Aug. 21, 2014

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – A hot and muggy afternoon on the first day of fall semester classes greeted the South Carolina football team as they worked out for about two hours at the Bluff Road practice fields.

Running back Mike Davis returned to practice on Thursday, but offensive lineman Cody Waldrop remains sidelined with a sore oblique muscle.

“Cody Waldrop will be back Saturday morning,” predicted offensive line coach Shawn Elliott. With Waldrop sidelined, Will Sport has been playing right guard with Clayton Stadnik at center. “When Cody gets back, Cody will go to right guard and get some reps there. Will Sport has done a really good job,” continued Elliott. “He’s had as good of camp as anybody we’ve had up front for us. He was in the mix to play the center position. Will could probably start at center for us. He’s had a really good camp. He’s come a long way, one of the more improved players we’ve had since spring. He’s carried it on this summer and into fall camp. I’m pleased with him.”

Defensively, the Gamecocks have put most of their gameplan in for Texas A&M. “The concern is making sure that we all know what we’re doing and we play fast next Thursday,” said defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward. “We started preparing for A&M about four days ago, so we’ve shown them just about 98 percent of the stuff that they do and we’re getting familiar with it.”

Coach Ward has been impressed by linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams, who is expected to see significant playing time this season, but he is not the only one who has caught the defensive coordinator’s eye. “We’ve got a lot of freshman that have been impressive, especially for all the stuff we do on defense. We’ve got a lot of young guys that came into college ready to play.”

The Gamecocks will take Friday off before beginning game week preparations for Texas A&M on Saturday.