Aug. 27, 2008

	Radio Broadcast	Press Conference
Game Day Info	Parking Info	Game Day Central

The South Carolina Gamecocks open their 115th season of intercollegiate football, dating back to 1892, and the 2008 season at home against the NC State Wolfpack on Thursday, Aug. 28 in front of an ESPN national-television audience. This is the 102nd-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 521-523-44. The school’s only conference championship came in the 1969 season when it posted a perfect 6-0 record to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title in Paul Dietzel’s fourth year. This is the third time in the last four years that the Gamecocks have opened their season on ESPN.

FOR OPENERS

The Gamecocks are 74-36-4 in season openers, a .667 winning percentage. The Gamecocks have wins in each of their last eight and in 11 of their last 12 season lidlifters. The only loss in that stretch was a 10-0 setback at NC State in the 1999 season opener.

SEASON OPENERS AT HOME

The Gamecocks have opened the season at home 89 times in their 114 years of intercollegiate football. They have posted an impressive 67-18-4 record. That translates to a .775 winning mark. In the 25 seasons in which the Gamecocks have opened on the road, they are 7-18-0 for a .280 winning percentage.

THE HBC IN OPENERS

South Carolina head Coach Steve Spurrier is 17-1 in season-opening games in his 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach. The only loss in that stretch was ironically a 27-21 loss to the Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia on Sept. 2, 1989 when he was the head ball coach in his final season at Duke. That Blue Devil squad went on to win the ACC title that season. The USC victory was led by the great Todd Ellis, who is now the play-by-play voice of Gamecock Football. Since that time, Coach Spurrier has won 15 straight season opening games with his squad scoring 40 or more points in 10 of those 15 games.

RENEWING AN OLD RIVALRY

NC State leads the all-time series with the Gamecocks by the slimmest of margins, holding a 26-25-4 advantage in a series that dates back to 1900 (a Carolina 12-0 shutout). This is the 56th time the Gamecocks have played NC State, which ties the Wolfpack with Wake Forest for the third-most games played against Carolina, trailing only Clemson (105) and Georgia (60). However, this is the first meeting on the gridiron since the 1999 campaign and just the second meeting since 1991. The teams met every year from 1968-1991 and met every year except 1967 from 1956-91. The Wolfpack posted a 10-0 win in the 1999 season opener and has won each of the last four meetings between the two squads. Carolina’s last win came by a 23-7 score in Raleigh on Oct. 29, 1988. The Gamecocks last win over the Pack in Columbia was a 48-0 whitewash on Oct. 31, 1987. The teams are slated to meet again in Raleigh on Sept. 3, 2009.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Lou Holtz and the Gamecocks kicked off the 1999 season in wet style with a 10-0 loss at North Carolina State. Before the game, Hurricane Dennis made a comeback at the North Carolina coast and the Raleigh area suffered torrential downpours and 25 mile-per-hour winds, limiting the players’ visibility and mobility. The USC defense stuffed the Wolfpack in the first half, allowing only two first downs and 48 yards of offense, but the Gamecock offense had its own troubles by fumbling six times, losing three. NC State got on the board with a field goal late in the first half following a Phil Petty fumble deep in South Carolina territory. The game’s only touchdown came early in the fourth quarter when NC State’s special teams blocked a Carolina punt and returned it for a touchdown. The Gamecocks outgained the Wolfpack, 232-96, but five turnovers and seven penalties helped keep Carolina off the scoreboard.

THE HBC VS NC STATE

South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier owns a 2-1-1 record against NC State, with the first three meetings while he was the head coach at Duke. He dropped a wild 47-45 decision in Durham in 1987, battled to a 43-43 tie in Raleigh in 1988, then posted a 35-26 win in Durham en route to an ACC Championship in 1989. While at Florida, he led the Gators to a 27-10 win over NC State in the 1992 Gator Bowl.

GAMECOCKS VS. THE ACC

The Gamecocks own a 190-239-22 record all-time against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. South Carolina was a member of the ACC from 1953-1970. They posted the only conference championship in school history as a member of the ACC in 1969 when they went 6-0 under Paul Dietzel, including a 21-16 win over NC State in Columbia. The Gamecocks were 1-1 against ACC foes last season, defeating North Carolina by a 21-15 score in Chapel Hill, then losing to No. 15 Clemson in Columbia by a 23-21 margin.

THURSDAY NIGHT SPECIAL

This marks the fourth-straight season in which the Gamecocks have played a Thursday night contest. Actually, they will play two in 2008, as they will be featured again on ESPN next Thursday night, Sept. 4, when they open SEC play in Nashville against the Vanderbilt Commodores. They are 3-1 over the past three years in Thursday night specials. Carolina opened its 2005 season on a Thursday night with a 24-15 win against Central Florida. In 2006, the Gamecocks opened the season at Mississippi State on a Thursday and came away with a 15-0 win. They also lost a mid-season Thursday night contest at home to Auburn by a 24-17 margin. In 2007, they defeated eighth-ranked Kentucky at home on a Thursday night by a 38-23 score.

THE POLLS

The South Carolina Gamecocks open the 2008 season just outside the nation’s top 25 in the two national polls. They are 26th in the Preseason Associated Press poll with 84 points, just one point behind Pittsburgh, and are 27th in the USA Today/Coaches Preseason Poll with 64 points. The Gamecocks are the seventh-highest ranked SEC school in both preseason polls behind Georgia (1st in AP, 1st in USA Today), Florida (5/5), LSU (7/6), Auburn (10/11), Tennessee (18/18) and Alabama (24/26).

FOR STARTERS

The Gamecocks officially return 18 starters from the 2007 squad (six on offense, 10 on defense and one specialist). The returning offensive starters are OG Seaver Brown, OG Lemuel Jeanpierre, WR Dion Lecorn, WR Kenny McKinley, OT Jamon Meredith and OT Justin Sorensen. The returning defensive starters include DT Ladi Ajiboye, S Emanuel Cook, DT Marque Hall, LB Cliff Matthews, CB Captain Munnerlyn, DE Eric Norwood, LB Rodney Paulk, LB Marvin Sapp, FS Darian Stewart, and CB Carlos Thomas. Senior Ryan Succop is the returning punter and placekicker. The list does not include middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley, who started all 13 games in 2006 and the first four games of the 2007 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, or defensive tackle Nathan Pepper, who started 12 games in 2006 and each of the first three games in 2007 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

RECAPPING 2007

South Carolina won six of its first seven games, including an impressive win at then-No. 11 Georgia and a win over No. 8 Kentucky, to climb to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and sixth in the BCS standings, before dropping each of their last five games to finish the season at 6-6, 3-5 in the Southeastern Conference. Four of the six losses came to teams ranked in the top-25 in the country at the time of the contest. The Gamecocks were 4-3 in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium and were 2-3 in road contests.

BOWL ELIGIBLE

The Gamecocks finished the 2007 campaign with a 6-6 record, making them bowl-eligible. Unfortunately, 10 SEC teams had the minimum number of six wins for bowl eligibility to fill nine bowl slots and the Gamecocks were left standing on the outside of the bowl merry-go-round when the music stopped playing. It marked the fourth straight year in which the Gamecocks were bowl-eligible, accomplishing that feat for just the second time in the modern era (also from 1987-90).

TOUGH TIMES

The Gamecocks had one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2007, facing five ranked opponents during the regular season. According to the NCAA, Carolina’s schedule was ranked as the ninth-toughest in Division I football. Eight of South Carolina’s 12 opponents in 2007 played in a bowl game, with five of those teams posting victories.

DID YOU KNOW?

Gamecocks defeated three teams in 2007 that went on to win its bowl games. Carolina knocked off Georgia by a 16-12 score, Mississippi State by a 38-21 margin and Kentucky by a 38-23 advantage. Georgia routed Hawaii 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl, Mississippi State defeated UCF, 10-3 in the Liberty Bowl, and Kentucky defeated Florida State, 35-28 in the Music City Bowl.

MORE TOUGH TIMES AHEAD

The Gamecocks will face four of the top nine teams in the country in 2008, according to the preseason polls. Georgia is the top-ranked team in both polls. The Bulldogs will make their way to Columbia on Sept. 13 in a nationally-televised CBS contest. Florida enters the season ranked fifth in both polls. Carolina will travel to The Swamp on Nov. 15. LSU is seventh in the AP poll and sixth in the USA Today poll. The Bayou Bengals will visit Columbia on Oct. 18. Clemson begins the season ranked ninth in both polls. The Tigers will host the Gamecocks in the final regular-season game of the `08 campaign on Nov. 29. In addition, the Gamecocks will play Tennessee, ranked 18th in both preseason polls. The Vols come to Williams-Brice Stadium on Nov. 1.

UNDER COACH SPURRIER

Head coach Steve Spurrier is 21-16 after three seasons in Columbia. He has the most wins by a Carolina head coach in his first three seasons (21), topping Joe Morrison’s mark of 20 from 1983-85.

WINNING MORE OFTEN

The Gamecocks have posted four consecutive seasons of at least a .500 record, going 6-5 in 2004, 7-5 in 2005, 8-5 in 2006 and 6-6 in 2007. It’s the first time they have accomplished that feat since 1987-90 (8-4, 8-4, 6-4-1, 6-5). The last time they went five or more consecutive seasons with a .500 record or better was from 1928-34.

COACHING CHANGES

Steve Spurrier made a pair of changes to his coaching staff in the off-season, bringing in Ellis Johnson to be the new defensive coordinator and Ray Rychleski to coordinate the special teams. Johnson has spent the past four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State under Sylvester Croom. He actually comes to Carolina following a very brief stint on Bobby Petrino’s staff at Arkansas. Rychleski takes over as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, a role similar to what he held for the past seven years at the University of Maryland.

WESTERN FLAVOR

With the rotation schedule of SEC West opponents, the Gamecocks drop Mississippi State from their 2008 schedule and pick up Ole Miss for the next two seasons. The Oct. 4 game will mark Carolina’s first trip to Oxford since the 2003 season. LSU will remain on the schedule for one more year. Carolina faces Arkansas out of the West each and every season.

BIG CROWDS

The Gamecocks averaged 78,467 fans for its seven home games in 2007. That average ranked 19th in Division I football. Seven of the top 20 schools in home attendance hail from the SEC.

WORKING OVERTIME

The Gamecocks have played just two overtime games in their history, both at Tennessee. They dropped a 23-20 decision in Knoxville on Sept. 27, 2003, then fell by a 27-24 score on Oct. 27, 2007, also at Neyland Stadium. Every other SEC team has played at least three overtime games since the rule was established in 1996.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to open their SEC schedule Thursday, Sept. 4, against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET with the game televised by ESPN. the Gamecocks lead the all-time series with the Commodores, 14-3.

BEECHER FEATURED

Redshirt junior quarterback Tommy Beecher will make his first collegiate start against the Wolfpack. The 6-2, 220-pound Concord, N.C. native was named the starting quarterback following spring drills. He has completed 16-of-25 passes (64.0 percent) for 194 yards and two touchdowns in his career. His best performance was an 11-for-15 effort for 137 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette in the 2007 season opener. His longest pass completion went for 20 yards in that contest.

BEECHER’S FAMILY AFFAIR

Tommy Beecher comes from a family of athletes. His grandfather, Tee Moorman, was an all-conference performer at Duke. His uncles, Tee and Tommy Moorman, also played at Duke, while another uncle, Lester Fortney, played at Navy. Tommy’s younger brother, Matt, is on the Appalachian State football squad. Word out of Concord, N.C. is that the best athlete of the group is his mother, Pam.

DAVIS LEADS TAILBACK COMMITTEE

Senior Mike Davis is the Gamecocks’ top returning tailback. The 5-9, 214-pounder from Columbia was the team’s top rusher as a freshman in 2005, then has been second on the squad in rushing yards behind Cory Boyd in each of the past two seasons. He has been hampered some in the preseason by an injured left shoulder, but figures to be close to 100 percent by game day. Davis has appeared in 36 games over the past three seasons, making 14 starts. He has carried the pigskin 360 times for 1,658 yards and 16 touchdowns. He enters the 2008 season ranked 18th on the all-time Carolina career rushing list and is tied for 11th on the rushing touchdowns list. He has three 100-yard rushing games to his credit.

MCKINLEY AMONG THE BEST

Senior wide receiver Kenny McKinley could leave the University of South Carolina with just about every receiving record. The 6-0, 187-pounder is an All-American candidate after earning first-team All-SEC honors in 2007. He was on the Playboy preseason All-America squad and was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List. He set the school single season receptions record with 77 catches in 2007. McKinley enters the 2008 campaign ranked tied for fourth in career receptions (153), sixth in career receiving yards (2,139) and tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns (15) in Carolina history. The school records are held by Sterling Sharpe (169 receptions and 2,497 receiving yards) and Sidney Rice (23 touchdown catches). He has caught a pass in 33 straight games, matching Ball State’s Dante Love and Indiana’s James Hardy for the third-longest consecutive streak in the nation behind Rice’s Jarett Dillard (36) and UNLV’s Casey Flair (35) and just one off the school record, held jointly by Sterling Sharpe and Jermale Kelly. He is the SEC active leader in both career receptions and receiving yards. He has tallied six 100-yard receiving games in his career. McKinley has played in all 37 games over the past three seasons, making 31 starts (29 consecutive), the most of the returning players.

RETURNING STARTERS

The Gamecocks return six starters from last season’s offense, including four on the offensive line (guards Seaver Brown and Lemuel Jeanpierre) and tackles Jamon Meredith and Justin Sorensen. The other two returning starters are wide receivers Kenny McKinley and Dion Lecorn.

TIGHT END TANDEM

The Gamecocks feature one of the nation’s top tight end tandems in junior Jared Cook and sophomore Weslye Saunders. Cook, a 6-5, 240-pound junior, caught 30 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns a season ago. He is a preseason third team all-conference selection. Saunders, who hails from Durham, N.C., stands 6-5 and weighs 274 pounds. He caught a dozen passes for 151 yards last season, including a long of 48 against Kentucky.

EXPERIENCED O-LINE

The Gamecocks have an experienced offensive line. They lost just one starter (center William Brown) from last year’s group and return seven players who have all made at least three career starts. That list includes Jamon Meredith (29 career starts), Justin Sorensen (18), Garrett Anderson (8), Seaver Brown (6), Lemuel Jeanpierre (6), Hutch Eckerson (5) and Heath Batchelor (3). Those seven players have combined for 75 career starts.

PLAYING WITHOUT JAMON

The Gamecocks will be without the services of Jamon Meredith for their first two games. Meredith, a 6-5, 297-pound fifth-year senior, will sit out the first two games due to an NCAA eligibility ruling stemming from his freshman season of 2004, when he saw action in one game. Meredith is second on the squad with 29 career starts.

SMELLEY IN THE WINGS

If something should happen to starting quarterback Tommy Beecher, the Gamecocks have an experienced backup in redshirt sophomore Chris Smelley. Smelley, a 6-1, 211-pounder from Tuscaloosa, Ala., actually has more game experience than Beecher. He has made six career starts, logging a 4-2 record in those contests. He has completed 57.1 percent of his career passes (101-for-177) for 1,288 yards and nine touchdowns. He was the starting quarterback in Week 1 in 2007 against Louisiana-Lafayette and became the first redshirt freshman to start a season-opener at quarterback since Todd Ellis did so in 1986.

BEECHER NO. 6 IN THE PROGRAM BUT NO. 5 FOR SOS

Tommy Beecher will be the fifth quarterback to start at South Carolina in the Steve Spurrier Era. The others? Blake Mitchell (23 starts), Syvelle Newton (7), Chris Smelley (6) and Antonio Heffner (1).

SORENSEN A FIRST ROUND PICK, EH?

Fifth-year senior offensive tackle Justin Sorensen had a chance to turn pro after his junior year but elected to return to South Carolina for his final season. The 6-7, 316-pounder from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was selected in the first round (the fifth player taken overall) in the 2008 Canadian Football Draft by his hometown team, the B.C. Lions. The Lions will retain the rights to sign Sorensen, who has made 18 consecutive starts for the Gamecocks, following the season. Sorensen graduated from South Carolina in December of 2007 with a degree in retailing and is currently working on a second major in psychology.

STATE PRIDE ON THE LINE

South Carolina lists 15 players from the state of North Carolina on its roster. The list includes Pierre Andrews and Jason Barnes (Charlotte), Tommy Beecher (Concord), Weslye Saunders (Durham), Chris Culliver and Cedrick Snead (Garner), Melvin Ingram (Hamlet), Reggie Bowens (Holly Springs), Byron McKnight and Travian Robertson (Laurinburg), Hutch Eckerson (Lumberton), Bryan Kingrey (Raleigh), Marque Hall (Wingate) and Alonzo Winfield (Winston-Salem).

NEW COORDINATOR IN TOWN

Johnson takes over the defensive coordinator role this season. Johnson has brought a 4-2-5 package to help the Gamecocks defend against teams that spread their offense. Johnson returns to his home state, as he is a Winnsboro, S.C. native and a graduate of The Citadel. Johnson most recently served as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State University under Sylvester Croom. In his most recent game, Johnson’s Bulldogs held Central Florida to just 231 yards of offense in a Liberty Bowl win, and held Kevin Smith, the nation’s leading rusher, to nearly 70 yards below his season average.

FOR STARTERS

The Gamecocks return 10 of 11 starters on defense. That list includes DT Ladi Ajiboye, S Emanuel Cook, DT Marque Hall, LB Cliff Matthews, CB Captain Munnerlyn, DE Eric Norwood, LB Rodney Paulk, LB Marvin Sapp, FS Darian Stewart, and CB Carlos Thomas. The list does not include middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley, who started all 13 games in 2006 and the first four games of the 2007 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, or DT Nathan Pepper, who started 12 games in 2006 and each of the first three games in 2007 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

BRINKLEY’S BACK IN GARNET & BLACK

The Gamecocks welcome “Mike” linebacker Jasper Brinkley back for another season. Brinkley, a 6-2, 269-pounder is an all-league candidate in his final season at Carolina. A former junior college transfer, Brinkley started each of the first 17 games in a Gamecock uniform before being sidelined with a knee injury during the LSU game in 2007. He has led the Gamecocks in tackles in nine of those 17 contests and led South Carolina in tackles during the 2006 season with 107, over twice as many as any other player on the squad. An amazing 79 percent of those tackles were solo stops. His twin brother, Casper, who spent the last two seasons in the Garnet & Black, signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers and remains on their squad.

SEEING DOUBLE

With Jasper Brinkley’s twin brother, Casper, moving on to the National Football League, the Gamecock defense is left with just one set of twins on the roster, the Lindsey boys, a pair of fifth-year seniors from Mobile, Ala. Dustin (No. 44) is a 6-4, 251-pound linebacker who has made four career starts. He has totaled 63 tackles in his career, 58 of which came in the 2005 season. Jordin (No. 41) is a 6-3, 266-pound defensive end who has accounted for 15 starts and 69 tackles in his career. He was named Carolina’s Outstanding Defensive Player in the 2006 Liberty Bowl win over Houston after intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble.

ADDING PEPPER TO THE MIX

Much was made about the key loss of Jasper Brinkley to the defense last season, but another key loss early in the 2007 campaign was that of defensive tackle Nathan Pepper. Pepper, a 6-1, 292-pound junior from Greenville, S.C. had made 15 starts over three seasons before suffering a season-ending knee injury while scoring a touchdown after intercepting a pass against South Carolina State in Game 3 last September. Despite playing defensive tackle, Pepper owns a pair of interceptions, also collecting one against Clemson in the 2006 Gamecock win.

NORWOOD IN A RUSH

Junior Eric Norwood is happy to see the ESPN Thursday night crew return to Williams-Brice Stadium. The last time they were here, Norwood was named the SEC Player of the Week, the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski and the Master Coaches National Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the win over Kentucky. He tied an NCAA record in that contest by returning two fumbles for touchdowns – scoring from two and from 53 yards out. Norwood, a 6-1, 267-pounder, has found a new home this season at the “Will” linebacker position after playing defensive end in each of his first two campaigns in Columbia. You can still expect to see him causing havoc in the backfield some, after logging a school record 19.5 tackles for loss in 2007. After just 25 games in the Garnet & Black, Norwood ranks sixth on the school’s all-time list in career tackles for loss with 28.5, just 6.5 off the record total of 35 set by Andrew Provence. His 13.0 sacks ranks eighth on the all-time list and is halfway to Provence’s school record of 26.0.

NO PASSING FANCY

The Gamecocks featured one of the top pass defenses in the country last season and have all four secondary starters returning this year, including cornerbacks Captain Munnerlyn and Carlos Thomas, and safeties Emanuel Cook and Darian Stewart. The Gamecocks ranked first in the SEC and fourth in the country in passing defense in 2007, allowing just 168.75 yards per game through the air. They were also 12th in the nation in pass efficiency defense.

THE CAPTAIN OF THE DEFENSE

Junior Captain Munnerlyn is one of the SEC’s top cornerbacks. The 5-9, 185-pounder from Mobile, Ala. has made 15 starts over the past two seasons, recording five interceptions. In 2007, Munnerlyn was a first-team All-SEC selection by the league’s coaches and Rivals.com and was a second team selection by the Associated Press. He is a preseason first team pick by both the coaches and the media.

COOKIN’ WITH EMANUEL

Junior safety Emanuel Cook is also an all-conference performer in the Gamecock secondary. He is on the pre-season Thorpe and Nagurski Watch Lists after leading the team with 92 tackles a season ago. He was named to the 2007 All-MayDay team, as selected by ESPN’s Mark May, was a second-team All-SEC selection by both the coaches and the media in 2007.

SOPHOMORE SENSATIONS

The Gamecocks feel they have two of the best underclassmen in the SEC on the defensive line in defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboye and defensive end Cliff Matthews, a pair of sophomores. Ajiboye, a 6-1, 298-pounder from Riverdale, Ga., started 10 games as a true freshman, earning second team Freshman All-America honors by the Sporting News. He totaled 39 tackles including 3.0 sacks. Matthews, a 6-4, 259-pounder from Cheraw, S.C. made nine starts as a true freshman. Like Ajiboye, Matthews was an All-SEC Freshman selection last season. He earned honorable mention freshman All-America honors by the Sporting News while playing outside linebacker.

NEW COORDINATOR

Ray Rychleski takes over the duties as special teams coordinator for the Gamecocks in 2008. Rychleski has spent the past seven years as the special teams coordinator and tight ends/H-backs coach at the University of Maryland. Over the seven-year period Maryland had zero punts blocked, the longest streak in Division I-A football. His special teams units blocked 22 kicks and had eight returns for touchdowns in that seven-year stretch. In addition, Maryland led the country in kickoff return yardage defense in 2007, allowing just 16.56 yards per kickoff return.

SPECIAL SPECIALIST

Senior placekicker Ryan Succop is one of the top returning placekickers in college football. He is 29-for-39 in field goal attempts in his career (74.4 percent) and is 16-for-17 (94.1 percent) inside 40 yards… He has converted 22 of his last 26 attempts (84.6 percent) from inside 47. He has scored 161 points in his career, ranking 10th on Carolina’s all-time list..the 6-3, 221-pounder was an Associated Press honorable mention All-SEC selection and has earned SEC first-team preseason honors as a placekicker by the media and was a second-team selection by the coaches.. He was 13-for-17 in field goal attempts in 2007 with three of his four misses coming from at least 47 yards out (47, 48 and 50). His longest career field goal is a 55-yarder against Vanderbilt in 2006.

PASSING ON THE CHORES

Despite handling the punting chores in each of the last two seasons and earning second team preseason honors as a punter, Ryan Succop is slated to give up those duties this year to concentrate on placements and kickoffs. Sophomore walk-on Spencer Lanning and freshman Ryan Doerr have been battling for the number one spot during fall camp. Both could be used this season.