Aug. 25, 2010

Preseason Practice Central | Buy Tickets

The South Carolina Gamecocks worked out for about two hours Wednesday afternoon in full pads at the Bluff Road practice fields. The Gamecocks are now just eight days away from the season opener, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 2 against Southern Miss.

“We had a pretty good practice today,” said head coach Steve Spurrier following the workout. “A lot of snaps, a lot of throws and runs. It was a pretty good practice we thought.”

“Optimism is pretty good. But we have to do it when it counts,” continued the Head Ball Coach. “Talking about it doesn’t always mean much around here. We’re just waiting to prove ourselves next Thursday night and see if we are a pretty good team.”

Coach Spurrier announced that Ladi Ajiboye and Spencer Lanning have been named team captains, along with returning captains Cliff Matthews and Patrick DiMarco. “We’ve got a good group of leaders. These captains have demonstrated some excellent leadership through the summer.”

Coach Spurrier also confirmed that the candidates to start at quarterback are down to two. “(Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw) are both going to play (in the opener). Connor and Stephen got about all the snaps today. It’s down to two. They’re going to get about all the snaps the rest of the year, barring injury.”

The Gamecocks have revised their practice schedule for the final week leading up to the season opener. They will take Thursday off and return to the practice fields on Friday at 4 p.m.

Here’s the week’s practice schedule:

Thursday, August 26 – Day Off

Friday, August 27 – 4 p.m.

Saturday, August 28 – 6:15 p.m.

Sunday, August 29 – 6:15 p.m.

Monday, August 30 – 7 p.m.

Tuesday, August 31 – 4:15 p.m.

Coach Spurrier’s first weekly press conference will be held at noon on Tuesday, August 31 in the media room, located on the west side of Williams-Brice Stadium.