Aug. 7, 2010

Preseason Practice Central | Buy Season Tickets

The University of South Carolina football squad worked out in full pads for the first time during fall camp as the squad practiced Saturday night at the Bluff Road practice fields. A good crowd was on hand for the final scheduled open practice of the fall.

“The offensive line did not jump offside tonight,” said head coach Steve Spurrier following the workout. “It might have been the first time we’ve had a complete practice without one of them with a false start so that was encouraging. Hopefully we can do it again tomorrow and the next day. Other than that, it was a pretty good practice, a lot of enthusiasm,” the Head Ball Coach continued. “Hopefully the fans had a good time. We appreciate them coming out. We believe you ought to open (the practices) up for at least a week, then we’ll close up like most of the other schools do now.”

The best hit of the night came when freshman running back Marcus Lattimore bulldozed D.J. Swearinger at the goal line. It was a bit of revenge for Lattimore, as he took a solid hit from Swearinger earlier in the week that got the defense aroused. “D.J. said, `he got me, coach. I wasn’t quite ready for it.’ I said he wasn’t quite ready for yours the other day. It was two good hits. No big deal. It’s all over with.”

Tight end Weslye Saunders had a good night on Saturday. “Weslye caught everything tonight,” said Coach Spurrier. “Weslye is in better shape than he’s ever been. He’s got a lot better attitude. He’s catching the ball very well. He could be a big target for us and a big help.”

The Gamecocks will host their annual Media Day on Sunday afternoon, with the players taking the field at Williams-Brice Stadium at 2:45 p.m. Coach Spurrier will address the media in a press conference, which will be streamed live on Gamecocksonline.com beginning at approximately 3:30 p.m. Check back to the Gamecocks’ official website for the link. Requested players and assistant coaches will be available for interviews beginning at 4 p.m. The squad will practice at 5:15 p.m. That practice is closed, with the exception of the first 15 minutes for the media.

Coach Spurrier indicated that the first scrimmage of the fall will take place Tuesday morning. The squad will have morning practices each day from Monday through Friday, August 9-13, beginning at 8:30. Other scrimmages are set for August 14, 18 and 21.