Aug. 18, 2009

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The University of South Carolina Gamecock football team worked out twice on Tuesday, hitting the Bluff Road Proving Grounds for about 90 minutes in the morning then for another two-hour stint in the evening hours.

“We had a pretty good practice tonight,” said head coach Steve Spurrier following the evening workout. “Some guys really were pretty good, some not so good, but that’s the way it usually is. We’ll scrimmage tomorrow night and hopefully make some progress. We still have a lot of questions – a lot of positions we’re not exactly sure, but we’re closing in on it.”

Coach Spurrier announced several walk-ons have earned scholarships for the 2009-10 school year. The list includes seniors John Guerry and Scott Spurrier, along with Darantzy Brunson, Stephen Flint, Cedrick Snead, Brandan Davis, Zac Brindise and Blake Baxley. “These guys have been rewarded for doing everything,” said Coach Spurrier. “We were able to put them on this year and use our scholarships that are available to us.”

Coach Spurrier also confirmed that Leon Mackey would not be joining the squad this fall. “He has not been cleared by the NCAA. The next option from what I understand is a prep school or a junior college. We’re hoping that will work out and he will be back. If it’s the prep school route, he’ll be back in January possibly.”

The Gamecocks will have a closed scrimmage at Williams-Brice Stadium on Wednesday. “We’re hoping Stephen Garcia can drop back, make some decisions and throw accurately. The defense is not going to play Eric Norwood. Cliff Matthews won’t play much. We’ll let the young guys play. We’ll continue working on running the ball and see if Stephen can hit some guys. He needs a lot of work.”

Wednesday’s practice is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, the first day of classes at the University, as well as on Friday, practice is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Saturday’s practice is slated for 11 a.m.