The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 11, 2006, Page 10, Image 10
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Page 10 ^Wednesday, Jan. 11,2006
USC defensive unit
suffers 3 major losses
Simpsony Joseph bolt for NFL Draft;
Dustin Lindsey ineligible for 2006
Stephen Fastenau
SPORTS EDITOR
USC’s defensive unit took
a few major hits Monday.
Gamecock defensive
backs Ko Simpson and
Johnathan Joseph declared
themselves eligible for the
2006 NFL Draft during
a teleconference Monday
afternoon. Linebacker
Dustin Lindsey was declared
academically ineligible by
USC and will be forced to
sit out the 2006 season.
Simpson and Joseph
hinted before the team’s
bowl game Dec. 30 that they
would head for the NFL
if projected as a first- or
second-round pick. Neither
would say what feedback
they received regarding
each’s draft position but said
the decisions were in their
best interest.
“(It’s the) chance of a
lifetime,” Simpson said.
“Too many kids wait all four
years. I did it in two. I got
to take it and run with it. In
two years, I did all I could do
at USC.”
Simpson, who grayshirted
his first year, switched
to rover in 2005 after a
standout freshman campaign
at safety.
Simpson led the
Gamecocks in tackles this
season with 103.
Joseph, a redshirt
sophomore, had four
interceptions and nine
pass breakups in 2005 after
having his 2004 season cut
short after breaking his foot.
“It was a pretty tough
decision,” Joseph said. “I had
to talk to my mom my dad,
my uncle just to get the best
decision. It was a pretty hard
decision for me to make.”
DRAFT • 13
Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK
USC sophomore rover Ko Simpson, on the field before
December’s Independence Bowl, will enter the NFL Draft.
Gamecocks try to refocus
Katie Kirkland/ THE GAMECOCK
USC coach Dave Odom shows his frustration in a game earlier this season. Odom hopes his team can bounce back after losing its SEC opener.
Odom hints at changes after team squanders
15-point lead in second half of Sundays loss
personal.”
In reference to the other
word, Odom challenged
his team to show more
pride and passion in their
performance.
“I care deeply about our
team, our fans and our
basketball program,” he said.
“I want it to be something
that everyone is proud of.
I want our players to take
on that same emotion of
caring.”
The two words might be
the motivating factor that
the Gamecocks have been
lacking in the early stages
of the season. While USC
stands* at 9-5, the team has
formed a habit of giving up
leads in the second half and
has been underwhelming in
crucial moments.
To shore up these
problems, Odom planned
to shake up the roster and
game plan.
“I’m not one to just sit on
the status quo and keep on
hammering our heads on the
same piece of concrete,” he
said. “We are going to make
some changes. Some of them
will be subtle, and some of
them will be very obvious.”
While Odom had not
yet decided on the specific
roster changes, it is likely
that senior forward Antoine
Tisby and sophomore guard
Dwayne Day will see more
playing time.
With Southeastern
Conference play coming into
full swing, the road gets much
tougher for the Gamecocks..
Including tonight’s game in
Oxford, Miss., against Ole
Miss, USC will play six of its
next eight games away from
home. To make matters
worse, Carolina has never
beaten the Rebels at their
home arena.
“Oxford is a difficult
place to play,” Odom said.
“However, Tennessee had
never won at the Colonial
Center, and South Carolina
had never won at Tennessee
in football. There are a lot
of‘nevers,’ but nothing stays
the same. Let’s look them in
the eye and play them.”
To make history against
Ole Miss, the Gamecocks
will have to deal with a
strong and physical squad.
The Rebels are off to their
best start (11-3) since 2001
2002, but their performance
has been inconsistent. Ole
Miss’s three losses were by an
average of almost 30 points,
and they struggled against
lightweights Southeastern
Louisiana and Western
Carolina.
However, coming off a
71-61 thumping of Alabama,
Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes
seemed excited about his
team’s potential. Despite his
team’s success, he indicated
his team was focused on
another conference win.
“One of our goals this
season was to defend our
court,” Barnes said in his
teleconference Monday.
HOOPS • II
Tom Benning
FOR THE GAMECOCK
Monday, the white board
in USC’s men’s basketball
team room contained only
two words — personal and
caring.
After a tough loss to
Tennessee on Sunday, USC
coach Dave Odom felt it
necessary to refocus his team
before its Jan. 11 matchup
against Ole Miss.
“When we have a 40-25
lead over (Tennessee) and
lose it, I take that personally,”
he said. “I want our players
to take it personally. If they
don’t, we have to make it
Pro ball
no place
for green
defenders
Secondary tandem
should have played
draft dodgers for now
The words slid quietly
across the television
screen. They didn’t boast
or proclaim the end of
□ an era. To
someone in
any other
part of the
U.S., it was
just another
person
trying
to grab
RILEV a couple
Second-year bucks.
Pnnt But to the
journalism loyalest of
student g-f i
Gamecock
fans, it was the end of
an era and news that
could make a grown man
cringe.
Ko Simpson and
Tohnathan T oseoh declared
for the 2006 NFL Draft.
Coupled with the news
that Dustin Lindsey had
been ruled academically
ineligible for next fall’s
campaign, suddenly it
seemed like the same
thing that happened at
the end of last season.
Simpson and Joseph
had been anchors on a
secondary that had played
pretty stellar during the
2005 season. The defense
had only given up 10
touchdowns and less than
190 yards passing a game.
Joseph, who made a
comeback from a broken
foot in 2004, had led the
team with four picks in
2005.
His 55 tackles were fifth
best on the team. And the
best part was — he was
only a junior.
Simpson continued
his run at stardom from
the previous year. The
All-American only had
one pick last year, but he
led the team in tackling.
Added to his already
growing list of honors,
Simpson earned first team
All-SEC and numerous
more All-American nods
at the conclusion of the
season.
Since both players have
1_ J r i*i
IClllOVtU 1J.U111 IU5II
school for three years,
each asked for the draft
board to review their
numbers and give them a
projection on where they’d
go in the upcoming draft.
Both swore they would
be back in Columbia
next fall if the projections
were anything less than a
second-round selection.
Everything looked
like clear sailing. Until
Monday afternoon.
The hustle of a new
semester masked the
grim truth that was
being played out on the |
BottomLine.
Neither was going to
don the garnet and black
again.
That same reality hit
USC fans last fall, when
then-Gamecock Troy
Williamson decided to
forego his senior year
and take a shot at the
NFL. The result — No.
7 overall.
But unlike Williamson,
this years installment of
RILCV • II