Dec. 22, 2011

The University of South Carolina football team worked out twice on Thursday at the Bluff Road practice fields. The squad continues its preparations for the 2012 Capital One Bowl, which will match the 10-2 Gamecocks against the 9-3 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Monday, January 2 in Orlando, Fla.

Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Kyle Nunn was in practice gear and participated in both practices for the first time since late September. He has not played since the fourth game of the season due to a back injury. Wide receiver Bruce Ellington participated in both practices on Thursday after playing with the men’s basketball team on Wednesday night.

“We’ve been pretty good,” said senior defensive tackle Travian Robertson of the team’s mini-camp. “We’ve been doing a lot of running and getting in shape. I think we’re ready. We had a lot of distraction with Coach Johnson but Coach Ward and all the defensive coaches kept us together. We had a lot of distractions all year with Marcus (Lattimore) leaving, and Stephen (Garcia) gone, but I think we can overcome all of this. It’s a great opportunity for (Coach Johnson),” added Robertson. “We’re happy for him. We got to go out and play ball.”

The Gamecocks will practice once more on Friday morning before breaking for the Christmas holiday.