Aug. 26, 2011

The South Carolina football team did conditioning work on Friday afternoon before being given the rest of the weekend off by head coach Steve Spurrier.

The squad will return to the practice fields on Monday night, as they begin Game Week for the season opener, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3 in Charlotte against the East Carolina Pirates. The game is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Net, with Bob Rathbun calling the play-by-play, Tim Couch handling the analysis and Kristina Akra roaming the sidelines.

In preparation for the season, several Gamecocks have changed uniform numbers. Corey Addison has switched from 22 to 30; Joey Scribner-Howard will don number 49 rather than 46; Patrick Fish will wear number 85 instead of 15; Walker Inabinet has changed from 51 to 91; Zach Broome will wear number 83 instead of 85; and Ben Harvey has gone from 49 to 35.

In addition, four walk-ons have been added to the Gamecocks’ roster. The newcomers are Austin Hails, a 6-2, 215-pound freshman quarterback from Collinsville, Ill.; Josh Woods, a 5-10, 180-pound safety from Spartanburg, S.C. who graduated from Gaffney High School and was a walk-on at South Carolina State in 2009; Riley Gallaher, a 6-1, 175-pound freshman wide receiver from Apex, N.C., who attended Garner Magnet High School, the same school that produced former Gamecock Chris Culliver; and Jamal Hall, a 6-2, 216-pound defensive end from Ladson, S.C., who prepped at Fort Dorchester and played at Brevard College in 2009.