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Section B O T) /A T) rTl O rV_/ I M V, ^ rV-/ Saturday, Aug. 13,2005 ; ERIK CRMPOS/THE HSSOCIRTED PRESS I Hundreds of excited Gamecock fans showed up to watch new USC coach Steve Spurrier's first preseason practice with his team on Aug. 8. USC opens the 2005 season with a Thursday night showdown on Sept. 1 against the University of Central Florida on ESPN. The athletic department has received a record number of requests for tickets totaling more than 60,000, selling out every home game. Stephen Fastenau iHcdiecocH Their leading rusher from last season has been kicked off the team. Their second leading rusher has been suspended for the season. Their third leading rusher is now a receiver. For the Gamecocks and new coach Steve Spurrier, the backfield situation looks to be a bit muddled as the team begins I preseason camp. [ Cory Boyd, whose 309 yards rushing last season was second on the team, was suspended July 29 for a violation of athletics department policy. Last season’s leading rusher, Demetris Summers, was kicked off the team in the spring for a second violation of the athletics department’s drug policy. Junior Syvelle Newton, the speedy quarterback from last season, will now be catching passes instead of throwing them. All this leaves Spurrier to decide who he wants to take handoffs. Senior Daccus Turman is a likely candidate, while his 185 yards rushing last season was only sixth on the team, the 5-foot-11 inch, 229-pounder has been thrust to the forefront. If Turman doesn’t produce, Spurrier might be forced to try highly touted freshman Mike Davis, a Columbia native. Fellow freshmen Bobby Wallace and Albert Ashcraft might also get their shot, although at 6-foot-3-inches and 200 pounds, Ashcraft might fit in as a fullback. “If we’re playing some freshman running backs that’s OK, we’re building,” Spurrier told reporters at SEC media days in Alabama last week. “We’re going to be there awhile. This is not a one-year stint.” With all the talk of a troubled backfield, the quarterback situation remains dicey as well, leaving offensive linemen and fellow seniors Jabari Levey and Na’Shan Goddard as the Gamecocks’ only offensive sureties. Redshirt sophomore Blake Mitchell seems to have the edge for the starting position going into camp, but 'Spurrier has maintained that any and all of thfe signal callers on the Gamecock roster could get their shot. “All of these quarterbacks may get a lot of reps early (in camp),” Spurrier said. “Then, after about a couple of weeks, we’ll start getting two guys ready and go from there.” Those two guys might be Mitchell and redshirt freshman Antonio Heffner, as Mike Rathe, the only other quarterback with throwing experience from last season, lost his bid for a sixth year of eligibility. Neither of the two appeared to outshine the other in the spring, and it would come as little surprise to see Spurrier switch them out during the season, as he often did with the NFL’s Washington Redskins. In the past with his Florida Gator teams, Spurrier was hesitant to hand over the reins to a freshman. If Spurrier is unsettled about the state of the offense, the defensive unit likely has a stabling effect. Pre-season AI1-SEC selection sophomore Ko Simpson returns to man his safety spot. Junior Jonathan Joseph will be back in his familiar corner position after being sidelined most of last season after suffering a broken foot against Georgia. Joseph will look to fill the void left by NFL-bound Taquiy Muhammad. The only speculation on the defensive side of the ball revolves around the line. Spurrier will look to sophomore Marque Hall to anchor the unit while searching for a replacement for Moe Thompson, who was kicked off the team in February following burglary charges. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu ^raz&COCK George Rogers Alex Riley gives us a look back on the men who helped shape the USC program Trophies, all-star teams and rings are impressive after two decades of aging. Countless defensive players who are left trying to catch up still bring back memories of great moments in Gamecock history. No. 1 draft pick and Rookie of the Year honors have a nice sound to them as well. But the one thing that never won George Rogers an award or earned him a victory is that heartfelt smile and bellowing laugh. | “He’s got the greatest smile in the world," Bob Fulton, longtime USC radio announcer, said of Rogers. “He was very humble, but he always gave his teammates so much credit. Frankly, without him, I don’t know who we would have beaten. He was something else.” Rogers has become synonymous with USC football. Of all the names that still get talked about among tailgaters and fans, the Duluth, Ga., native is still the most talked-about player to ever pass through Williams-Brice Stadium. Rogers arrived in the Capital City after a high-profile career at Duluth High School. Every college in the nation wanted to get its hands on him, but after being told he could play as freshmen at USC, it didn’t take long to see where he was going. “At the time, South Carolina had two running backs leaving at the same time," Rogers said. “Coach (Carlen) told me, ‘Son, you could play next year.' None of the other coaches from Tennessee, Alabama and the rest of the colleges 1 went to had talked about me playing next year. I thought that was a big jump from saying ‘you can play’ to ‘you’re going to play."' With that promise, Rogers arrived in Columbia and left the likes of Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Alabama and even his home schools of Georgia and Georgia Tech behind. At first, Rogers seemed destined to be a fullback rather than tailback. Ahead of him on the depth charts sat sophomore Steve Dorsey. “I was a big running back, and at that time, people liked big running backs because you could make fullbacks out them," Rogers said. “I started out at fullback. 1 didn’t care where I went in, I just wanted to play ... I kind of got lucky I went to tailback." Midway through the season, Rogers began his career as the starting tailback alongside fellow freshmen Johnnie Wright. The duo combined for more than 1,000 yards, and they were the only starting freshman backfield in the country. Rogers touched the ball a lot more during his sophomore campaign, rushing for 1,006 yards, all while splitting time with Wright. But it was the junior year that propelled Rogers to the whirlwind career fans remember as he was one of the best rushers in the country, rushing for 1,681 yards. After that season, The Associated Press, National Editorial Alliance, United Press International, American Football Coaches and Football News tabbed Rogers with Second Team All America Honors. USC earned a spot in the 1979 Hall of Fame Bowl against the Missouri Tigers. The Gamecocks took an early 7-0 lead, but a 17 point second quarter and third quarter touchdown were too much as USC fell, 24-14. The stage was set in 1980, as the Gamecocks returned a plethora of talent, headlined by Heisman candidate Rogers. USC went an impressive 8-3, with close losses to Southern Cal and Georgia on the road and a tough loss to Clemson. While the record was good, so was Rogers’ final season. His 1,894 yards paced the nation and earned him a spot as one of the finalists for Heisman Trophy. The Downtown Athletic Club in New York City named Rogers winner of the 1980 Heisman Trophy. Rogers beat out an impressive group of players, including Pittsburgh defensive lineman Hugh Green and Georgia running back Herschel Walker. Rogers also earned spots on eight All-America teams, all First Team honors. “1 have to commend my offensive line. Those guys, they didn’t care whether we won or lost; they wanted to make sure I had a lot of yards though,” Rogers said. “My offensive line was really into it. They wanted to win the Heisman Trophy more than I did," PHOTO COURTESV OF MIKE SRFRRN Former USC running back George Rogers (38) follows the block of teammate Steve Dorsey. Rogers wrapped up his career as USC’s all-time leading rusher and lone Heisman Trophy winner. Rogers said. “I didn’t care if I won it or not. I’m not that kind of guy. I’m glad that we won it, but I was playing as hard as they were. They were the reasons why we won it, because those guys wanted it a little bit more than I did." The Gamecocks record propelled them to a Dec. 29 matchup with No. 4 Pittsburgh in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. USC never got on track against the Panthers, who took a 17-3 lead at the half behind the heady play of quarterback Dan Marino and the nations No. 1 defense before putting the game 6R8RIS • 82 ^ ^ www.dailygamecock.com # w $