Sept. 5, 2011

The University of South Carolina football team began Monday night’s practice at the Bluff Road “Proving Grounds” but had to finish at the indoor facility as rain swept through the Columbia metropolitan area. It was the Gamecocks first practice since their 56-37 win over East Carolina on Saturday. Carolina will travel to Georgia to face the Bulldogs Saturday night in a 4:30 p.m. contest that will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Following Monday’s practice, defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said that cornerback Akeem Auguste did not practice tonight, but is expected to practice on Tuesday. Auguste was not on the travel roster for the season opener as he continues to rehab an injured left foot.

Junior DeVonte Holloman will be back with the squad this week after sitting out the opener. Holloman is listed second on the depth chart at the Spur position behind Antonio Allen. “He’ll play Spur and the “dime” linebacker spot in the dime package,” said Ward of Holloman. “If you play as many plays as we did this past Saturday we’re going to need more than Antonio. DeVonte will have a chance to play.”

Ward has not lost any confidence in the play of cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who surrendered a couple of long passes on jump balls. “It was not up to par as far as his standards,” admitted Ward. “I fully expect Stephon to bounce back and have a great ball game this week. It came down to technique. He knows he made a mistake. He knows what he has to do. Stephon’s got to be a positive for this team if we’re going to be good. D.J. (Swearinger) is the same way. If we’re going to be good in the secondary, those two got the most experience, they’ve got to play well.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Tuesday afternoon at 4:15 p.m.