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familiar/’ faces Crofoots ‘snap’ together, making SEC showdown a family affair . Jonathan Hillyard SPORTS EDITOR Todd J. Van Ernst /The Associated Press * . . . Unlike some of the aforementioned Brothers anticipate famous football-playing families, the emotional meeting Crofoots play a quiet but vital role in on Auburn gridiron At USC, junior Ike Crofoot is in his third season as the Gamecocks’ The Gramatica family to kicking. long snapper. At Auburn, where USC The Manning family to passing. The will travel this weekend, senior Chas ^fcjMoss family to catching. And the Crofoot is one of the Tigers’ long ^Crofoot family to ... snapping? snappers. m ii«iiimii«irirr-'- m < f'oiTniiiniiMiMimiiiiiiniiiirrmnriir.--n .---iimiimMwwiiiwitiMtWWwrmgtmnfniMnMwiirifift^^ - “Coach (Lou Holtz) asked one day if anyone wants to try snapping,” Ike Crofoot said this week, “and I did it then and I’ve done it ever since.” Ike, one year younger than his brother Chas, came to Carolina as a walk-on in 2003. He played quarterback his senior year at First Academy in Windermere, Fla., and wanted to give major college football a shot. “I’d rather come here and have a chance to play in front of these people than go to a small school,” Ike said. The Gamecock snapper visited smaller schools such as West Point, Harvard, Yale and Princeton before deciding he wanted to play in the SEC. As a true freshman, he impressed coaches and won the starting punt-snapper job. Chas, also a quarterback in high school, hadn’t planned on playing major college football until he saw the noise his litde brother was making in Columbia. He tried out as a walk-on his freshman year but didn’t make the team. Before the 2004 season, he got a call from one of the Auburn coaches saying that they needed a snapper, so Chas decided to give it another shot. More than a year later, Chas has started 14 games at field goal and extra point snapper. As a senior at First Academy, Chas threw for 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns, 11 of which came to little brother Ike. On Saturday, for the first time ever, the two will be on opposite sides of the field. “I’m sure I’ll punch him in the stomach and slap him in the face, and he’ll do the same to me,” Chas said. With more than 30 friends and family members coming to the game this weekend, the Crofoot family is excited, but the question is, who is the better long snapper? “I’d say I definitely have the edge over him (in snapping),” Chas said. Ike didn’t seem to agree. “Nah,” he said with a smile. Ike and Chas are not the only Crofoots who have mastered the art of long snapping. Three other younger brothers have played football and have been long snappers. Clayton Crofoot, 17, is a freshman at Auburn this year and will probably be a long snapper after Chas graduates, Ike said. Ike and Chas said that Clayton, at 6 feet 5 inches tall, is probably the most athletic of the family. Younger brothers John, 15, and Kyle, 12, are long snappers for their respective middle school and Pop Warner football teams. Butch Rowley, the Crofoots’ cousin, is set to become Florida’s long snapper in the next year. The Crofoot boys’ long snapping origins come from their father, Kroy, a close friend of Holtz. During a conversation years ago, Holtz told Kroy that “there’s always a spot on the bus for a long snapper.” The father took it to heart and taught his sons the very unique way of getting to play major college football. “He can probably teach snapping better than anybody in the United States,” Ike said. “Pretty much everyone that’s wanted to work on it he’s put into a college.” - SETTLING OLD SCORES - Irons finally gets chance at payback Jonathan Hillyard SPORTS EDITOR When Kenny Irons left USC in winter 2003, few Gamecock fans thought he would be missed. A season later, missed would be an understatement. The Carolina rushing game has been almost nonexistent this year without the suspended Cory Boyd and the dismissed Demetris Summers, the main reason Irons left. “They wanted him to be that guy, and I felt there was no room for me at the university,” Irons said this week. “One thing that really caught my eye was (former running backs) coach (Dave) Roberts really stressed my blocking. He always said if you want to play this position you got to be able to block ... Demetris comes along, not that great of a blocker, but coach was so impressed and it kind of blew me away and he said ‘I don’t care if he could block as long as he can run the ball.’” After carrying the ball only five times for 19 yards during the 2003 season, Irons decided it was time for him to move on. “Me and Lou (Holtz) sat in the office, and we talked. He said, ‘Irons, you’re a great athlete, and we want you to be a part of this team,”’ Irons said. “He said ‘stay during spring ball, and if you don’t like it, then you can leave.’” Irons decided to pass on the offer, and after being permitted to transfer, the Dacula, Ga., native decided to go to Auburn, where his brother Davis was a cornerback. “Coach (Tuberville) gave me a second chance at being able to play ball, so that’s a great thing,” Irons said. After sitting out a year, Irons began the 2005 season buried in the Auburn depth chart. The Tigers lost their season opener to Georgia Tech, but in a game against the Ball State Cardinals, Irons finally got his shot. The former Carolina back carried the ball 11 times against Ball State, gaining 147 yards in the first half. Last weekend against Western Kentucky, Irons continued to sizzle, carrying 18 times for 111 yards. The junior is averaging 6.8 yards per carry in 2005. Now, he turns his attention to the team that spurned him two years ago, a team with a poor run defense in danger of losing three-straight conference games. But Irons’ experiences at USC were not all negative. In the past week, he has had conversations with Gamecock linebacker Ricardo Hurley, former Carolina receiver Troy Williamson and defensive tackle Stanley Doughty. “Sometimes you wish he was still here, but at the same time you wish him the best,” USC linebacker Lance Laury said. “We’re gonna have to get after him this week, but we’ll still be buddies after the game.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksportsdPgwm. sc. edu Todd J. Van trnst 11 he Associated l*ress Former USC running back Kenny Irons will line up on the Auburn sideline. LOSinG STREAK • COflTinUGD PROIT1B2 Mitchell. Mitchell’s high ankle sprain will give redshirt freshman Antonio Heffner the start at quarterback. The only experience Heffner has in an away game is when he took one snap in the Georgia game and carried the ball for a 12-yard gain. PWith Heffner’s inexperience, crowd 1 noise could be a problem while the team is on offense, but Spurrier does not see it that way. 1 h doesnt matter how loud it is at Auburn, Spurrier said. “We’re just going to get somebody loose and see what happens.” Heffner has confidence in himself and his team coming into his first start. “We just prepare for the game,” Heffner said. “We know what needs to be done, so we do it.” Spurrier said junior wide receiver Syvelle Newton “knows some of the plays and might bej used in an “Freshman year it was a little bit nerve racking. But now you just go out there and focus. I don’t even look at the crowd when I run out of the tunnel.” IKE CROFOOT Junior long snapper emergency.” Newton brings the same rushing threat Heffner brings to the quarterback position, and he knows what it is like to play in an intimidating environment. Last season, Newton came into the game as quarterback at Vanderbilt and Alabama, and he started at Florida and Clemson. The Gamecocks will have to be ready to play from the moment the game starts until the game’s end. Auburn is 3-1 on the season and has yet to play away from home. Their single loss came at Georgia Tech in their season opener. Concentration v^ll be a key for USC. , “Freshman year it was a little bit nerve-racking,” Crofoot said. “But now you just go out there and focus. I don’t even look at the crowd when I run out of the tunnel. ” With a three-game road losing streak on the line, the Gamecocks will be trying to win their first road game since October of last year. A win against Auburn would not only snap that streak but would keep Spurrier from losing three conference games in a row for the first time ever. Comments on this story? E-mail , gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu Head Coach J Tommy Tubervill jrence zuu<« Record 13-0 (9-0) SEC Home Stadium Jordan-Hare Stadium Graphic illustration by Laura-Joyce Gough / TH B GAMECOCK