April 7, 2015

The University of South Carolina football team began its final week of spring ball on Tuesday afternoon at the new practice fields. It marked practice No. 13 of the allotted 15 spring practice sessions.

We’ve seen a lot from a lot of these players that haven’t played much at all, especially on offense,” said head coach Steve Spurrier of his assessment of the spring. “The defense has a lot of the players, especially the linebackers, that are going to play next year. We’ve got a lot of players coming in this summer and got a lot of players hurt, so this is not our team by any means. The spring game will be a lot of players who have not played very much out there having a go at it. Hopefully no one will get hurt, we’ll score a couple touchdowns and keep everything pretty simple. That’s the goal there. Spring practice is only four weeks, but the summer is two and a half months,” continued Coach Spurrier. “So that’s more important probably time-wise than just the four weeks of spring ball. But we’ve gotten quite a bit done. I think it’s been productive.”

“I think we’re still a work in progress,” said linebackers coach Kirk Botkin. “We’re trying to get better each and every day. We’re concentrating on fundamentals, which is the biggest thing. I know we’ve got a bunch of guys (injured) right now, but we’re going out there and trying to coach our best with the guys we’ve got.”

It’s simple what Coach Botkin and the rest of the coaching staff is looking for in Saturday’s scrimmage. “Guys playing hard, doing their assignment, making plays when the opportunity arises. The biggest thing, I call the little things – alignment, stance, technique and where your eyes are, reading your keys, doing your job. That’s the biggest thing we’re trying to do with these kids in the spring.”

Coach Botkin is looking for more consistency from his unit. “It’s been kind of up-and-down this spring,” admitted Botkin. “Some guys have done some good things. They’ve all done good things, they’ve all done bad things. We just need a little more consistency out of them.”

The Gamecocks will work out once more on Thursday before wrapping up the spring with the annual Garnet & Black Spring Game on Saturday, April 11. That contest is scheduled for noon at Williams-Brice Stadium and admission is free. The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network + with Dave Lamont and Booger McFarland in the booth and Kaylee Hartung working the sidelines. Several of the Gamecock athletic programs will be introduced at halftime, along with those players on hand who played for Coach Spurrier over the last 10 years at South Carolina, as part of a reunion weekend, which includes a reception on Friday. In addition, Coach Spurrier will present the annual spring football awards at the intermission of Saturday’s contest.