SB Nation - Dion LeCorn

Dion LeCorn is Back

Gamecock Man — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:22:55 -0000

Dion LeCorn should be back for the Georgia game:

Spurrier said receiver Dion LeCorn, who has been out since breaking his leg in the spring game, told him he thought he could play this week at Georgia. LeCorn dressed but did not play against N.C. State.

Getting LeCorn back adds instant experienced depth at the slot receiver position, so this is great news.

Saturday News and Notes: Joe Hills Off the Team

Gamecock Man — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:34:27 -0000

The big news today is that Joe Hills has left the team of his own accord. Hills was moved to safety earlier this week, presumably because he was struggling with dropped passes and because we could have used his athleticism on the defensive depth chart. Hills apparently didn't take well to the position change and wants to move on to play receiver somewhere else.

First of all, I don't think losing Hills is going to hurt us too much. The kid is a remarkable athlete and has shown promise at times, but let's face it: he's a junior now and has yet to prove he's capable of locking down a spot in the receivers rotation. The problems with dropped passes have been notable and consistent with him. With the depth chart quickly crowding as Tori Gurley, Alshon Jeffery, and DeMario Bennett continue to impress, Hills was probably not going to be a major contributor over the next couple of years, at least not as a receiver.

Second of all, I frankly think that if Hills couldn't cope with what the coaches think of him, then we don't want him on the team anyways. What we need are guys like Dion LeCorn and C.C. Whitlock that are guys that want to be on the team and that are willing to work hard to get into the coaches good graces. I hear Joe is a great kid and I wish him the best of luck wherever he goes, but if his reaction to being in the doghouse is not to fight to get back into the rotation and to instead just cut ties and leave, then he's not the kind of presence we want.

Wednesday News and Notes: Preseason Practice Begins and Other News

Gamecock Man — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:16:18 -0000

More photos » by Mary Ann Chastain - AP

Clean shaven!

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Today is the day. The beginning of preseason practice. Not much happened of note today, of course; it was the usual first-day warm-ups and fundamentals drills. Spurrier didn't unveil the new master plan or anything. But it was the first day of practice, and the season now truly feels like it's upon us. Let's hope it's a good one.

The State and other outlets didn't have much to report about the afternoon. One promising tidbit was that Dion LeCorn was up and running during individual drills and appears close to being recovered from his injury in the Garnet and Black Game. However, Akeem Auguste worked out lightly today due to a groin injury. Hopefully he'll be 100% when it's time. Having most guys healthy on opening night and throughout the season is going to be key; Ellis Johnson has said that we can have another great defense this year if we can stay healthy, but we might crash quickly if we have to go too deep on the depth chart.

C. C. Whitlock and Ladi Ajiboye were also there and on the field. We now know that Whitlock will be suspended for a couple of games; I'm guessing cupcakes. Ladi Ajiboye may be suspended the first three games. I'm frankly a little worried about Ajiboye missing the N. C. State and UGA games; he would have been especially helpful against UGA's ground attack. We'll have to do without him, though, and hope that he's ready to play when his suspension is over.

Last but not least, if you haven't done so yet, check out Leftover Hot Dog's thoughts on practice.

A few other tidbits:

USC hoops will open against LaSalle in the Charleston Classic. LaSalle projects to have a good mid-major team this year, so this will be far from a cake walk. That's good, though; a win will do nice things for our RPI. Davidson (albeit Stephen Curry-less) looms as another possible quality opponent if we beat LaSalle.

Is Lou Holtz running for Congress? I like Lou and think he's a great football coach, but forgive me if I think that someone with such a cavalier attitude towards NCAA regulations might not be, you know, the best politician in a world that could probably use a little more answerability.

Kwame Geathers (brother of Clifton) is having trouble qualifying at UGA.

Post-Spring Previews: Tennessee Volunteers

Gamecock Man — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:43:57 -0000

More photos » by Butch Dill - AP

5 months ago: Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin talks about the upcoming season during the Southeastern Conference football Media Days in Hoover, Ala. on Friday, July 24, 2009. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

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After hosting Vanderbilt the week before, the Gamecocks travel to Knoxville to take on Lane Kiffin's Tennessee Volunteers. (Remember last time we went there? Yeah, I didn't want to think about that, either. I'd rather remember blowing them out last year. It's still hard to believe that happened. And perhaps even harder to believe that it didn't seem to mean very much.) The Vols, in my estimation, are one of the hardest teams to call this year. For one thing, of course, they have a brand new coaching staff. Personally, I tend to believe that there are lots of indications that Kifin and company, for all their strange antics, will be at least mildly successful in Knoxville. Why not? Kiffin has put together an all-star cast of coaches and managed to bring in a very impressive recruiting class with limited time. Will it be enough to get back to late-90s / early-2000s levels? That's still to be seen. However, I don't see many more 5-7 seasons in store for the Vols. The turnaround may not come immediately, though.

The new coaching staff isn't the only reason this team confuses me. The 2008 version, quite frankly, looked better on paper than it played on the field. Hell, Jonathan Crompton, one of the centers of criticism, was once considered one of the best prep quarterbacks in the country and a sure-fire bluechip prospect. Were the problems the program encountered last year simply owing to misuse of talent by Phil Fulmer and his staff (notably maligned offensive coordinator David Clawson), or were there deeper talent-evaluation issues involved? Perhaps we'll find out this year.

All of this is to say that you can take these comparisons with a grain of salt. I have no idea how good the Vols will be this year, but the following is an indication of how good I think they will be based on somewhat confusing evidence. Let's take a look at the offense first.

Offense

The Vols aim to go back to a more traditional offense after the failed experiment with Dave Clawson's offensive "system" this past season. That should work well for the Vols, who have a backfield built for success running the ball. The passing game, though, still has some questions, as the Vols return embattled quarterbacks Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens and an unproven if talented receiving corps.

Quarterbacks

After having a good spring, Jonathan Crompton appears to be ready to take the starting role he lost midway through last year. Needless to say, 2008 was a disaster for Crompton. He threw for an abysmal 98.13 rating, more INTs than TDs, and he generally looked lost in a number of notable games, such as when he went 8-23 in an offensive clunk-fest loss against Auburn. Crompton did redeem himself somewhat in the season finale against Kentucky. Talent is not the issue for Crompton, who was once one of the nation's most highly sought recruits and who has shown flashes of brilliance at times in his career. Crompton has a cannon of an arm, and you can expect to see the Vols use that to their advantage by occasionally going deep. If Crompton fails, expect for the Vols to go back to Nick Stephens, who was somewhat effective at times in Crompton's relief midway through last year. Some previews I've seeen think Stephens is the guy the Vols should go with, but I'd have to disagree. I'd have to imagine that Vols fans are hoping the Mountain Messiah comes through; Crompton appears to be the better player, and the fact that Stephens didn't really play better than Crompton suggests that the problem may have been as much the system as the players, which would in turn suggest that Crompton might be able to show off his considerable skills if he gets in the right system.

I'm going to give Stephen Garcia the slightest of edges in this one. Garcia had a slightly better 2008 than Crompton. However, although the two have different skill sets, they both had similar 2008s: lots of promise followed by lots of disappointment. It will be interesting to see what kind of year these two are having when the game rolls around; my guess is that both will surprise and be in the top half of the quarterbacks in the SEC. It is worth noting that the Vols, who project to have a strong running game and problems at receiver, will probably try to pound the ball most of the time. Even still, I expect Crompton be much better statistically this year.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Running Backs

The Vols finished 88th in the nation in rushing offense last season, good for ninth in the SEC. That's not going to happen again. Arian Foster is gone, but the Vols have a solid group of experienced backs, including Montario Hardesty and Taureen Poole. However, the big names in this group are the newcomers: Bryce Brown, 2009's top prep prospect by most measures, and David Oku, a top multi-purpose back. These two could form an impressive thunder and lightening duo for years to come. (Actually, it doesn't really make sense to call Brown "thunder" considering that he can really do just about anything--he's 219 and runs a 4.4.) All in all, the Vols have a lot of options in the backfield. If Brown and Oku can learn to produce quickly--and that is an "if" when it comes to freshmen--this could be one of the best backfields in the conference.

I give Tennessee a slight to strong advantage here. Neither of these teams had great running games last year, but both recruited some good players in their recruiting classes and should be much better this year. The Vols, though, brought in the biggest fish of them all in Brown, who, athletically at least, looks like the prototype of the classic SEC back. Tennessee could very well have a Bo Jackson- / Herschel Walker-type on their hands.

Verdict: Slight to Strong advantage Tennessee

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Wide receiver was another sore spot for the Tennessee offense last year. Tennessee graduates top receiver Lucas Taylor and hopes that Gerald Jones, who caught for over 300 yards a year ago, can step up and become the go-to guy. Jones is very talented and could be poised for a breakout year. The Vols hope that Denarius Moore can be the deep-ball threat. (Moore will be out early in the season but should be back for our game.) Austin Rogers, who was supposed to be part of the rotation, is out for the year with a knee injury. It's also possible that star recruit Nu'Keese Richardson might see time on the field, but Richardson's small stature may prohibit him from making an impact until he puts on some weight.

I give us a slight advantage here. Both teams are looking for identity at receiver, but Jason Barnes, Moe Brown, Dion LeCorn, and Weslye Saunders have shown a bit more than UT's group.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Offensive Line

Tennessee needs better play out of its line if it wants to take advantage of all the talent in the backfield. The interior looks solid with Jacques McClendon and Vlad Richard at guards and Josh McNeil at center. However, tackle is a bigger question mark, with uncertainty at both positions. The left tackle will be either Chris Scott or Dallas Thomas. I have no idea who the right tackle will be.

This is a push. Both teams are looking for better line play and will probably get it, but question marks linger. Both teams also have to be worrying about injuries that could reveal depth issues.

Verdict: Push

Let's look at the defense after the jump.

Defense

While I'd say we overall look a bit better on offense than the Vols, they may have the advantage over us on defense. Moreover, Kiffin brings in his pops Monte, one of the NFL's all-time great defensive coordinators. The Vols will run Kiffin senior's famed 4-3 Tampa 2 defense. (The meeting between Kiffin senior and Ellis Johnson will certainly be a battle between two of the SEC's best defensive minds.) Despite the atrocious record, Tennessee's defense was very good last year, and it will probably be good this year despite losing some star power at line and linebacker.

Defensive Line

Tennessee graduates star end Robert Ayers to the NFL. However, this should still be a very good unit for Tennessee. The Vols have two speedy ends in Chris Walker and Ben Martin, both of whom will rack up a number of sacks this year. They also have depth at the position, so expect to see frequent rotation to keep everyone fresh. There's some concern about the effectiveness of the inside linemen; Dan Williams appears to be a solid, but Wes Brown looks a little small for the position. Kiffin is high on freshman Montori Hughes, who may take Brown's spot sooner than later.

I'm going to call this a push. Defensive line should be our strength on defense this year, and I think our starters may be a little better and more seasoned than UT's. However, the Vols have depth on their side, whereas we could be in trouble by this point in the season if we have multiple guys go down.

Verdict: Push

Linebackers

The Vols have one of the conference's better outside linebackers in Rico McCoy. After McCoy, though, they have some more question marks. Nick Reveiz, LaMarcus Thompson, Savion Frazier, and a group of freshmen will likely fill the other positions. This group has the talent to be good but has a lot to prove.

I give us a slight advantage here. We have an All-SEC linebacker in Eric Norwood, an experienced talent in Rodney Paulk, and a group of younger guys that at least have some experience. The Vols, while talented, will have to hope their guys can grow up really fast.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Secondary

Tennessee boasts the nation's best safety in Eric Berry. Hell, Berry might very well be the best defensive player in the country, period. He's getting some Heisman hype, a rarity for a defensive player. Berry can do it all; he can knock you silly with a bone-rattling hit, he can come down with a tough interception and then take it to the house, whatever you want. He's essentially a one-man wrecking crew. What's more, Berry has been vocal about believing that his skills will be maximized in Monte Kiffin's Tampa 2 scheme. I don't doubt he's right; this guy knows when to be confident. Highly regarded freshman Darren Myles appears to be the other starter at safety. Tennessee will start Dennis Rogan at one of the corners but is uncertain about the other. However, they have plenty of talented options. This should be a good secondary once the coaching staff figures out how to work the rotation.

Strong advantage Tennessee here. I have serious doubts about our secondary this year (although signing Darrell Givens would ease those a bit). While Tennessee does have some questions of their own, they're mostly the "good" sort of questions: too much talent to know what to do with. And Eric Berry just scares me. You never know when he's going to take one of your guys out of the game or pull in a pick six.

Verdict: Strong advantage Tennessee

Special Teams

Junior Daniel Lincoln returns hoping to improve on his 2008 campaign. Lincoln was one of the conference's best kickers in 2007 (Gamecocks fans know this) but struggled last year. Star punter Britton Colquitt graduates, but Chad Cunningham played well while Colquitt was injured last year and should be a serviceable replacement. The coverage units look solid. The Vols have a number of potential contributors in the return game. Dennis Rogan was a good kickoff returner last year, and freshmen David Oku and Nu'Keese Richardson have the speed to play right away as well.

I'll give the Vols a slight advantage here. Lincoln, who along with Auburn's Wes Byrum stangely got much worse in 2008 after stellar freshmen campaigns, is a cause for concern. However, we also have questions in that department with Ryan Succop gone, and the Vols' talent in the return game is scary.

Verdict: Slight advantage Tennessee

Head Coaches

How good can Lane Kiffin be in the SEC? That's the question that's on many minds around the SEC coming into this year. While some are predicting Kiffin will either achieve great success right away or will bust, I think we'll see something in between for the Vols this year. While the true believers on Rocky Top might not be happy with an eight-win season, in actuality that would be a success for this team. The problem, of course, is that the Vols don't project to have the kind of passing game they'll need to compete with Florida and 'Bama this year. That's not Kiffin's fault, though; if he can get this team on the right track, the quality skill-position players will come. I think Kiffin is capable of getting those eight or nine wins, and if he does that, he'll have proven that he has the potential to bring Tennessee back to the conference's upper echelon. He's already proven that he can do two important things: recruit and compete in the brutal SEC assistant-coaches arms race.

That said, though, Kiffin has yet to prove that he can do those things. Steve Spurrier, on the other hand, has, even if his star has been fading a bit over the past couple of years.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Overall

These are fairly evenly matched teams, a notion confirmed by the fact that most previews I've looked at see both teams going anywhere between 5-7 to 9-3. This game, of course, is one of the toss ups the previews point to. A lot is going to come down to how far along both teams have gotten in terms of answering the questions on offense. Injuries could also be a problem for both teams; offensive injuries in general could devastate Tennessee, whereas injuries to (heaven forbid) Garcia or someone in the secondary could be rough for us. All of this points to a game that's almost impossible to call right now. One thing I do like is that our strengths would seem to play to theirs; we project to have a strong rushing defense this year, they plan to run the ball, we'll probably run more than in years past, whereas their defensive strengths are in the secondary. I'm going to go with a close Carolina victory here, but again, I'm not sure about this one. Tennessee is a wild card; they could be a team that's average, or they could end up being a nine-or-so win team. We'll have to wait and see.

Prediction: Three-point victory USC

Poll

The Tennessee game will be a...

Blowout USC victory

19 votes

Close USC victory

52 votes

Close UT victory

31 votes

Blowout UT victory

26 votes

128 votes | Poll has closed

Keys to Success in 2009: Number 4, Finding a Replacement for Kenny McKinley

Gamecock Man — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:52:17 -0000

Kenny McKinley finished his career at South Carolina as one of the most distinguished players ever to take the field as a Gamecock. He holds almost every significant receiving record, ousting former greats such as Sidney Rice and Sterling Sharpe. McKinley was also a positive force off the field. He stayed out of trouble, inspired his teammates, and always appeared to be incredibly dedicated to his team.

He also accounted for a disproportionately large portion of our receiving offense. He, Jared Cook, and Mike Davis--all of whom won't be back next year--accounted for 49% of the team's receiving yards, with McKinley leading the way with 642 of the trio's 1428 yards. And let's not forget, of course, that McKinley tallied these numbers despite missing a handful of games after suffering a hamstring injury against Vandy. The fact that Cook had almost as many yards as McKinley deceives one regarding just how central McKinley was when he was playing, as McKinley missed the Georgia, Wofford, and UAB games.

While some might disagree with me, I believe that Cook and Davis won't be terribly hard to replace. Cook was a great player and promises to be a good pro, but waiting to fill in for him is Weslye Saunders, who was very effective as a backup last year. Although he had his moments, Davis's senior season was an overall disappointment. Based on how the spring played out, we have reason to believe that we'll get much more out of the tailback position this year than we did last year.

The same can't be said for McKinley, though. True, we do have some receivers with experience who may be ready to take on bigger roles as go-to receivers this season; all, though, have question marks surrounding them. Jason Barnes played well at times last year, especially while McKinley was being worked back into the offense during the Ole Miss and Kentucky games, where he racked up 76 and 88 yards, respectively. However, Barnes seemed to disappear after McKinley returned to full strength. Moe Brown has also had his ups and downs during his time at Carolina. Brown had a breakout game last year against UGA while McKinley was sidelined, catching for 130 yards. However, he too seemed to disappear later in the season. Dion LeCorn is another candidate. LeCorn came on strong and showed lots of promise late in 2007. LeCorn too, though, had an inconsistent 2008; although he looked like he would be a significant part of the offense early in the season, he was moved to defense in the second half of the year. The coaching staff moved him back to offense during spring, though.

Every team needs a go-to receiver, a guy a quarterback can count on to consistently get open and to catch a ball in traffic when nobody can get open. While some teams have found success in the passing game without such a player--think last year's Florida team, where Tim Tebow distributed fairly evenly between Louis Murphy, Percy Harvin, and Aaron Hernandez--such offenses are rare. It will be tough to find a guy who can be as productive as McKinley, but finding someone that can come close to doing so will be key for this offense.

Keys to Success in 2009: Number Five, Special Teams Play

Gamecock Man — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:12:07 -0000

This post begins a series on what I see as the five keys to success for the 2009 Gamecocks. Today we look at special teams. While special teams don't always get much attention from the press, they're absolutely critical to a team's success. Good special teams play results not just in points in the form of field goals but also in the "hidden yardage" that more intelligent commentators like Phil Steele like to refer to. Return units that put their offense in good field position can take the pressure off an inept offense, while good coverage units can handicap a prolific offense.

Last year, we had one of the best special teams units in the conference. On kickoffs, we led the conference in touchbacks with 25 and were second in terms of opponent's starting field position, with opponents starting from the 22.8 on average (that's only .1 yard behind the leader, Kentucky). Although he struggled at times during mid-season, we had the conference's fourth-best FG kicker in terms of percentage in Ryan Succop. Spencer Lanning and the punt coverage unit were serviceable. Chris Culliver was fourth best in kickoff return yards and projects to become USC's all-time leader in that category over the course of his career.

This year, though, we lose a cadre of important contributors to our success on special teams. The most important, probably, is Succop, and that's not just because he was one of the conference's best field goal booters. Succop was also responsible for all those touchbacks. The consequent quality defensive field position that we garnered from Succop's powerful leg undoubtedly helped us field what was one of the country's best scoring defenses until the three-game skid at the end of the year. As Westerdawg via Rex Robinson points out, due to offense-friendly rules changes it's become more difficult than ever to find a kicker that can consistently kickoff into the end zone, so we should expect a drop off in kickoff quality that will make the coverage unit all that more important. It's uncertain who will replace Succop; it appears that Adam Yates will handle kickoffs and punter Spencer Lanning will kick field goals, but it's possible that Yates will handle both duties. Neither was able to lock down the field goal kicking position during the spring.

We also lose Captain Munnerlyn, who returned punts last year. Our punt return units weren't as effective as our kickoff units, but losing Munnerlyn does leave us with another hole to fill. If Culliver takes over on punts, we may begin to stretch him thin considering that he'll then be doing kickoffs, punts, and starting at free safety. That could be problematic. Akeem Auguste and Dion LeCorn are also possible candidates.

Finally, we lose coach Ray Rychleski. Rychleski has long been considered one of the best special teams coaches in the game, and his arrival in Columbia last season made an instant difference. Rychleski was rewarded for his success with a swanky position with the Indianapolis Colts. Shane Beamer, who coached special teams in 2007 and cornerbacks in 2008, will take over on special teams again. Special teams play under Beamer in 2007 was mediocre and possibly cost us the game against Clemson, so my confidence in Beamer isn't quite what it was in Rychleski. That said, Beamer is a young coach and has hopefully grown into his role since 2007.

These losses are considerable, especially if we again field a spotty offense as Stephen Garcia continues to mature. If we can take care of them, it could help us win a couple of the close ones. If not, the opposite may be true.

Post-Spring Preview: NC State Wolfpack

Gamecock Man — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:51:23 -0000

Carolina once again opens their season against NC State, this time traveling to Raleigh to take on the 'Pack. Last time around, we beat State 34-0. However, the score was deceiving: we only led 3-0 at the half and 13-0 at the beginning of the final quarter, and Chris Smelley came in to relieve the regrettable Tommy Beecher and played a deceptively good quarter in which we scored the final 21 points. As we all know, this game was a harbinger of many things we would experience throughout the season, among them a defense that saved the crazy bad offense, inconsistent QB play, absolutely no running game (don't let all the yards Mike Davis racked up at the end of this game deceive you).

This year, I expect this game to be much different. First of all, State is no longer the team they were at that point. Led by QB Russell Wilson, the "Pack emerged at the end of last season after a horrid start and eventually earned a bowl berth. State will look to continue their solid play this year. South Carolina, on the other hand, still has questions, this time on both sides of the ball. However, a more experienced Stephen Garcia, a new offensive line coach in Eric Wolford, and another stellar recruiting class have us believing we can play better this year.

Let's take a look at how the two teams match up against each other on offense. The defensive and head coaching comparisons are soon to come.

Offense

Quarterback

State comes in with the aforementioned Wilson, who played very well down the stretch last year. Wilson's most impressive stat is his 17-1 TD-INT ratio, a surprising stat considering that his completion percentage was good but not great at 54.5%. Wilson is also an effective scrambler. If Wilson gets hurt or doesn't live up to expectations, former star recruit Mike Glennon is waiting in the wings.

We of course have Stephen Garcia, who looked good in spurts last year but played poorly over the last few games. Garcia probably has more upside than Wilson, but he needs to prove that he can live up to expectations. Hopefully his good spring was an indication that he's on the way there, but he still haven't proven he can play well consistently, which Wilson has done to some degree.

Verdict: Push--Wilson is more proven but Garcia could be much better when all is said and done

Running Back

State loses Andre Brown, who went to the New York Giants in the fourth round. However, they do return Jamelle Eugene, a capable back that has played well in tandem with Brown over the past two years.

South Carolina loses starter Mike Davis, but returns talented back ups in Brian Maddox and Eric Baker and has new comers with star potential in true freshman Jarvis Giles and redshirt freshman Kenny Miles. While none of these players has yet played a major role in the offense, they are all talented and having a number of them gives us a lot of depth. While I hesitate to call anything about our running game superior, I think this will be a break out unit in 2009.

Verdict: Slight Advantage South Carolina--State will be productive, but one or more of the SC backs will emerge for a breakout 2009

Wide Receiver

With Jarvis Williams and Owen Spencer returning, State has a solid receiving core coming back. These two players were Wilson's main targets last year.

South Carolina lost one of its best players in recent history when Kenny McKinley graduated. Losing McKinley will hurt us, but hopefully Jason Barnes, Moe Brown, and Dion LeCorn will be able to step in and fill his shoes. Each, however, has failed to consistently perform well over the past couple of years. I think it's key that one of these guys emerges as the go-to guy. He doesn't have to be McKinley or Sidney Rice, but he does need to provide us with a viable target.

Verdict: Slight Advantage NC State--the fact that State has proven targets and that I think we have a group of players with a lot to prove gives State the slight advantage

Offensive Line

South Carolina loses Jamon Meredith but retains depth otherwise. This line has performed poorly over the past few years, but new coach Eric Wolford had them performing well in spring practice. I expect significant improvement here in 2009.

State loses two important linemen in John Bedics and Meares Green. Losing these two could be hell for a unit that will have to keep Eric Norwood out of their backfield.

Verdict: Slight Advantage South Carolina--as with the running game, I hesitate to make this call, but I really think we're going to see improvement here

Wednesday News and Notes

Gamecock Man — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:44:43 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

8 months ago: FILE - In this March 13, 2009, file photo, South Carolina guard Devan Downey (2) shoots around Mississippi State forward Jarvis Vernado during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Southeastern Conference men's tournament in Tampa, Fla. Downey is making himself eligible for the NBA draft without hiring an agent, meaning he can withdraw his name by June 15 and still return to school. The 5-foot-9 guard announced his decision Tuesday, April 7. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

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Football

Dion LeCorn to Be Back for Season Opener. This is obviously good news, as LeCorn projects to be a prominent contributor in the receiving core as well as an option under center in some of the new wildcat packages. Get well soon, Dion!

Former Pro Pitcher Mike Rozier Looking to Walk On at USC as a QB. Here's Rozier's profile on Scout.com; he was a two-star QB coming out of high school in 2004.

Basketball

UPDATE: Dominique Archie Declares for NBA Draft without Hiring Agent. Archie, apparently, has every plan to return for his senior season but wants to get feedback from scouts on what he needs to improve on. That sounds reasonable to me (and is undoubtedly part of the reason Devan Downey declared, although it appears Devan is more serious about it).

Chris Mack Takes Xavier Job. Mack was an assistant of the departed Sean Miller. We can officially rest easy about Darrin Horn now. H / T to our Bluegrass State friend btcoop71 on this story; btcoop71 always keeps us up to date on the news coming out of Kentucky and Ohio.

Darrin Horn on Devan Downey's Draft Chances. As Horn points out, the sad truth for Devan is that his NBA prospects aren't very good right now, although that may of course change if he impresses in workouts. I'd say that chances are 50/50 that Devan will return, as there's still a good chance that he might choose an overseas career so he can make money while he prepares for the day when he's ready for the NBA. (And I do believe he can make it one day. What he needs to do is convert to more of a true point guard.) Horn says something in this interview that I think we should all take to heart:

Our stance from the beginning has been we want what's best for Devan Downey.

I like that outlook. I would really love for Downey to come back for next year, but I think we have to realize that a lot if riding on this decision for him. He may need the money and there's always the risk of injury if he stays. People that can't understand why a guy would want to leave college early should keep that in mind.

Baseball

Carolina Pounds Charleston 20-6. Charleston, who had a promising start, is now struggling with their pitching. They certainly didn't solve any of those problems last night.

Also, check out my colleague cocknfire's take on SEC baseball over at Team Speed Kills. As cocknfire points out, this weekend's series with Auburn is big for Carolina's postseason hopes.

Sunday Morning Links and Commentary: Post-Spring Game Edition

Gamecock Man — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:40:42 -0000

Spring Game

Stephen Garcia Plays Well. Unsurprisingly, this was the big news of the day. Garcia made a number of good throws, threw for a high percentage, and threw no INTs. With Steve Spurrier as our coach and Garcia being, well, Garcia, I hesitate to say that this year won't feature anymore QB controversies, but it certainly appears that Garcia has a tighter grip on the spot than any other QB here at Carolina has had during the Spurrier years.

Dion LeCorn Suffers Leg Injury. I couldn't really get a good idea on exactly what happened from the reports, but it appears that LeCorn suffered a small leg-bone fracture. If so, he could hopefully be back in the fall. The injury actually happened on the last play of the scrimmage. Doh!

Running Game Plays Well and We're Going to Miss Succop. The new blocking schemes and hard work from the linemen appears to have paid off with the running game. Jarvis Giles and Kenny Miles both had big days. Brian Maddox, who will likely be the starter at the beginning of the year, played OK but only saw limited action.

As for the kicking game, Adam Yates and Spencer Lanning combined for 1-3, with the only made kick coming from 27 yards out. Not good.

Suspended Ladi Ajiboye and C. C. Whitlock Making Strides; Stephon Gilmore Plays Both Ways. Apparently Ajiboye and Whitlock are doing better in the classroom.

Gilmore, who Spurrier promised to get in at QB with some special packages, did complete a pass and make a seven-yard run in addition to playing well on defense. This guy is going to be good.

Connor Shaw Commits. Finally, QB prospect Shaw committed.

UPDATE: Joe Person on Spring Awards.

Baseball

Gamecocks Take Down Rebels. We're going for the sweep today. This series win at a good Ole Miss team couldn't have come at a better time, and a sweep today would be huge.

Five Things I'd Like to See this Today During the Spring Game: Gameday Open Thread

Gamecock Man — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:43:04 -0000

UPDATE: Check out Leftover Hot Dog for more thoughts on the Spring Game.

These are the five things I really want to see when the Garnet and Black teams take the field today. I'd love to hear what the rest of you think in the open thread.

5. A Receiver Reaching 100 Yards

McKinley showed us how much of a class act he is today by taking out space in the paper today to thank Gamecock Nation for its support during his record-breaking career. While we here at Garnet and Black Attack wish Kenny luck in his future endeavors, the fact is that his departure leaves us with a glaring hole on the offense. While a number of our returning receivers--among them Jason Barnes, Moe Brown, and Dion LeCorn--have shown promise over the past couple of years, no one has cemented a spot as the go-to guy. Whether it be one of the returning guys, spring standout Tori Gurley, or TE Wesyle Saunders, someone needs to step up tomorrow.

4. Solid Play from the New Defensive Roster

While Eric Norwood, Darian Stewart, and much of the defensive line, return, the losses of Jasper Brinkley, Emanuel Cook, and Captain Munnerlyn leave major holes to fill from last year's stellar defensive unit. Who's going to step up and win these spots, and, perhaps more importantly, are the reserves going to be good enough to step in if the starters get injured? We need answers to these questions tomorrow.

3. Steve Spurrier Successfully Opening Up the Playbook

Last spring before Stephen Garcia was suspended, Spurrier promised that we would see more zone reads and designed QB runs. Garcia's suspension, though, left Spurrier with more traditional QBs Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher, and Spurrier stuck with his Cock'n'Fire playbook. This year with Garcia seemingly the certain starting QB, Spurrier is again talking about expanding his playbook to fit Garcia's skill set, and reports out of practice are that Spurrier is doing just that. Personally, I think it's a good sign that Spurrier is willing to set his pride aside and adapt to the times and his young QBs unique skills. However, we now need to see it work.

2. Big Performances from the Running Game

Spurrier has recently said that if the season began today, Brian Maddox would most likely be the starter. I liked Maddox's play in limited action last year, so I fully support Spurrier's confidence in the player. However, I believe that when we get into the season we will again to some degree see a tailback committee approach, with Maddox sharing time with Eric Baker, Jarvis Giles, and Kenny Miles. That's fine with me; we now have a decent stable of backs, and we should take advantage of the fresh legs that depth offers us. What I care most about is that these guys produce better than last year's abysmal unit. A lot of the burden, obviously, is also on the offensive line, which block the run atrociously last year. The backs and linemen need to produce this year for us to move forward offensively; reports are that they've played well in practice, and it would be good to see that continue tomorrow.

1. How Well Will Stephen Garcia Play?

I hate to steal The State's number-one spring storyline, but let's face it: is there anybody in Gamecock Nation who's thinking about anything more than Stephen Garcia right now? The story with last year's Spring Game was Garcia's absence due to suspension and the barrage of interceptions and general shoddy play by Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher. When autumn rolled around, we predictably had an awful offense.

This year, though, with Chris Smelley gone, the promising young Garica has a tight grip on the starting spot, and reports are that he's learning the offense, playing well, and, perhaps most importantly, keeping his nose clean. We've been talking about Garcia's promise for sometime around here, but the future is now for Stephen. We need him to step up and lead this team, starting today.