The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 17, 2001, Page C3, Image 31
TOie (gamecock
T'1 oil Quarterback Phil Petty is poised to take
1 UULUCtll the Gamecocks to the top
by David Cloninger
The Gamecock
1 Petty has had to deal with a variety of setbacks
jring his five years on the USC football team,
he coach that recruited Petty, Brad Scott, left
USC after Petty’s sophomore year.
Pressed into service as a starter during his junior
year, the Gamecocks went 0-11.
During his junior campaign, Petty injured his knee
and was forced to miss the majority of the second half
of the season. Without a seasoned veteran at quarter
back, the Gamecocks turned to a myriad of backups,
none of whom could provide the winning touch.
Then came 2000.
Petty, grouped with a solid offensive line, an ex
plosive running attack and a fleet of dependable wide
receivers, suddenly found himself with all the tools nec
essary for a rise into the national spotlight. He didn’t
disappoint, starting 11 of USC’s 12 games and passing
for over 2,000 yards.
With an Outback Bowl championship behind him
and firmly entrenched as the Gamecocks’ starter, Pet
ty is now ready to lead USC to even loftier goals.
“I think we’ll put more pressure on ourselves this
year," Petty said. “We know what we can do and now
we have the chance to really make something of this
season.”
Head coach Lou Holtz
is behind Petty as the
team’s leader on the
field. /
Phil Petty is our
No. 1 quaijerback,”
Holtz said. “Either
he would have to
lose the position jH
or someone else fl
would have to Bn
win it, but right fl
now, he’s the best fl
man for the job.” «B
With such a ^
glowing endors- v
ment, some might *
think Petty would
have even more pres
sure to perform well.
However, raty is confident in ms anilities.
“1 feel good,” Petty said. “I’m in better shape than
I’ve ever been and it’s going to be a huge year for us to
show what we can do.”
Petty only missed a half of one game in 2000, when
a slight injury kept him from starting against Alabama.
Although hurt. Petty took his place in the huddle dur
ing the second half and led the Gamecocks within three
points of the lead. However, the effort wasn’t quite
enough to win the game as USC lost 27-17 after a late
Crimson Tide touchdown.
With several other quarterbacks on the roster, Holtz
has said he is going to “experiment” with the offense
this year and try to open it a little. This means Petty will
have to be mor e mobile than in the past, which Petty
says is “no problem.”
“This is the first year we’ve had basically the
same system as last year,” Petty said. “It does
make a lot of sense to run more, and I’m a lot
faster than people think. We’ll start running
depending on how the team is playing.” 'M
Holtz has also said although Petty is his A
starting quarterback, the Gamecocks will
move to a more split-time arrangement this rj
year. Petty and the backup who proves most '
reliable will alternate during games to give
the offense its maximum power. j
Choices for the backup role are varied, but
include Erik Kimrey, who passed for the
winning score against Mississippi
State in 2000 and started against
Alabama; Dondrial Pinkins,
who started during the
spring game and
looked steady; or jun
ior-college transfer
Corey Jenkins.
“Right now,
Jenkins is at i
quarterback,”
Holtz said.
“We’ll leave him
there until j
such m
time
he couldn’t
make a contri- Ua
bution at that po
sition. He reminds me a lot
of [former Notre Dame quarterback] "i
Tony Rice.”
Despite the change in offense, Petty is still
ready to make his contribution to the team.
“It’s [Holtz’s] decision to rearrange the offense,
and I’m happy with it,” Petty said. “I’m very com
fortable with the running system and 1 know
we can make it work.
“We’ve got some big games this ^
season, and some of them are big
ger than others. But, right now, /
we’re just looking to Boise
State. That’s the first one we \
play and that’s the most im
portant right now. We
can’t overlook any of the
others, or we won’t be
doing our jobs.”
SEC offers stiff competition in 2001
o Rick Johnston
v The Rick Says
It’s time for kickoff, and that
means Williams-Brice Stadium will
once again play host to some of the
finest programs in America.
But, just how good is the SEC
looking this year?
Starting with the West, LSU’s
my pick to win the division. Re
member the name Rohan Davey.
With quarterback Josh Booty out of
the picture, Davey is poised to take
the reign.
Last season, Davey’s late-game
heroics gave the Tigers an overtime
win over Tennessee in Death Valley.
Davey also brought LSU back
from the dead in the Peach Bowl,
gamering the offensive MVP award.
LSU also boasts a defense re
turning 10 of its 11 starters. As long
as the Tigers don’t have an early sea
son slip-up, such as last year’s loss
to UAB, coach Nick Saban is on a
steady course to bring national re
spect back to the Bayou.
Mississippi State boasts quar
terbacks Wayne Madkin and tail
back Dicenzo Miller, or arguably
the most balanced attack in the SEC.
However, defense will be the
stronghold for the Bulldogs. Under
the tutelage of Joe Lee Dunn, the
Bulldogs have become one of the
top defenses in America.
Despite the loss of Fred Smoot,
the defensive backfield will be strong
again, led by All-American candi
date Pig Prather.
A solid third-place finish
looks like the fate for Alabama. Fol
lowing a 3-8 season that saw the end
of the Mike DuBose era, Crimson
Tide fans look to new coach Den
nis Franchione to lead the Tide back
to glory.
The first order of business will
be to decide on a quarterback. Both
Andrew Zow and Tyler Watts
have strong cases to start. Throw
highly-regarded freshman Brodie
Croyle in, and the Tide has a diffi
cult decision to make.
Ole Miss could be a sleeper in
the West. Led by Eli Manning, Pey
ton’s brother and Archie’s son, the
offense should be one of the more
exciting to watch in the conference.
A lot of pressure could be tak
en off Manning if senior Joe Gunn
hits the holes well in the fall. For
the last two seasons, he was back
ing up Deuce McAllister, but still
gained 951 yards as a sophomore
when McAllister was injured.
Ole Miss could shake up the
Western division race with an upset
against either LSU or Mississippi
State. Neither game will be easy,
however, as both are late in the sea
son and on the roads.
Arkansas should be fairly solid
this season, behind the steady run
ning of Cedric Cobbs. Junior Fred
Talley and sophomore Brandon
Holmes will challenge Cobbs for
playing time. A veteran offensive
line should do a good job opening
up the holes, but a question mark
looms at quarterback with a battle
between Robby Hampton, last sea
son’s starter, and Zak Clark.
A plus for Arkansas comes in
the form of newly expanded Ra
zorback Stadium, now capable of
holding over 70,000 fans. The Hogs
will play there four times this year,
compared to only twice at its neu
tral site in Little Rock.
Auburn comes in at the bot
tom of the West. After last season’s
9-4 record and Citrus Bowl bid, this
prediction seems a bit odd. How
ever, when one considers that Auburn
lost tailback Rudi Johnson, wide re
ceiver Rodney Daniels and fullback
Heath Evans (all underclassmen) to
the NFL draft and saw quarterback
Ben Leard, wide receiver Reggie Wor
thy and tackle Colin Sears graduate,
the Tigers’ offense is in deep trouble.
The main concerns will be at
quarterback and tailback. The of
fensive line, however, is a veteran
one, anchored by pre-season All
American tackle Kendall Simmoas.
Auburn’s defense should allow
them to hang around in most games.
Veteran linemen DeMarco McNeil
and Javor Mills will lead the defense.
Coming to the East, the kings
will be the Florida Gators. Steve
Spurrier is poised to not only make
a run for the SEC crown, but for the
national championship as well.
The strong point for the Gators
will be their offense, although once
again, Spurrier has a quarterback
controversy. Rex Grossman did well
in several games last season, but nip
ping at his heels is the highly-tout
ed Brock Berlin. Whichever QB
makes it into the game, there’s no
doubt who his favorite target will
be - All-American Jabar Gaffney.
A simplified defensive scheme
under coach Jon Hoke may be the
key to the Gators reaching the Rose
Bowl. Defensive end Alex Brown
and comerback Lito Sheppard will
be the defensive sparkplugs for
the Gators.
Right behind the Gators are go
ing to be several teams, making for
an interesting title race. But, South
Carolina will be in second place.
The Gamecocks finally have all
the tools necessary to make a solid
run for the division crown. On of
fense, Phil Petty will lead the Game
cocks. While the senior has the tools
necessary to run the spread offense,
he will most likely feel the heat from
redshirt freshman Dondrial Pinkins
and junior college transfer Corey
Jenkins, who both bring an extra bit
of mobility to the table.
The defense for the Gamecocks
will be strong once again, led by All
Americans Sheldon Brown and
Kalimba Edwards. The line will
be a bit of a question mark depth
wise given that there is not much
experience behind the starters of
Dennis Quinn, Langston Moore and
John Stamper.
Right behind South Carolina is
Tennessee. The Volunteers may be
the most overrated team in the con
ference. The Big Orange has a lot of
talent, but not the talent necessary to
topple the likes of the Florida.
Offense may be a weak point for
the Vols. Although Casey Claussen
is a good quarterback, his short
comings may be brought to the front
if the running game does not come
together, which is a possibility giv
en that Iennessee does not have
Travis Henry, the school’s all-time
leading rusher, to lean on anymore.
Defensively, Tennessee is strong
as ever, led by last year’s (Jutland
Trophy winner John Henderson.
Finishing next are the Georgia
Bulldogs. All the fans in Athens are
high on new head coach Mark Richt,
former offensive coordinator at Flori
da State. However, the fact that Richt
brings a new, more powerful offense
to the table to be led by either for
mer walk-on Cory Phillips or red
shirt freshman David Greene leaves
a lot to be desired.
Defensively, the ‘Dogs were hurt
on the line by the graduation of
Richard Seymour and Marcus
Stroud. They return a solid line
backing corps, led by Boss Bailey
and Will Witherspoon.
Vanderbilt will once again fin
ish in the cellar, but not as low as
usual. The Commodores boast one
of the most underrated players in
the league in quarterback Greg Zol
man. Last season, Zolman completed
53 percent of his passes, throwing
for over 2,000 yards. Zolman’s fa
vorite target will be wide-out Dan
Strieker, who fell just shy of the
1,000-yard mark last season.
However, Vandy will have to
improve its running game, which
ranked last in the SEC last season,
if they want to make some noise.
Bringing up the rear in the East
will be Kentucky. The Wildcats and
new head coach Guy Morriss are still
trying to clean up the mess left with
the downfall of Hal Mumme.
Morriss has installed a revolu
tionary new wrinkle to help the UK
offeasive line: the. three-point stance.
Mumme’s offense was so pass
oriented that the returning linemen
have to re-leam a lot of basic run
blocking techniques.
However, the centerpiece of the
offense will be Jared Lorenzen. The
6’ 4”, 275-pound quarterback gener
ated 3,687 yards passing last year, but
threw two more interceptions (21)
than touchdowns (19). However, Mor
riss says that if Lorenzen does not get
serious about losing his weight, which
was reportedly a lot more than the
listed 275, he will put in redshirt fresh
man Shane Boyd, a former draft pick
of the Minnesota Twins.
Defensively, the ‘Cats will ben
efit from a new 4-2 defensive scheme
installed by defensive coordinator
John Goodner. The key may be in
linebackers Ryan Murphy and Ja
mal White, who may be the best de
fensive players on the team, but still
need to develop into “playmakers.”
It should be a really fun year
to watch the SEC. Keep track as the
weeks go by; you don’t want to miss
out on any of this stuff.
HEAD COACH
LOU HOLTZ
2001 SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
Sept. 1 BOISE STATE 7 p.m.
Sept. 8 it Geotgia* 7:45 p.m.
Sept 15 BOWLING GREEN 7 p.m
Sept. 20 at Min. State* 7:30 p.m
Sept 29 ALABAMA* 7 p.m
Oct. 6 KENTUCKY* 1 p.m
Oct 13 at Arkansas* 7 p.m
Oct 20 VANDERBILT* 7 p.m
Oct 27 at Tennessee* 1:30 p.m
Nov. 3 Open Date
Nov. 10 FLORIDA* 1 p.m
Nov. 17 CLEMSON 1 p.m.
All times Eastern and subject to change
Home games in CAPS
•denotes SEC game
2001 ROSTER
No. Name.Position
88 James Adkisson.WR
7 Michael Ages .WR
3 Corey Alexander.RB/WR
86 Jonathan Alston .DL
3 Bryan Arnold.DB
32 Jeff Barnes.OL
7 Tony Bixler .QB
61 Jon Boilard.OL
90 Joey Bowers.PK
21 Ryan Brewer.WR/RB
87 Josh Brown...K
24 Sheldon Brown .DB
85 Brian Brownlee .LB
30 William Bryan.WR
17 Travis Cain.QB
90 Jason Capers. .DE
62 Eric Cash .DS
80 Ted Crawford .WR
19 Matt Crockett.DB
94 Joe Davis .PK
31 Terrell Davis .DB
47 Tyeler Dean.P
Marvin Deas.DB
83 Chavez Donnings .WR
11 Robert Echols.TB
35 Kalimba Edwards.LB
28 Deandre Eiland .DB
25 Brian Elam.DB
11 RashadFaison .*.. .DB
43 Gavin Ford .FB
58 CJ.Frye.OL
33 Jeremiah Garrison .LB
27 Nate Gary.DB
iy /vnurea uausc.mis
48 George Gause.LB
23 Marcal Gibbs.WR
99 Na'Shon Goddard .DL
35 Andre Goodman.DB
17 Mikal Goodman.QB
63 Shaun Graham .LB
26 GonzieGray.RB
71 Shane Hall . OL
89 Willis Ham .WR
99 Jason Hamilton.PK
44 Kenny Harney . .LB
48 Travis Hemphill.DB
15 Felepe Holiday ..SB
54 Adam Holmes.DS
29 Kevin House .DB
59 Josh Irby.DS
16 Jamacia Jackson.DB
87 Brandon Jeffcoat.TE
8 Corey Jenkins.QB
95 Ron John-Finn.DL
31 Jack Johnson.LB
73 Larrell Johnson '. OL
60 Nick Johnson.OL
66 Phillip Jones.DE
50 Stephen Kennedy.LB
13 Erik Kimrey.QB
51 Orus Lambert.LB
6 Kenneth Layel.DB
36 Jermaine Lemon.DB
79 Josh Malloy.00
8 Jake Mangerson.QB
39 Jonathan Martin.DB
45 Franky McCullum .TE
64 Justin McGuire . OG
52 Calvin McMillian.DE
80 Neal Miller .WR
15 Rachiem Monroe.DB
57 Langston Moore.DL
53 JeffMullis ....LB
1 Antione Nesmith .DB
20 Willie Offotd .DB
72 Melvin Paige .OL
54 Joseph Palmer ..LB
85 Fran Person.TE
14 Phil Petty .QB
3 uondnai Pmkjns .QB
4 Andrew Pinnock.RB
93 Dennis Quinn.DE
53 Jonathan Ragans.OL
58 Matthew Raven .LB
40 Matthew Richard.DB
84 Ricky Ricks.WR
67 Ryan Riggin .DE
78 Kevin Rivers .OL
32 Dunta Robinson.DB
36 Thez Robinson.TB
98 Willie Sams .DL
77 Watts Sanderson.OL
67 Kevin Saylor.DS
82 Brian Scott .WR
59 James Scott.DE
23 Jamie Scott.DB
66 Natrone Scott.DT
96 Shaun Smith.DT
6 Kevin Smith .DB
10 Carlos Spikes .WR
39 Isaac Stackhouse .DB
91 John Stamper.DL
84 Philip Stephens.WR
74 John Strickland.OL
92 Eric Stroman .DE
86 Charlie Stroud.SB
15 Matthew Thomas .WR
42 Rod Thomas.LB
94 Preston Thome.DL
81 RodTrafford.TE
98 Chet Tucker .PK
97 Chris Tucker.DT
49 Hart Turner.TE
75 Chad Walker.OL
22 Derek Watson.RB
97 Dan Weaver .PK
40 Kavis Weston.LB
68 Travelle Wharton.OL
79 Aaron Whitecotton .OG
12 Andre Wigfall .DB
76 Cedric Williams.OL
46 Lenny Williams .LB
12 Rodriques Wilson.QB
9 Km Yam . DB
Subject to change
ti