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Kickoff _ 1 6 Friday, September 26, 1986 d V r MrrnfY?? i " _!"? U _ _ I ricsn Don't shed oni/ fnorn iM ?By Tracy Mixson ? . You've got to feel a little sotry for Pat Turner. Once a highly recruited prep star at Cherokee High School, the USC redshirt freshman has had to play backup to a quarterback even better than himself. Turner was recruited almost as hcavilv as the Gamecocks' No. 1 QB, Todd Ellis, who was regarded as one of the top prep prospects two years ago. Since then, the Canton, Ga., native has taken a sideline scat to Ellis and has played only seven downs in USC's first three games. So it's easy to understand why the man who so desperately wants to play resorted to such a desperate measure ? quitting. Whi1i? llw rr?cf nf fhr? Wf?rr? f?n invinw their open date last week, Turner spent most of his vacation packing his bags and traveling the roads between Columbia and Canton. He left for "personal reasons." If you were a pretty good quarterback who never got to play, you'd take it personally, too. tint nni> (lav after nntifvino thn of hie flrri sion, the 18-year-old changcd his mind. It was only a matter of hours before he was back in Gamecock territory and reinstated on the depth chart as IJSC's No. 2 quarterback. Was Turner's move a grandstand play for more attention and playing time? Probably. Did it work? Unfortunately, the answer again is probably. The Gamecocks, having invested two years of scholarship funds into their prodigal son, welcomed Turner back with open arms and will again no matter how many times he calls it quits. Meanwhile, the coaches arc going to try to act as if the incident never happened. In fact, at his weekly press conference, head coach Joe Morrison refused to discuss the matter in depth. Turner returned because he felt "an obligation to (his) teammates, the program and the fans of South Carolina." But how many fans want a quitter for their starting quarterback.' I urner himselt admits his decision was "hasty," but actually, it was timed perfectly. With the open date, he wouldn't miss a game, and he'd get the attention usually reserved for game coverage. It was just enough time for him to shop around for other universities in need of a quarterback, and for USC to notice he was gone. Granted, this situation hasn't been easy for Turner. He's a strong quarterback with talent that's being wasted. Me s been plagued by injuries since he came to USC, including one that cost him his shot at being No. 1. And the only time he gets attention is when he quits. It's been said the Gamecocks recruited Turner as an insurance policy in case the team couldn't land Ellis. When the university won them both, it was Ellis who got the attention, the press and the starting call. So you've got to feel a little sorry for Pat Turner. But only a little. Georgia on hi: Hart wants to By JOHN BOYETTE ! Managing editor i Roy Hart will have something to prove [ when USC takes on the Georgia Bulldogs i Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. I Hart, a junior nose guard, has undergone I a lot since his high school days in Tifton, Ga. ' And most of his troubles can he traced hack j to the University of Georgia. ; In the third game of the 1984 season, gap against the Bulldogs, Hart was put out for -4* the rest of the season when he went down at I * . , _ r _ r- . . I ti me enu 01 tnc nrsi quarter wmi a Knee in- si jury. That was the year USC went 10-2 and j played against Oklahoma State in the Gator j Bowl, losing 2114. i But what hurt even worse than the injury [ was being snubbed by the Bulldogs during recruiting time in high school. In fact, none ijgji of the neighboring schools paid attention to Hart, except for the Gamecocks. "Being in Georgia and not being recruited by the University of Georgia or the other colit :i urf.il thinu ffi me ! wuc Sft chosen to come play for the University of South Carolina," Hart said. Not Part of the reason Hart may not have been recruited by the Bulldogs was the fact that M; three of his former teammates went to Ha Georgia and didn't get much playing time. Also, Hart weighed only 205 pounds at the it ; time, which is considered small for a defen- we sive lineman. Nowadays, Hart weighs a rec healthy 245 pounds and stands six feet tall. wr Based on his past experiences with the sai Bulldogs, it's easy to see why Hart is looking forward to Saturday night's contest. He tin ttiKk?vl liiw! v/<?:tr \ iv.iint1 h/w "i i I w? viyiic n/\t t/?' on the football team due to academic on suspension. Hi "for me it will be one ot the biggest ball l o games of my career," Hart said. "Two years ag ago, I got put out ot the Georgia game. It tlx started the downfall of me and it was a long bv road back. Now that I'm back, this is one of the main games I am looking forward to soi playing on the schedule." UJ Missing all of the fun of the "Black i USL preps By TRACY MIXSON Kickoff editor j* Vincc Doolcy is an optimist. * Georgia dropped a last-second deci- f sion to Clenison Saturday, but the Bulldog's head football coach believes good things can come from ^ bad situations. He hopes to use the ^ loss as an incentive to win when H Georgia takes on USC Saturday at V Williams-Brice Stadium. "I certainly hope we can get H something good out of the loss," he ^ said. "I think it's going to be difficult I to play two emotional games back-to- j back, but we're going to have to if we j want to win." Georgia, 1-1, lost 31-28 at nome to the Tigers on a last-second field goal. i Dooley said the Bulldog defense had ^ trouble with Clemson, and could have an even tougher time with the Gamecocks. ** "We know we've got to play better || defense this week," he said. "If we i couldn't stop Clemson's option of- I fense, we'll have an even harder time ! trying to handle South Carolina and that run and shoot offense. "South Carolina has a good, | balanced run and pass attack, and i we're terrible against both." ! Doolcy said he's seen the passoriented run and shoot offense several times in the past, against Florida, Vandcrbilt and California. But none showed as much promise as USC, he said, led by freshman redshirt Todd Ellis. i Ellis has completed 46 of 89 passes for 627 yards, four touchdowns and yj seven interceptions. "I haven't seen anyone throw the fi ball as well as he (Ellis) does, and I'm really impressed with the speed of it their running backs," Dooley said. G "We're going to have to do a lot of fc adjusting on defense, particularly fi changing from an eight-man front to U one that spreads out all over the tl "-Gamecock Thoughts--? t> minrl il 91111111 prove himself t se guard Roy Hart is back on the right track and I Jgic" season in 1(>K4 was also hard on irt. "Knowing I was supposed Jo he a part of uid seeing the guys have tun week in and ek out, and I'm sitting around trying to :over from a knee injury and also a broken ist, it was really a big disappointment," he d. So tar this season, I lart has become one of ; leaders on defense for IJSC. l or the ison. Hart has a total of nine tackles with e quarterback sack for a loss of two yards. is also credited with one caused fumble, 'i his efforts in US("s 45-24 victory ainst Western Carolina, Hart was tabbed Ciamecocks' defensive player of the week head coach Joe Morrison. lint Hurl rrali/es the (lamecocks have me work to do on defense. In three games, >( has given up 88 points. Hart pointed out that USC has given up ires to tai wV^/wflHBli'm *' m ^ M . - . iy_ >C free safety Greg Philpot hopes the Gamec eld." USC head coach Joe Morrison said will be "interesting" to see how corgia adjusts to the Gamecock ofrnsc. Two teams have already gured Carolina out, as Miami beat SC 34-14 Aug. 30 and Virginia won if. novi utooi m in f we just got ^2 the fundamen- E '* i,? mL r o Bulldogs if *mV ^Pn^A^ffyr^| y I , . DAVID DOTSON/The Garr leading the pack. only 34 points in the second half of the games, which he feels is a step in the direction. "We're just going to have to he disciplined," lie said. "We can't i mistakes that other teams can capitaliz We have been making mistakes and g up points in the first and second quart Mart said a victory against the Hull could go a long way towards makinj 1986 campaign a successful one. "It would mean a great deal to me only from the personal but from the viewpoint, 10 neai me ijiiivcimi) Georgia," he said. "It would mean a bij naround in our program. Instead of the saying, 'Hey, this is the Universit Cieorgia, they've got tradition,' we si beat them. It's a matter of evalu yourself and giving all you've got." I ckle mad flHHHHI ock defense can perform better than it did i jP REVIEW I While Georgia was fighting it out with Clemson, the Gamecocks en feii "We feel that we had a ^ good week of work durm ing our open date. We B didn't spend all our time W on Georgia or anyone else. Our main concern is V improvinn ourselves." h? Joe Morrison USC head coach Georgia too in last mee1 From staff reports It was a day of penalties, juries and missed opportuni as USC's football team fell Georgia 35-21 in Athens, Ga. the Gamecocks' last nieei against the Bulldogs Sept. 1985. rBoth teams combined for penalties for minus 198 yard? f but Georgia made the most J USC's miscues, while I. ? couldn't seem to capitalize. *1 Although the Gamecocks' ] ; * formance wasn't good enougl lJU pull out a win, head coach iHH Morrison n^vert hrlf?c?; tnnW i optimistic outlook about the mainder of the team's season "I think we're young and w bound to make mistakes," said. "But I believe we'll impr as the season goes along." USC proceeded to finish season with a 5-6 record. Hodge, others M ,.ck xo miss game Defensive end David Ho three reinjured his ankle earlier right week and will miss USC's gi against Georgia Saturday. / r. sidelined arc special te< make member Joe Todd (km c on. linebacker Carl Hill (knee) iving wingback Hardin Bro ers> (dislocated finger). ido^ U5U averages no, 60 Gamecocks team The Gamecocks arc avcra ' of 60 players per game through t Stur- first three contests, with the guys mark of 67 against Wes y of Carolina and a low of 55 vc lould Miami. ating Anthony Smith leads Gamecock rushers with 248 y on 47 carries. Nine more pit) r Dawgs if ^?B|g|gfea DAVID DOTSON/The Gamecock n its 30-20 loss to Virginia. joyed the week off and spent the open date for getting back to the basics and preparing for the Bulldogs. "We worked on our basic offensive and defensive schemes," Morrison saw. we spent a 101 01 ume worKing on blocking, tackling, running and throwing the football. It sounds sim- J y pie but the basics arc what win you football games." Morrison said the coaching staff, . expanded the Gamecocks' offensive ; package with several more formations ; and running plays, and also added more coverages on defense. Still, the coach said Georgia should be harder to beat than ever after the loss to Clemson. ''Ptpnrnia'c cif itQtinn ic cimilcir tn * ours after the Virginia loss," he said. 1 The Gamecocks proceeded to beat Western Carolina, 45-24, Sept. 13. "Their (the Bulldogs') pride is hurt, and they'll be raring to go. It should be a good, aggressive ballgame." Originally scheduled for 7 p.m., kickoff time has been changed to 7:45 p.m. on ESPN. k advantage . m m . m ting at Athens tics j^OTES___ ting 28> __j have caught passes, with Sterling 25 Sharpe leading the way with 16 > ? receptions for 151 yards and of three touchdowns. f ? tx-teammates IT,ro now 'enemies' J oe an Several Gamecocks and Bulldogs re_ have high school ties. USC defensive end Derrick Little and e're wingback Carl Piatt were high jlc si'iiuui it'ctiuiiiiiics oi oeorgia ove split end David Dukes at Athens' Clarke Central. tjie Gamecock defensive end Derrick Frazier, a junior college transfer from Atlanta, is the first L ' cousin of Bulldog flanker Fred Lane. In addition, Georgia tight ends ; coach Ray Goff was a member of ; dge USC's coaching staff from this 1978-80. 1 imc ; USC-UGA series and is 93 years old j w n The Gamecock-Bulldog series dates hack to 1894 when Georgia ? blanked USC, 40-0, Nov. 3 in . C' Columbia. It was the second | football game in Gamecock ; history. ging Georgia has built a cointnanheir dint 31-7-2 series edce over the high years. In games played in Colum- , tern bia, the Bulldogs are 11-4-2. ; rsus They're 19-3 in games played in Athens, and 1-0 in a contest V tunc played in Augusta, Ga. ards Georgia has won five of the lyers last six games against USC. >