March 28, 2015

The University of South Carolina football team moved into Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday morning, where the squad held its first scrimmage of the spring. The Gamecocks have reached the midway point of their spring drills, as eight of the allotted 15 practices have been completed.

The Gamecock offense focused on the passing game for much of Saturday’s scrimmage, with the quarterbacks combining to complete their first 14 passes. The quartet of Connor Mitch, Perry Orth, Michael Scarnecchia and Brendan Nosovitch finished the day 22-of-33 for 233 yards with one interception. The only turnover in the game came when freshman linebacker Jalen Henry intercepted a pass from Mitch. Redshirt freshman tight end Jacob August was the top receiver with five catches for 44 yards.

“We came out and let the quarterbacks pitch it around a little bit,” said head coach Steve Spurrier following the scrimmage. “I was hoping all of them would get at least 10 throws. The receivers did pretty well. We still had several drops. The guys caught some and dropped some too. I don’t think anybody got hurt, which is always a priority when we scrimmage. The O-line did ok. We had some protection issues early. I think six offensive linemen played the whole scrimmage. They went the distance and hung in there pretty good,” noted the Head Ball Coach. “The defense did some good things here and there. Overall, it was pretty good I thought for the offensive guys.”

“There were some good things and some things we’ve got to get better at (on the defensive side of the ball),” said co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke. “We’re still not as clean as you’d like to be. I thought the effort for the most part was getting better to what we’re looking for. We’ve still got a ways to go. We’re always going to be about assignment, alignment, technique and key,” added Hoke. “Those four things are going to drive us. We want to make sure we understand what we’re doing, what are alignments are going to be, what our technique is, and how well we can read our key.”

Hoke indicated that most of the defense has been installed. “Now it’s an opportunity for us to keep getting reps, and reps and reps,” said Hoke. “We’re looking forward to that.”

Hoke identified newcomer Marquavius Lewis and the linebacking corps as standouts in the early part of camp. “The whole group has really done a good job overall,” said Hoke. “For (Lewis) being his first time being here, he fits.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Tuesday, March 31. That practice will be open to the public.

SCORING PLAYS:

David Williams 1-yard run (Elliott Fry kick)

Elliott Fry 23-yard field goal

PASSING:

Perry Orth 7-9-0-80; Connor Mitch 6-11-1-74; Michael Scarnecchia 9-12-0-72; Brendan Nosovitch 1-1-0-7. TOTALS: 23-33-1-233.

RUSHING:

Rod Talley 2-14; Devin Potter 2-6; Shon Carson 1-5; Brendan Nosovitch 1-5; David Williams 2-2; Brandon Wilds 1-1; Darius Paulk 2-0; Rondreas Truesdale 1-(-1); Perry Orth 1-(-4); Michael Scarnecchia 2-(-12); Connor Mitch 2-(-16). TOTALS: 17-0.

RECEIVING:

Jacob August 5-44; Deebo Samuel 2-29; Matrick Belton 2-29; Shamier Jeffery 2-19; Terry Googer 2-19; Rod Talley 2-17; Carlton Heard 1-23; Shon Carson 1-16; Shaq Davidson 1-13; Clayton Stadnik 1-10; Devin Potter 1-9; Darius Paulk 1-7; David Williams 1-0; Kevin Crosby 1-(-2). TOTALS: 23-223.