Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I #Gamecock USC hoping t last year's succ Expectations are I ^ high and the possibil- I ities are great for the I Gamecock football JJP % team. After capping off V a 6-5 1996 season with a 34-31 victory over S Clemson in Death Val- " * ley, the Gamecocks JBk look to keep the mo- $J0 mentum going this jS year. USC head coach ^^Brad Scott said after the Spring Game that ^Mpr. his team finally looks : like an SEC team. And team, you must have a solid defense. This year's group promises to be one of the tops in Senior linebackers Darren Ha the conference. The make a 8toP of the Carolina o Gamecocks return bling for a ^ ^ eight starters from a defensive squad looked lost. W 9 that finished 21st nationally last sea- Wright should 80n- He's at his be; Up front, sophomore end John Abra- tion, which S ham, senior end Selvesta Miller and se- spread out op] nior tackles Henry Taylor and Michael Wright sai< Maddox provide a strong group to help his pjay ^ y( stop the run, but need to develop a he has. consistent pass rush. ?, , T know wh A big part of the Gamecocks' defen- gajj ^now i sive scheme is to get senior linebacker about repe ^ Darren Hambrick to the ball. The senior |.he repetitior flies to the ball and is one of the hard- ondhand and est hitters around. Returning starter . Shane Burnham is a sure tackier and !j uf seems to be in the right spot at the right uldbe deva time. Sophomore Corey Atkins will like- though improv ly fill the other spot. Spring Game, "We're going to be strong," Hambrick 8 ?? 6f8 said. "A great defensive team always It become has a great corps of linebackers that lead . Wright] the group." mrapenenced tecting Anthor The secondary should be improved gon jje?g the 9 since three starters are returning. Ar- ^ moves ^ turo Freeman is a great all-around ath- ^ind of guys di lete with speed. Senior Lee Wiggins is full-contact bl a hard-hitter, and Ben Washington re- ? turns at strong safety. Junior college _,e Q s, transfers Homer Torrence and Kevin ( Brooks will vie for playing time at cor- 316 ve nerback. ments"Defensively, we've got a veteran . ^cot group," Scott said. "Even though we lost ^ as^e star three starters, I think the youngsters S weH replace them with will have the ca- Williams. Eai pability of stepping up." style ? Montz ; . , , , , ? ahead runnel Offensively, there s one element that south nirmpr, must remain constant if the Gamecocks ^on an(j want to be successful ? keep Anthony moving quick Wright healthy. The junior quarterback was incon- us ^ use som sistent last year. At times, he was spec- wb0 we probal tacular in reading defenses or scram ! | ?1 illH! ^ ,?9 BRYAN JOHNSTON Th Carolina head football coach Brad Scott talks to th earlier this week. He has been talking about ha |0Pentral Florida is with senior quarterback Culpepper at the helm of the team. SPOB l football: Let's I the gamecocks are ready to improv they prepare to do battle with divisio the golden knights were defeated las overtime, and lost to Carolina 33-14 ir stories by bryan johnsto o improve upon ( ess with bowl bid r il^^^KfJHiV HHp 111' ||||P: fRP BRYAN JOHNSTON The Gamecock imbrick (on left) and Shane Burnham (on right) get ready to iffense during practice this week. 3t down. Other times, he back on track. The other two starters ith a year under his belt, appear to be redshirt freshman Jermale g 1 be a lot better this year. Kelly and sophomore Kerry Hood. st in the shotgun forma- "Kerry Hood gives you the threat of cott likes to use to help a speedster, and he had a really good posing defenses. camp," Scott said. "Jermale has really [i i the biggest difference in impressed me and Zola has had a realjar will be the experience ly good camp, too." Other key targets for Wright will be at Fm doing now," Wright Calvin Owens and Ben Flemming. we ny reads a lot better. It s Tight end Jason Lawson broke his ?tit.inn nnn nncp vnn crot , , ' . ,? ^ b~v amae ana mignt miss tne enure season. bet is going, it becomes sec- Redshirt sophomore Trevon Matthews, his it gets a lot easier. wj10 one recepti0n for a touch- bej ;oes down for any time, it down against Tennessee, moves into the stating. Victor Penn, al- starting position, but he will be chal- ow dng and impressive in the lenged by Trey Pennington, who Scott CTe has yet to take a snap in moved from defensive end at the begin- we le. That could be costly, ning of the preseason. s very important [to pro- The offensive line will be just what gg( i the fact that we are very Scott wants ? large, strong, good and [ there," Scott said. "Pro- dependable. The tandem of All-SEC tack- ?j>^ ly will be a key to our sea- le Jamar Nesbit and guard Travis Whit- reg kind of guy who's shifty field return, as do center Paul Beckwith iund well. Usually those and guard Ed Hrubiec. Junior Andray on't take too many direct, Spearman will likely fill the right S11ows." tackle position. ^ leading rusher from a year Courtney Leavitt returns for the kickjy, is gone, but in his place ing duties. After a rocky debut, the Pa- wa rse and talented replace- rade High School All-American is ex- aea pected to handle both the punting and (aa t Moritz entered fall prac- field goal duties much better. ter?but will be challenged Through two weeks of preseason prac- ^ai 3 Troy Hambrick and Boo tice, Scott has been impressed with his ?C( ch has his own running team. rea , the dependable straight- ?0ur football team has responded r, Hambrick, the north- wen during our preseason practices. We with power and accelera- came back in excellent shape. We're a [jams, the specialist in very well-conditioned football team. Right :ly in and out of traffic. noW) we're a little bit stronger and leanlatDuce got injured forced er." e of the younger players The Gamecocks have the talent and tra 3ly wouldn t have started the experience to turn a few heads this ha' or played as season, but a tough schedule will demany reps, termine whether they head to a bowl __ Scott said game or not. "Duce was al After ODenin? ud against Central so our leau- ? ., ? , , , IP ing receiver Florida at home, USC takes to the road but all three t^ree tough games against Georof these guys ^ East Carolina and Mississippi State. can catch the Carolina must also travel to Arkansas ball coming mamm?th Neyland Stadium to out of the P^yTennessee. Ibackfield." Their two possibly toughest games S o p h o - ? Florida and Clemson ? are in the more Steve ^en(Uy confines of Williams-Brice Staturns at full- Carolina matches up physically with back. He's at all but two of the teams on their schedh i s best ule. Unfortunately, those two teams are blocking, but in the same division as the Gameis also a reli- cocks. Barring a miracle season, USC able pass will be battling for third place in the SEC catcher. East behind the Gators and Vols. Sophomore Despite the tough schedule, the Jacob Bush, Gamecocks have high hopes of returnwho s a full- jng postseason play for the first back in a time since 1994. linebacker's A, . ... -. , , J ii -ii , A lot of the Gamecocks success, acso see nlavirn? cording to D- Hambrick, will be deter^me mined by the leadership of the veterans. 1|J Junior Zo- "My mom always told me, Tou al1Q novia ?rill ways ^ enough chiefs, but not enough fe . , . . Indians.' You see, the seniors have to be oo o s ep the chiefs and the youngsters have got EsPi up is pro- to be the Indians," Hambrick said, jlll# I duction after pp.; I a sophomore Coach Scott and the Gamecocks have v &1 season that the pieces for one of the most sucwas less than cessful seasons Columbia has seen for e Gamecock reconj_iJreak. a time, and if all those pieces fall into j ing. He had a place, seven wins and a bowl bid aren't good spring out of the picture. Se Duante Prac^ce and But only time and an 11-gamesched- Ya appears to be ule will tell. ? i ITS i get ready to e on a solid 6-5 campaign as n i-a upstart central florida. t week by ole miss 24-23 in w/k l last year's season opener. n, sports editor Central Florida looking t aajor upset against the G # m nior wide receiver Zola Davis reaches above senior cornerback Lee ek. The Gamecocks will open the season on Saturday against Central 1 USC linebacker Shane Burnham has In a survey published in Into the in working out with and pounding on Knight, a publication similar to USC's i teammates since winter practices Spurs & Feathers, 105 of 193 (54 perjan. cent) UCF fans voting said UCF had the After nine months of hitting on his c^iance of upsetting the Gamecocks, n, Burnham is ready to take his ag- Tm not sure we played well enough issions out on someone who doesn't last year to gain their respect," Scott ar garnet and black. said. "Man, I'm so sick of hitting Paul Although this is the first game of the jckwith, USC center!, and Troy Ham- year for the Gamecocks, Scott and his ck ana scott ivioncz, curnnam saia. players are connaent 01 wnat tney will re had enough of those guys for the be sending on the field Saturday, t of my life. The Gamecocks return 16 starters "We've been competing against those from a squad that went 6-5 last season ya on offense since December and I'm and barely missed a bowl berth, idy to play someone else." The Golden Knights come into CoBurnham will get his wish Saturday lumbia after a heartbreaking, 24-23 overen the Gamecocks open up their 104th time loss to Ole Miss last weekend, ison of football against Central Flori- "Central Florida is a dangerous at 7 p.m. in Williams-Brice Stadium. team ? Scott said. "I think they proved "Our football team has prepared very that last Saturday night. They're a footrd," USC head football coach Brad ball team with a lot of capable and re>tt said. "We're excited about getting turning players." idy to play and we're eager to get our The Golden Knights also return 16 tson kicked off. . starters from last year's squad, none This is the second year in a row the more important than quarterback mecocks have opened their season Daunte Culpepper, linst UCF winning 33-14 last Sept. "Daunte is one of the more talented ^96- quarterbacks well face this year," Scott Despite the 19-point loss, the Cen- said. "He's a big, strong quarterback 1 Florida fans believe their Knights whose got a strong arm and works the ve a chance against USC. pocket well, so he's tough to sack." k - f * ?7" mm* x.' | BRYAN J0HNS1 nior runningback Scoit Morilz takes the ball during preseason prac me quality playing time last year when Duce Staley went down with a ter Spring Practice Moritz was named the starting tailback over sc imbrick and Boo Williams. They will run against Central Florida Saturi rumble o pull first amecocks ? wt Yfe k J * '-' f BRYAN JOHNSTON The Gamecock Wiggins during preseason drills this Florida. Culpepper threw for 2,565 yards and nine touchdowns last season. "He's a threat," Burnham said. "If J ix _x . 1_ 1 . . _ 1 you aon i stay m your rusn lanes ana you don't cover well, he can break the containment and beat you running the ball. "But at the same time, he doesn't have to do that if he doesn't want to. If you don't cover well, he can pick you apart with his arm." "He's going to be a great test for the secondary," free safety Arturo Freeman said. "He's real talented and has a strong arm. He's a great, great quarterback." Unfortunately for UCF fans, Culpepper is the only real threat for opponents. The offensive line is suspect and the receiving corps is only as good as the man throwing the ball to them. The news doesn't get much better in the backfield. Against the Rebels, UCF gained only 85 yards on the ground, 35 of which belonged to Culpepper. Defensively, the Knights gave up 370 yards of total offense to the Rebels, a foom fViof V?oa OAnoiofonflir konrt i^cuu uiai iicuj wiioiobciiujf iaxii icuuvcu toward the bottom of SEC offensive categories. The Gamecocks are hoping this will give them an opportunity to start the season off on the right foot. TJSC is a really good football team ________ and I really believe | they're going to be a conI tender in the South1 eastern Conference this ;JlHH year," Central Florida I coach Gene McDowell M said. "They've got their ^ I talent level up, and fl"' | flNljf I somebody better watch So the time has come 1 to put away the practice " helmets and jerseys and : to put on the game faces. v ? All of the practice and ; film watching can't prexzjk.' for what it's going to k 'm v be like out on the field, on^ fVioro'a oKi'oira fV?of E_._: | uixu uiuco cuttujo uiat little bit of doubt in their "You have to wonder whether all that work you did during two-adays and spring is going to work," Burnham said. "We've been working hard as a group, but maybe we've been fooling ourselves, but you never know." And that's why they play the games. -- Kerri WoodhamconroN The Gamecock tributed to this story tice. Moriu got Kickoffis set for 7 sprained ankle, p m af Williams-Brice iphomores Troy Stadium. day night.