Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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By WHIto T. Smith II! Gam*cock Staff Writer As the football season draws closer, USC fans are getting more and more excited about the ?- * vjraniCTJWR. squaa, out with this year's schedule, the enthusiasm might be tempered. The schedule, especially the road games, will probably go down in history as one of the school's toughest. The Gamecocks will be tested i-_ - -- eany in wnat coach Jim Carlen has called the toughest opener in his coaching career in the North Carolina Tar Heels. Coach Dick Crum begins the second year at the Tar Heel helm with 11 starters back from last season. r i u Farr's w< By Michelle Burchette Q?m?cock Staff Writer In this day and age, waiting has become a very common experience. We wait in gas lines, at fast food counters, foi^Christmas and in the case of Quay Farr, USC's startinc oentpr a fnnr vp#r wait for a first string role in the year's upcoming football season. After playing second string behind Danny Clancy for three seasons, Farr will finally have the chance to show Carolina what he can do at center. Although the wait has been a frustrating one at times, Farr learned to accept it nnri nnw hp is <rlnri ho HiH "I'd say about my sophomore year I got frustrated., I mean I was a kid from a tomaU town and I wanted to play. Coach Carlen told me I'd just have to wait my turn," Farr explained. "He told me my fifth year would be MY year so I stuck it out. I thought about transferring at times, but I'm just glad I stayed around." THE FACT THAT Clancy graduated, leaving an opening at center and the promises made by Carlen are not the only reasons Farr landed a starting role. According to many sources, the P.E. major has improved vastly during spring practice. Farr attributes much of that improvement to the extra incentive derived from knowing he's not a back up anvmore. "When you begin to think that you're going to be first team it makes a difference," Farr explained. "Knowing that I'm coming back for my last year, and being from a small town, the fact that I'm going to get to play for a big university motivates me to play better. I care a lot more and I'm a little bit more dedicated." No matter what the reason, Farr has improved. The coaches know it and he knows it. "I think I've improved in about every phase, it's just working on each individual thing that I've got to do to play center," he added. UNFORTUNATELY, many football fans do not realize how much the job of a center entails. Precise blocking and pass protection are just as important functions of a center as snapping the ball. According to Fan*, the center also affects the type of plays called in some situations. "Sometimes on different plays I have to make a call to tell what kind of block we'll have on the line of scrimmage or sometimes I'll a- i-ll Uf ... 4UA mane a can 10 ten which way uic quarterback will go - - such as on a quarterback sneak," Farr said. "A center has to stay low because usually your best athletes on defense are your noseguards. And, this year I'm going to play against probably some of the best ones in thAnmntrv " ' vm!* A.-? M ' < to be te SEVEN REGULARS return on ' offense led by Amos Lawrence. The junior Ail-American candidate 5 nas gained over 1000 yards in each of his first two seasons. Other returning regulars on offense are guard Ron Wooten, tackle Steve Junkmann, and center Rick Donnally. Quarterback Matt Kupec and fullback Doug Paschal along with Lawrence complete an impressive backfield whirh should be the strength of the team. i The defense could be a weak spot < as only four starters return. The 1 defenders will be led by 1 linebackers Bill Curry and Darrell t Nicholson, Atlantic Coast Con- t ference rookie of the year. Tackle { Donnell Thompson (6-4, 260) heads an inexperienced front three. The C/^ ?x -ti ab 5 starting cenie lit finally r CONSIDERING HIS new role and the importance of the season ahead, Farr is surprisingly relaxed and unworried. The 6-2 235-pound lineman has a vast amount of confidence in Carolina's squad. "It's my last year and I'm here to play. We're going to win this year and I'm just glad I'm going to be a part of it," he said. For someone with so much responsibility however, a center seldom receives that public "thank you" for a job well done. For Farr, the excitement of playing the game is enough response to keep him interested. "I don't think any offensive linemen or center gets credit until he blows an assignment in front of 70,000 people," he said. "Credit to me is not important. I just want to play - that's credit enough." S ^ A ^ jjfc N - ^ HPS: Gamecock cent :sted c. secondary is also suspect. The Carlen crew opens its home schedule a week later against the m/octnrn " "* rnl ivuiviu itaivauguu diuiicus. ine Broncos return 16 starters from last season which should mean improvement. Some of the returning starters on offense are Bob Howard, Albert Little, Tim Slysdale, Craig Frazer, Tom Htenry, and Bud Sitko. The Bronco defense which *anked 14th nfltinnallu lac? cnnmn *wov ovaoun :ould be even better this season. Sric Manns is the team's anchor, tfe recorded a school record 186 ackles and ran for an 80 yard ouchdown with an intercepted >ass a year ago. Other standout See THE OPPONENTS, oeae 6A r ewarded Part of his confidence is sparked by the winning atmosphere present among the team members. "Everybody's playing well. We're starting to come together and look more like a team," Farr said. "If we don't win this year, w'll never win." This will probably be Farr's last year in football. Although he is not optimistic about a pro offer, if the chance to play professional ball ever came along he said that he would give it a serious consideration. "I'm not big enough size-wise to play and I really don't have any more ambition after playing college football, but if an offer came along I'd take the opportunity to play,"Farr stated. Currently Farr's long term hopes for the future are to teach and coach football at the high school level. Vv^^yMy-Sssy^ Jf$:-: '$5k-i : : : D>W Wob?oh ? OAMtCOCK er Quay Farr ?VjV.r; .v<r<\ ;vvr. ft arly in' Mississippi's Jim "Thunder final season at the premier nu form in Wil/iams-Brico Stadiun tome to town. Proveno WW v/l ??JH ? By David Wooten Gamecock Staff Writer For the past two seasons, the Carolina football team has been very fortunate to have a full-time organized strength coach supervising their training efforts. A Steve Wadiak Award winner while ! playing for Carolina during the 1977 season, Jerome Provence is the man primarily responsible for the vast improvement in team strength. A three-year starter on the offensive- line for the Gamecocks from 1975-77, Coach Provence rw???ivpH a Bachelor of Arts in P.E. in , 1978. His brother, Andrew Provence, from ?avannah, Georgia, will be one of approximately 20 freshmen participating on the varsity this fall. THE STRENGTH building program for a player at Carolina starts in January and lasts throughout the entire year. Until spring practice starts, every participant is required to lift three days a week, dividing his time between the Nautilus machine and free weight exercises. Each workout lasts about lVfe hours and covers a circuit of 911 different exercises. During the spring, the programs continue under the super vision of Coach Provence but are reduced to two days a week. The players are allowed to workout on an individual L979 1jfmj^ GAMECOCK STAFF PHOTO foot" Millor will be back for a ^j ' nier in zne nation, ne win peril on Oct. 20 when the Rebels e directs program 4 basis during the summer months. An example of the program's effectiveness since fhp nrrival nf Pno/?h Drmmnnn ?-V %? ?*? v* VVUV? A IVTVIIV^ two years ago is in the bench press. There were 19 players lifting in excess of 300 pounds during the 1977-78 season. The , 300 club now contains 41 | members, an impressive J V r. J&H Provence increase to say the least and a real tribute to Coach Provence and his hard-working players, A different conditioning procedure, featuring a regular lifting routine during the season itself, will be initiated this fall. Coach Provence adds, "Hopefully this will help us stay stronger throughout the entire season instead of i wearing down as in the past. This fall we will field a team stronger than any team we p!?y" J