fields. That practice is closed.