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? 'Abraham looking t< solid freshman cam NATHAN BROWN Senior Writer perPrep, and led his team in tackles and quarterback sacks. Straight out of high school, John Abra- Not only was Abraham sucham surprised many people with his out- cessful in football, but also in ^K^mding performance during the 1996 track, when he became the Wxjtball season. region's 100 and 200-meter n 11 , champion. In addition to footHaymgmaU llgames,mthonlyone m ^ Abraham was ^ footWl mi- basketball der his belt, No. 95 led the team with four . - - sacks, tackled the opposition 12 times, or our pressured the quarterback eight times, Making the transition from recovered a fumble, had two tackles for high school to college athletics a loss and blocked a punt. was easy for this Timmonsville native * For his exemplary defensive efforts, Abraham was awarded the Scott Sinclair "1 couldn't really say it was Newcomer Award. a big change for me because I 0- More recently, at the end tf spring 2 T^ttecoadung[staff seteted Abra- -So coU^e normal for me. I ham as the Most Improved Defensive End. reauvle^edhowtoDiavfoo1> The^nareapnnggame.Abrah^ ,her demonstrated his talent by nnisli" school" ing the contest with four tackles (one for a loss) and half a sack. Deciding on which college l? . ? j. A1 , , to attend was an even simAlter spending one yea- asAbraham a plertaskftrttKmili.mamKred | coach, Defensive Coordinator Wally Burnhamseesquiteabitofpotentialinthe6 r am' 4,234-pound sophomore. "1 wanted to stay in-state, so it w ?T , , ? ,.l it ClemsonorUSC," Abraham said. [Ich( donn can oe a reauy gooa iootoaii USC because] I felt better with coach So Playerif he k^ps working and doing the ^ coach West. I felt coach Scott wor % uiphesste^todo BrnTihamsaid. me He s a great.pass rush technique guy. He's got to be strong with the run and . I*1 the USC/Clemson game star keep learning the game. If hell do that out as the most memorable event so 1 he'll be a really good football player." hi his short career. Abraham seems destined to be a good "The whole team got together ai football player. In his only and last sea- stomped the tiger paw, Abraham sa son at Lamar (S.C.) High School, Abra- "It was my first year, and I had a sack ham was chosen the region's Defensive that game. Having the opportunity Player of the Year, was all-state and play for USC on scholarship is h all-region, named to the Superprep Top greatest accomplishment, Abraham sa 30 squad from South Carolina, was ranked "No one can ask for more than to ? s the No. 16 prospect in the state by Su- in school for free and getting along Bryan Johnston USC Tenn. Fla. St Homer Simpson % AchimHunt USC Tenn. Fla. St Krusty the Clown Chris Dixon UCF UCLA USC Wayiand Smithers 0 Kelly Maguire USC Tenn. Fla. St > 5 Lisa Simpson Rosalind Harvey USC Tenn. Fla. St Moe die Bartender FOOTBALL 5EC West | j-i | Champion 1-3 U SEC East Tpnn 0 Champion lt=l 11 5EC Champion Tenn. Champfcn Coppin ! Gamecock y Record ' arkhorse UNC Heisman Peyton Mannini ' > Winner Tennessee Heisman Ore1 Bly Hopefuls # of Clemson n t Convicts " m graph.c by j|jniar Bryan Johns SPORTS j build on 2001: It inmom Carolin | KELLY MAG a As a member of the c freshman and Columbia n very fortunate to attend the past two decades has state firmly, and with pr a Gamecock. Dr. Mike McGee has ir Carolinians a yearning before this time. First, Brad Scott was 1 Ikj Scott's fast-paced offense first bowl victory against Next came Eddie Foj m demt mk Fogler brought with - I,..ed coaching staff, who 1 9? Gamecocks to the SEC quickly as I have for playing only one year Of course, one cannot 38 of high school football," Abraham said. Tanner, from N.C. State >se aT, . , , r , . ... ? is improving the Game M I m just proud of making it to college team; but also helped c lid on a scholarship. U.S. Olympic baseball te His career plans include, "a pro ca- This is an writing tin Lds reer, but if it doesn't work out, hopeful- letics. :ar ly I can get a nice job somewhere," Abra- Gamecock fans hav ham .said. "Mv mle-model is mv mom. She much excitement since < ig a very hard worker and the strongest Black Magic era or the f woman I know." era" m ... ,. Gamecock fans are to Acting on his mother's lead, Abraham arena or field, spending t lis could be one of the strongest defensive the cold to get that spe< ^ ends in the SEC this year. During the crying for joy when the G be season, Abraham wants to "strike some I the Tigers. as fear in a couple of people's hearts." I should know, I've b Being a Gamecock is ? It means coming horn 4 B Af M early to watch USC wii game, staying up late basketball team destroj BB BBIIIillli Wildcats on their Senior ing Clint Mathis play fo UNC Furman certeam' Most importantly, bei means showing up at tl port, after a big loss, and athletes. UNC Furman To be a Gamecock, c for perfection and savoi we're all human and if ? All USC students are Indiana Neither here at a time when the department is on the ri; uvery year, memDei receive All-SEC honors T TXI(n c r j formation of Team Gam UNC Samford letes are not only givi: school, but to the como jn Jajjjaj. Nes to the CFA Good Works UNC Flirman or only ll players in the: Additionally, Paul Beckw ber of the SEC Good Wori . FORElAE L5U 'BAM Tenn. U5C LSU 'BAM St. F5U Penn 8-3 8-1 IJIMC Texa 3 Peyton Manning Peyton Mar Tennessee Tennessc re' Bly Anthony W UNC U5C 7 13 iton Ace Hunt Nathan Br ;'s more than some ) o f a s newest crop or I uiRE | [IHHHm lass of 2001, a S lative, Tve been I many athletic last 18 years. cs succeed over enabled me to ide, I'm finally istilled in South unbeknownst Drought in from i football team. 3 lead to USC's ; West Virginia ?ler from Vanl him a talentiead the 1996r^orY\niAnoViin viicuiipiuiiiaiiip. t leave out Ray i, who not only icock baseball oach the 1996 jam. leforUSCathe not felt this Joe Morrison's 'rank McGuire flocking to the ;he night out in rial ticket, and |J| ^I ramecocksbeat flv&jJI een there. 10 special to me. e from school 1 its first bowl |L \ 4 gin to watch the KwmB the Kentucky II m^V -j* Day, or watch- ^ 1 r the U.S. Soc ine must strive r it, but realize 1 OK to fail. On Saturday the Gamecocks will run c lucky that we're c'a8S ?f 2001 enrolled at USC. 1 1 entire athletic their entrance because USC's bicentir je was started by Joe Morrison in 1983. rs of our teams The trio of Larry Davis, BJ McKie j, and with the ^ Kelvin Watson received first team 5 ecocks, the ath- All-SEC awards for their outstanding p ng back to the piay during the 1996-97 basketball seaaunity as well. son. Likewise, Trinity Johnson was SEC v bit was named Player of the Year, and an All-Ameri- ? i team, an hon- can. c nation received. With this high caliber of athletes, p nth was a mem- h usc ? ks team in 1995. ' = HIKhb Staff Reports For the first time in South Caroli- w na school history the Gamecocks haved I Mk sold out their entire home schedule, q | i nose games inciuae tne season opener against Central Florida, Auburn, Q] homecoming against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, national champion Florida, and i arch-rival Clemson. ^ With'the recent expansion to ^ ' Williams- Brice Stadium the new ca- w parity is not 80,250 fans. A Younger ] ready to st Staley at run JASON HARVEY Special to the Gamecock n (tl When the Philadelphia Eagles selected tl Duce Staley in the 1997 NFL draft, a T very important piece of the offensive puz- P zle was taken away from the USC football team. SThe first-team All-SEC selection led ^ the conference in rushing with a 124 yards j, per game average, despite battling a nagging ankle injury. ^ a ininc But with the passing of Staley, a new era is born. A trio of gifted running backs await ^ their opportunity to write their names in to the Carolina history books. Among ngtlt them, a 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore by s< the name of Troy Hambrick, who brings fi with him both power and breakaway tj speed. t] This makes for a deadly combination. "Troy is a big back with intense pow- t< er who absolutely loves the game," head ^/football coach Brad Scott said. ^ . ' As a senior in high school, he compiled so OWr 1,731 yards, with 36 touchdowns. He was pr old song for 1 L ttnn ntvi avi i tollmen i _ yL IKk mL ' i jfl B^fl ^B^Qrey^H^naKIK^II ^EjS # 3k L File Photo >ut to 2001 for the first time with [lie Gamecocks use that song for lal will be in 2001. The tradition Finally, I wish to leave the class of 5001 with some advice on what to ex>ect on Sept. 6. The stadium, the crowd and the band vill be the equivalent of a sonic boom, ind when the clock winds down and 2001 :omes on, scream for your class and be iroud to be a part of USC ? "this is the itufiflife is made of." Last year the Gamecocks ranked wenth nationally in home attendance ith just under 80,000 fans per game. The largest crowd last year was eorgia which drew 82,950 fans. These sellouts will only remain selluts pending Student Ticket Distribuon and Opponent Ticket Sales. This once again is the first time that hVlrofa Katrn Kaon caI^I rmf fn oil UVUVW UUTV WVU OU1U WUK w uu ome games. Season ticket sales ere also up 5 % this year. Etambrick ;ep in for mingbaek amed to the All-State team, as well as le Florida Super 24 Senior Team. Both re Sunshine Athletic Conference and the ampa Tribune awarded Hambrick with layer of the Year honors. When the Gamecocks visited the un iendly confines of Ben Hill Griffin Staium in Gainesville, Florida Nov. 16 of ist season, Hambrick rushed for 120 ards and one touchdown on 20 carries gainst the eventual national champions. It was the most playing time of his oung career, and he made the most of The following week, Hambrick would st a Gamecock record by becoming the rst-ever freshman to rush for consecuive 100-yard games. Hambrick paved le way for a 34-31 victory over rival Clemon, accumulating 135 yards and two ouchdowns on 14 carries. With his notable effort against Floria, and eye-opening performance at Clemti, Hambrick established himself as a emiere running back for the Gamecocks.