The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 12, 2002, Page 9, Image 9
Football team prepares for spring gome
BY CHRIS FOY
THE GAMECOCK
The USC football team held its
final practice Tuesday in prepa
ration for Saturday’s annual
spring game. The team had a two
and a half hour workout at
Williams-Brice Stadium and the
team’s practice field.
The main areas of focus were
on the kicking game and improv
ing on mistakes made in last
Saturday’s practice.
The team concluded with a
passing-game scrimmage.
The spring game will feature
the team’s No. 1 offense and No.
2 defense against the rest of the
squad. This was done so that the
offensive lines and the defensive
backfields work together as one
unit, according to Holtz.
Holtz was unsure if the team
with the No. 1 defense and the No.
2 offense would be given a lead.
“The second team said they
didn’t want a lead,” Holtz said.
“We’ll have to see what happens.”
Holtz believes the two biggest
concerns for his team right now
are the defensive’s inability to
stop the run on a consistent basis
and the wide receivers’ inconsis
tency in getting open and catch
ing the football.
Of all the positions on the
team, Holtz said that wide re
ceiver is the greatest problem.
“We need some players to
come through, that’s for sure,”
Holtz said. “Most of the other po
sitions are pretty well set.”
As far as the quarterback po
sition goes, Holtz is happy with
the progress of No. 1 quarterback
Corey Jenkins.
“When Corey makes a mistake
now, he recognizes it,” Holtz said.
“His biggest flaw is that some
times he doesn’t plant his toe
properly when he’s throwing the
ball. Early in the spring, he was
treading water thinking he was
going to move to another posi
tion. But he’s a quarterback,
that’s for sure.”
One problem heading into the
game, however, is that the
Gamecocks are banged up.
Receivers Ryan Brewer, Matthew
Thomas and Michael Ages are ex
pected to miss the game because
of injuries, and offensive lineman
Na’shan Goddard and linebacker
Lenny Williams are both listed as
questionable.
But, despite the injuries, Holtz
wants to treat Saturday like a real
game as much as possible.
There will be adjustments,
however, as the defense will be
limited on the amount of blitz
ing they will do. There might
also be restrictions on the kick
ing game.
Next season, Holtz would like
to have two spring games. One
would have the No. 1 squads vs.
the No. 2’s, and the other would
have a team draft.
But for the time being, Holtz is
more concerned about getting a
quality team together before the
season.
“We’re not a very good team
right now,” Holtz said. “But, I
didn’t think we would be, coming
out of spring. We’ve got a lot of
improving to do.”
Kickoff on Saturday will be at 1
p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium.
All students will be admitted for
free with a valid student ID.
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If you’re going...
WHAT: USC spring game
WHEN: 1 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: Williams-Brice
Stadium
ADMISSION: Free for
students with a valid ID.
S.C. State not waiting on Watson
BY PETE IACOBELLI
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORANGEBURG - South
Carolina State coach Buddy
Pough doesn’t expect to see
Derek Watson, one of his former
USC players, running the ball
next season for the Bulldogs.
Pough said Thursday he had
heard reports that Watson, the
troubled tailback kicked off the
Gamecocks after his arrest for
marijuana possession in
January, was strongly consid
ering the NFL’s supplemental
draft in July instead of continu
ing his college football career.
“That seems to be an idea
that’s being delivered to him by
some mediums,” Pough said. “If
that were to happen, then I wish
him the best of luck under the
circumstances.”
Talk had been that if Watson
could get his academics and other
things in order to transfer, he
might land at Division I-AA
South Carolina State with Pough,
his position coach the past three
years with the Gamecocks.
Watson could play his senior
year without sitting out a sea
son, as he would if he went to an
NCAA Division I-A team.
Pough kept the speculation
going, stopping in at Watson’s
trial in Greenville last month to
show support. Pough left before
a jury of six found Watson guilty
of marijuana possession — ef
fectively ending Watson’s
chances of returning to USC.
Watson was given a 30-day
suspended sentence and ordered
to perform 240 hours of commu
nity service. Watson’s attorney,
Beattie Ashmore, said he’s
signed up to fulfill his sentence.
“Right now, Derek’s getting
a lot of advice about his future
and keeping his options open,”
Ashmore said.
USC coach Lou Holtz, who
lured the former South Carolina
“Mr. Football” to the Gamecocks
instead of Tennessee three years
ago, said this week on the
statewide radio show, Sports Talk,
that when they chatted a couple
of weeks ago, Watson was consid
ering the supplemental draft. '
Watson has
rushed for 1,684
yards and 16
touchdowns the
past two seasons.
The NFL sup
plemental draft
is for players Watson
who can’t return
to their college
or who missed the deadline to
declare for the regular draft.
Pough, in his first season at
South Carolina State, said
Watson’s presence might dis
rupt bonds he has built with his
new team since being hired in
December.
“It’s a tough thing for us chem
istry-wise, too, because I promised
the kids when I came in here that
I’d give them the chance to carry
the load,” Pough said. “Especially
aguylikeTrevin.”
Trevin Smith came to USC in
2000 as an'all-state tailback from
Berkeley High. He played in the
backfield his freshman year and
was switched to the secondary
in the following spring before
landing back on offense.
Baseball
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
and one walk to the last 25 bat
ters he has faced.
“I’m pitching pretty good,”
Spigner said. “The defense is
making great plays behind me,
and I just want to go out there
and contribute.”
USC head coach Ray Tanner
agreed that Spigner has played
well.
He had a “great game tonight;
he is pitching well for us,”
Tanner said. “The last two per
formances have been great. I
feel good about having another
guy we can count on.”
Carolina now heads to
Nashville for a three-game series
against conference foe
Vanderbilt. The Commodores
(15-12,3-7 SEC) are coming off a
6-5 win against Austin Peay.
Vandy dropped three games last
weekend against Ole Miss on the
road, however, which snapped a
four-game winning streak.
The Commodores are led by
first baseman Sean Luellwitz’s
.342 batting average, six home
runs and 28 RBIs.
“They are a quality team and
a difficult challenge,” Tanner
said.
The first game of the series is
set for an 8 p.m. start at
Hawkins Field.
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Stars
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
in my career, he was the only coach
in college to give me a chance to
play out of high school,” Everett
said. “To see what he saw in me,
and to take me along the way he did
... he’s the best college coach in
America, in my opinion.”
The two were reunited at the
2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney,
Australia, where Tanner was an
assistant coach and Everett was
the starting shortstop on the U.S.
baseball team, which won gold.
Everett’s busy schedule means
that his medal spends much of the
time under lock and key, however.
“My gold medal is in a safety
deposit box back home, because
I’m traveling right now ... but it
stays in a display case whenever
I’m at home, because people like
to see it,” Everett said. “I’m proud
of it; it was a great accomplish
ment for me.”
Everett already has endured
the time-honored tradition of
rookie hazing, which included
wearing a Hooters waitress outfit
for the duration of a flight from
Chicago to Houston.
“It’s something I hope everyone
gets to experience, because it means
you’re in the big leagues,” he joked.
Even though Everett has
emerged as a bona fide major lea
guer, he is still a lifelong
Gamecock at heart.
“I keep in touch with Coach
Tanner regularly, and I like to .
have the bragging rights for the
Gamecocks — especially if they’re
beating Clemson, because that’s
what I want them to do,” he said.
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BRIEFLY
Track teams win
eight events at home
The USC track and field teams
came home Wednesday to play
host to the 2002 South Carolina
State Collegiate Track and Field.
The USC men finished second and
won five events, while the womens
finished fourth and won three
events.
Corey Taylor had the most im
pressive showing fof USC, as he
ran an NCAA provisional quali
fying mark of 13.74 seconds in the
110-meter hurdles. Jarred
Johnson won the 400-meter hur
dles with a time of 52.65. Mark
Howell won the men’s 3,000-meter
steeplechase with a time of 10
minutes, 9.11 seconds.
The USC 100-meter relay team
also won with a time of 40.54, and
Thomas Lewis won the 400 meters
with a time of 48.42.
On the women’s side, Heather
Nishet won the javelin competi
tion with a mark of 34.37 meters.
Khalilah Carpenter won the 100
with a time of 11.58, and Sheneka
Griffin won the 800 meters with a
time of 2:18.61.
The Gamecocks will next travel
to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Sea
Ray Relays.
Third place at stake
in SEC tennis match
With a share of third place in
the SEC on the line, the 20th
ranked USC women’s tennis team
plays host to lOth-ranked
Tennessee on Sunday afternoon
at 1 p.m. The Lady Gamecocks (13
5, 6-3 SEC) trail the Lady Vols by
just one match as the SEC regular
season winds down.
Following Sunday’s match,
USC plays just once more —
against top-ranked Florida — be
fore opening play in the SEC
Tournament from April 18-21. The
tournament will be in Columbia
Tennessee (16-6,7-2) is coming
off a 6-1 loss to Florida. The Lady
Vols are just 2-2 in their last four
matches.
Carolina, with a win, would
record its seventh SEC win. It
would mark the fourth time in 11
SEC seasons that the Lady
Gamecocks have won at least sev
en matches.
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