SB Nation - Jared Cook

USC Underclassmen with NFL Prospects: Will Anyone Leave Early?

Gamecock Man — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:40 -0000

Last year, our team was decimated by early entrees to the NFL draft, losing three key players: Jared Cook, Captain Munnerlyn, and Emanuel Cook. This year, there's not much talk about the possibility of us taking a big hit due to early entrees. Should we be worried, or are we right to be confident? From where I'm standing, there are four players who could consider leaving early. In order of their status as prospects, those are Weslye Saunders, Chris Culliver, Cliff Matthews, and Clifton Geathers. Let's take a closer look.

Weslye Saunders

Saunders would almost certainly be drafted were he to declare. He is a prototypical NFL tight end: he's huge, is a good blocker, has nearly infallible hands, and is fast for his size. Most league still rely on sets that feature TEs, so Saunders wouldn't have to worry about finding a home for his skills.

The question is where he would go. He would have to compete with a number of highly touted ends, such as Oklahoma's Jermaine Gresham and Arizona's Rob Gronkowski. At the very least, I think he would fall behind these two prospects and perhaps slightly further. That would probably mean third round or lower.

If Saunders stays, on the other hand, he could be a first round pick. Most projections I've seen call him the top TE prospect of the 2010 senior class. The difference, of course, between first and third round money is enough to give prospects some incentive to stay another year; a player can easily make up whatever he loses with another year in college by signing a first-round contract that will pay him a few times more than he would receive with a third-round contract.

The coaching staff believes that Saunders is the player most likely to declare. However, Saunders vows to return. Although one couldn't blame him too much for leaving, Saunders would be wise to follow his instincts and come back. Like Sidney Rice and Jared Cook before him, he'd probably be a first-day pick if he declares. However, as would have probably been the case for Sidney and Jared had they returned, if Saunders comes back and has a big year, he could go early first round.

Let's take a look at the other players after the jump.

Chris Culliver

Although he had something of an up and down year, Culliver is still one of the better safeties in the league and made All-SEC second team. Culliver also has the speed and versatility that NFL teams look for in a safety. How would he fare in the draft, though? While Culliver might be taken, my feeling is that he would be making a huge, Emanuel Cook-sized mistake by leaving. At best, Culliver would be a very late-round pick, which would mean the likelihood of trying to gut out a spot on the third team somewhere with no guarantees that he wouldn't eventually just end up on a scout team. That doesn't sound like as much fun as trying to help the Gamecocks win a title, now does it? On the other hand, if Culliver stays, he has a puncher's chance at being a first-day pick and, with a big year, could make it to the first two rounds.

Despite the talk in the air about Culliver declaring, I just don't see it. After seeing what happened to his backfield buddies last year, Culliver has to know that he'd be taking an unwise risk by leaving. I say Culliver stays, works on his tackling mechanics, and comes back poised for big things in 2010.

Cliff Matthews

Big Cliff had another great year in 2009 being a game changer off the end. However, Matthews is smallish for an NFL end, so like Eric Norwood, Matthews faces the challenge of making NFL scouts believe that he has a place in a league that can be quite dogmatic in its understanding of what players at certain positions should look like. With a big year, Matthews could make that case in 2010, but I doubt he would be drafted this year. That combined with Matthews clear dedication to the team makes me think there's little chance of Matthews even considering leaving.

Clifton Geathers

Geathers is something of a wildcard here. He has yet to make a huge name for himself around the country, so many might be surprised to hear his name mentioned in regards to the draft. However, I suspect more NFL scouts know about Geathers than you might think. At 6-7 / 281 and with the speed to blow by blockers, Geathers has the potential to an unblockable sack, pass deflection, and punt blocking machine when he fulfills his potential. Gamecocks fans have seen hints of this ability, particularly late this year, but Geathers has yet to put it all together for an extended period of time. That won't stop agents from getting in his ear, though.

That said, I seriously doubt Geathers would be drafted if he were to declare, and I would imagine he's intelligent enough to know that. Geathers will stay, and if he works hard, you could see him skyrocket to the top of the charts for the 2010 draft.

Blogger Q&A - South Carolina

Juco All-American — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:00:15 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

South Carolina's Tori Gurley (81) celebrates with teammate Weslye Saunders after catching a touchdown pass in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 in Athens, Ga.

Browse more photos »

In case this is your first football season with us, let me introduce our Blogger Q&A. Blogger Q&A is a weekly entry we do with a bloggeur from a blog of our opponent. I contacted Gamecock Man over at Garnet and Black Attack (SBNation's South Carolina Blog) to do this week's Blogger Q&A.

His questions and my responses are up at Garnet and Black Attack here.

1. Jared Cook was a major difference maker in last year's game with 88 receiving yards. Which Gamecock player is likely to be that difference maker come Thursday night?

I'm going to go with Tori Gurley. Gurley has been the go-to receiver in the vertical game so far this year, but most of his biggest plays have been called back for some reason or another. I think this will be the game where he makes a couple of big, gamebreaking catches that will stand. You can expect to see us try to use his height in post-up situations in the endzone.

2. Steve Spurrier does not seem to have the same magic he had at Florida. Has the game outgrown him, or is South Carolina too difficult of an environment for him to sustain significant success?

Mostly the latter. Spurrier is still capable of calling a good ballgame. When his line and quarterbacks have performed, he has had good offenses. However, he hasn't had the talent he used to have at Florida, so success has only been intermittent.

This isn't to say that he hasn't made mistakes. Part of the blame for Blake Mitchell and Chris Smelley's lack of development certainly falls on Spurrier's shoulders. He may still be a great play caller, but perhaps he's not as good at working with quarterbacks as he used to be. Part of the blame for the development and other problems, also, lies on his loyalty to poor assistants like former line coach John Hunt. Luckily, some of those problems have been solved and we appear to have a better staff now.

All of that said, I should stress that I don't think it's impossible to win big in Columbia. Spurrier has made some strides in recruiting that suggests that we might be able to make a run soon. We'll see.

3. Last season, Chris Smelley threw for over 300 yards against the Rebels. The same Chris Smelley is no longer playing football. Was he playing inspired ball or was the Rebel secondary just that bad? Will Garcia be able to produce in a similar fashion this season?

I think he was playing inspired ball. Smelley was capable of playing extremely well on the right day. He was also capable of throwing four interceptions on a bad day. I do remember thinking that we benefitted from some rather conspicuous breakdowns in coverage against you guys last year, but Spurrier's strength is that he knows how to beat opposing defensive coordinators in terms of getting receivers open. The difference in that game was that his quarterback delivered the goods like one of his Florida guys would have in the old days.

I do think Garcia is capable of producing at a similar level. He's come close in the past couple of games against Georgia and Florida Atlantic, but he's yet to quite get the right distance on his deep ball. I'm interested to see how he responds if Ole Miss plays more man defense than Georgia did. Against Georgia, Garcia put up good numbers by picking apart the underneath of Georgia's zone. I think coordinators will now try to take those plays away with man defenses. However, that could open things up for a vertical attack. If Garcia makes those throws, that is.

4. The Gamecocks' victory over NCState was sloppy, whereas they looked quite strong against Georgia. How much and in what areas did South Carolina improve from game 1 to game 2.

First of all, I think Spurrier called the N. C. State game quite conservatively. Against Georgia, he went to the air more often, and Garcia and company showed that we can move the ball that way. So in a way, it was probably just a matter of opening it up a bit and taking advantage of our strengths and what the 'Dawgs gave us. Red-zone production was also better against Georgia. Against N. C. State, we were in the red zone multiple times after the first touchdown but got no points due to special teams woes. Against Georgia, we still had problems scoring touchdowns, but at least we got something.

5. What is your score prediction and why?

I'm a little torn about this one. I think that this Carolina team is one complete game away from proving that it's capable of beating the best SEC teams, and with this game in Columbia, I think you'll see us bid for the upset if we play anywhere near our peak. My gut tells me that we'll win it, but my head tells me that until we prove that we can overcome some defensive and special teams shortcomings, I shouldn't bet against a team like Ole Miss. I'm going to go with Ole Miss in a fairly high-scoring game. Let's say 38-35. I might change my mind on gameday, though, so drop by to see my preview. In any case, I think we should all expect a very exciting night of football. May the best team win!

Wednesday News and Notes: Multiple UGA-nality and other News

Gamecock Man — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:13:08 -0000

Over at Dr. Saturday, Doug Gillet (of Hey Jenny Slater fame) has this to say on why rival fans like to speculate on when Steve Spurrier will leave Carolina:

OK, maybe that last question is mostly the curiosity of rival SEC fans who would very much like to see Spurrier depart Columbia before he has the chance to turn South Carolina into a powerhouse.

What? Did I just read an UGA fan express fear that South Carolina could become a powerhouse? I need a dose of UGA normalcy...

Well, I got it from the UGA Sports Blog. While these folks are good source for info on the 'Dawgs, they've been spewing the same inane UGA homerism, well, since the first time I read the blog. While I wouldn't disagree with Paul that we have serious questions in the secondary, I do disagree about Stephen Garcia, I definitely disagree that this will be the least talented team we've had since 1999, and I guess I should have known he would call for a blowout UGA win when we travel to Athens. If I remember correctly, this is the same guy that said Georgia would win by four TDs last year because he had decided that we had a slow defense after watching us hold NC State to 138 yards. Very perceptive.

A few other tidbits:

CC Whitlock is ready to go. This is great news; with our depth issues at secondary, we may need CC's help more and more as the season wears on. Let's just hope he's now got his head screwed on straight.

Tackle Cody Gibson signs. This is turning out to be the mother load of OL classes. At 265, Gibson will obviously have to put on quite a bit of weight to get ready for playing tackle in the SEC, but that's pretty normal. Here are some things that his high school coach had to say about him, as reported on Gamecock Anthem:

"He doesn't take any plays off. He comes out and plays hard, and that's how he practices. What you see on film, he's the same way everyday in practice."

"I think he's going to do great at South Carolina. He has a great frame that everybody is looking for. He has quick feet, and he's just going to grow. Cody is just a natural, prototypical lineman that everybody is looking for," he said. "Coach Graham thinks he has a great physical demeanor about him in the trenches, and he also likes his long arms, his build, and his quick feet. He protects well as either a right or left tackle, and I see him doing very well at South Carolina."

Gibson had offers from Maryland, Illinois, South Florida, Indiana, and East Carolina. All in all, he looks like a nice prospect, although I'll have to admit that I'd like to see us steal a recruit or two from the Floridas and UGAs of the world.

Jared Cook signs with the Titans. Congrats, Jared.

We're on Tru's hitlist at A Sea of Blue. I'd say our basketball team has made some strides when we have Kentucky fans drooling at the chance for a little payback.

SEC 2009 // A Gamecock's Mind

cocknfire — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:00:18 -0000

For those who don't know, I ran Garnet and Black Attack, the South Carolina blog here on SB Nation, before launching Team Speed Kills. When I moved over here, GABA was placed in the more than competent hands of Gamecock Man, who has done a superb job at running the place. Gamecock Man agreed to answer a few questions as part of South Carolina week.

Is Stephen Garcia really "the guy"? And even if he is, do Gamecock fans really have faith in him to stay out of trouble through an entire season?

Tough questions; I guess it depends on what you mean by "the guy." In terms of arm strength, mobility, and other physical qualities, Garcia appears to have the tools to be a good SEC quarterback. He'll need to continue to improve his knowledge of the playbook and his decision-making skills, but I think that will come with experience. The results from spring practice sound promising in that regard. Therefore, I fully expect Garcia to be an improvement over Blake Mitchell and Chris Smelley, and I think he's fully capable of helping us get to 8-9 wins and a New Years Day Bowl, especially in his junior and senior seasons. If that's what you mean by "the guy," then yeah, I think Garcia is "the guy." If you mean someone that can be one of the nation's best quarterbacks, the kind of player that can elevate this offense to SEC-title caliber, then it's really almost impossible to say. Obviously, we'll get an idea of what his ceiling is like this year. If he dramatically improves and we have a very good year, then the expectations for 2010 will be sky high for Garcia and the Gamecocks. Sort of like what you see with Jevan Snead and Ole Miss this year. As far as his off-field behavior, I think most people think he's grown up. He seems to have matured and taken a leadership role on the team, which is a good sign. You of course never know with someone with his history, but I don't think he'll have any more problems of that sort.

The losses from last year's team that look most harmful are WR Kenny McKinley and TE Jared Cook. Does that sound about right to you, and do you worry about whether their replacements can fill the void?

Well, I might argue that the losses to the secondary (Emanuel Cook, Captain Munnerlyn, and Stoney Woodson) hurt more. McKinley and Cook were great players for us, certainly. However, I like Weslye Saunders as Cook's replacement and don't think we'll lose a beat from the TE spot. At WR, we have lots of talented players, such as Jason Barnes, Moe Brown, Dion LeCorn, and freshman Alshon Jeffery. One of these guys is going to have to step up and become the go-to guy; that will probably be Barnes or Brown, as LeCorn is more of a possession receiver and Jeffery is inexperienced. I think we'll see good production here, though; keep in mind that some of these guys played pretty well in McKinley's absence early last season. I also think we'll see a better running game this year, meaning that we won't have to have the passing game completely carry the offense, which was sometimes the case last year.

At secondary, we have some talented players in place to replace the guys we're losing, especially at safety. However, depth could be a huge problem if someone gets hurt. Remember how our defensive performance waned in 2007 after all the defensive injuries? That could happen again this year if guys like Darian Stewart and Chris Culliver get hurt.

A bigger deal this year: Beating Vanderbilt or beating Clemson?

Are you being serious? I expected better from you, C&F. It's gotta be Clemson. Losing to Vandy sucks, and having a losing streak to Vandy sucks even more, but I don't think most Gamecocks fans hate Vandy. I actually cheer for them when they're not playing us. It's just kind of embarrassing losing to them, and it's frustrating when you lose to them in the fashion that we have. The fact that we have more talent than them has been apparent in both games; the problem was inane decision making by our QBs in 2007 and weird special teams gaffes in 2008. Just frustrating. However, Vandy just doesn't inspire the kind of feelings in me that Clemson does. If I could enjoy the feeling I got after we beat Clemson in 2006, I think I could handle another loss to Vandy. The only possible argument one could make for Vandy here is if you imagine a scenario when losing to Vandy costs us a trip to Atlanta. I could probably stomach another loss to Clemson slightly better if I knew we were going to get a shot at the SEC Title. But teams that lose to Vandy usually aren't in the running for divisional championships, so this probably won't happen, anyways.

How many wins does Spurrier need this year to show progress, and what happens if he doesn't get there? Will he retire? Do you see any way the university could fire him if they decide it isn't working out?

I think he needs eight regular season wins and to finish in the upper half of the SEC East. Nine is possible, but unless we're much better than advertised and some of our opponents are much worse, I think it's hard to see us winning 10 or 11 with the schedule we have. If he wins eight, he'll have improved on previous totals. Moreover, as I said, there'll be high hopes for 2010. If Stephen Garcia comes through as the quarterback, this offense will be one of the best and most experienced in the conference in 2010. If he only wins seven, there will be some cause for concern, but with the schedule we have, it's a distinct possibility even if the team plays well.

As far as what he'll do if it doesn't happen, it's hard to say. He claims that he's in this for the long haul, that he recognizes the challenge of winning big here and wants to take that challenge the distance. I tend to take him at his word on that. However, he's not a young man anymore, so who's to say that he might not just decide he'd rather hang out on the beach and the golf course instead of dealing with the rigors of the SEC when he's not winning much?

Would the university fire him? Unless he has an atrocious year, I kind of doubt it. He has been fairly successful here compared to his predecessors. However, I actually wouldn't be against it -- depending on the circumstances -- if we only win five or six games. I think we have the resources here to do better than that, and I think we should hold our coaches to standards higher than that.

Do you disagree with anything we've said this week?

I think your predictions are pretty accurate. I might change the following:

9.19 :: vs. Florida Atlantic :: POSSIBLE WIN.

I'd call this a probable win. Florida Atlantic is good on offense, but I don't think they have enough defensive brawn to hold us back.

9.24 :: vs. Ole Miss :: PROBABLE LOSS

I'd call this a possible loss. That's probably because I like our home-field advantage here. I'm also not as high on Ole Miss as most people are.

10.3 :: vs. S.C. State :: POSSIBLE WIN

This is a win. SC State is a good FCS team, but don't expect much from them in this game.

11.28 :: vs. Clemson :: POSSIBLE WIN

This is a push. I'm guessing that's what you really think it is, too.

I also notice that you call Vandy a probable win and FAU and SC State possible wins. I think Vandy will be much tougher than FAU or SC State.

What I was getting at was that Florida Atlantic is a bigger threat as a trap game than Vanderbilt. And the Gamecocks, for whatever reason, always seem to play their worst games against FCS competiton. But Gamecock Man makes valid points.

Thanks to him for answering our questions.

MONDAY: South Carolina Leans on Hope, Again
TUESDAY: The Carolina Calendar
WEDNESDAY: Spurrier Meets with Two Students; Stephen Garcia -- and the Rest of the Depth Chart; Hope and Homerism
THURSDAY: Guessing the Gamecocks
LATER TODAY: The Last Savior We Had Around Here Didn't Do So Well

Buffs Release Top Strength and Conditioning Stats

irish1611 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:43:45 -0000

Colorado Buffaloes offensive lineman, Nate Solder. Photo: Marty Caivano

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The football program has released their strength and conditioning "award" winners for the winter and spring session. It's always fun to see the linemen bench stats and runningback forty times. Here are a few things that stood out to me:

OL Nate Solder - workout freak. He was the top performer in five out of the seven categories for the offensive line with an impressive 407 pound power clean and a 4.86 forty. All of this from a guy that was a converted tight end who is now 6'9" 300 pounds. Solder led the entire team, regardless of position, in total power clean weight and hang clean as well. I am little surprised that Ryan Miller only made one appearance on the list, coming in 3rd in the bench press for offensive linemen.

C Mike Iltis - a guy who shouldn't considered completely healed from last year's knee injury also has impressive numbers considering that injury. He ranked in the top three in five of the seven events for linemen. Iltis certainly won't be mistaken for Solder but he was definitely had the second best offensive lineman performance.

DE Marquez Herrod - he showed very well among the defensive linemen, specifically in the strength categories where he was the leader in power clean (370), hang clean (426), squat (677) and bench (405). Herrod also had the second best forty time among the line at 5.00 seconds. Hopefully that leads to increased quarterback pressures in 2009 . A year ago, Herrod played in 11 games but only for 187 total plays and still was tied for second on the team in sacks (4). I am sure the coaches want to see more consistency in his play this season, hopefully his workout performance transitions to the field.

No one on the defensive line outperformed another team unit in any single workout (i.e. an offensive lineman was the overall best in bench, a cornerback was the best in forty times, etc.)

LB Marcus Burton - just remember this guy is 6'0" 260 pounds. Low center of gravity, not too tall so he should be expected to do do well in some of the strength exercises but the guy pretty much blew it out of the water everywhere. The senior just keeps surprising this year. After being an afterthought a year ago, Burton quickly inserted himself as a starter this spring.

At first glance, he seemed like a strong candidate for a move to the defensive line. I mean he is 260 pounds. Forget that thought. Burton is not only the biggest linebacker on the team but also the fastest, running a 4.78 forty. He led the linebackers in power clean (381), hang clean (445 pounds which tied him with Nate Solder as the strongest on the team), squat (666 good for second on the team), bench and forty time. He finished second in vertical jump and third in pro agility. Right along with Solder, Burton had the strongest performance on the team.

No where on the linebacker list was Shaun Mohler and Jeff Smart made only a couple of apperances in the rankings.

Running backs - Demetrius Sumler and Kevin Moyd led the group in the strength categories while Brian Lockridge, Rodney Stewart and Darrell Scott showed well in the vertical, forty and pro agility. Brian Lockridge ran a 4.45 forty followed by Darrell Scott at 4.49 and Rodney Stewart at 4.54. Brian Lockridge had the best vertical on the team at 36.5 inches. Scott, Lockridge and Stewart's strength will catch up with experience. All three are considered coming off of injury.

Wide Receivers - Markques Simas or Scotty McKnight did not finish first in any one wide receiver workout with the best forty time coming in at 4.65 by walk-on Dustin Ebner. Markques Simas ran a 4.75. Jason Espinoza performed well among the receivers, leading in four of the seven workouts. These results confirm the importance of Andre Simmons, Terdema Ussery and Jarrod Darden coming in and excelling.

CB Jimmy Smith - he was in the top 3 of all seven workouts for cornerbacks, finishing first in three: hang clean, bench and forty time. His 4.44 forty was the best of any player on the team, edging out Brian Lockridge. Ben Burney had the best pro agility on the team at 4.0 seconds.

Quarterbacks - once again, the quarterbacks are extremely even across the board, surprisingly in the forty time as well. Both Cody Hawkins and Tyler Hansen ran a 4.88 forty.

For fun, I put some of the team leaders for the Buffs against last year's 40 yard dash NFL combine results to see how the Buffs stack up in speed. The rank column assumes if the player(s) would have ran in the combine for their position in last year's event, where would they have been slotted:

Forty Time (seconds)
Position	Buffs Leader	Potential Rank	Top Combine Result
Offensive Line	OT Nate Solder - 4.86	1st	OL Lydon Murtha - 4.89
Defensive Line	DL Nick O'Neill - 4.84	t-7th	DL L. Sidbury - 4.64
Linebackers	LB Marcus Burton - 4.78	11th	LB Aaron Curry - 4.56
Tight Ends	TE Pat DeVenny - 4.79	t-11th	TE Jared Cook - 4.50
Runningbacks	RB Brian Lockridge - 4.45	t-1st	RB Cedric Peerman - 4.45
Defensive Backs	CB Jimmy Smith - 4.44	1st	CB Darius Butler - 4.46
Wide Receivers	WR Dustin Ebner - 4.65	30th+	WR D. Heyward-Bey - 4.30
Quarterbacks	QB Hawkins/Hansen - 4.88	t-8th	QB Pat White - 4.55

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.

Post-Spring Previews: Georgia

Gamecock Man — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:34:56 -0000

After traveling to Raleigh, the Gamecocks continue their path along one of the nation's toughest schedules when they go to Athens to take on the 'Dawgs. The Georgia game is always one of the defining moments of our season. Most Gamecocks fans consider Georgia our biggest SEC rival, and a win typically marks the beginning of a good season (2007 aside).

On the whole, Georgia is a team full of question marks. They disappointed last year after coming into the season with sky-high expectations. This year, they have to replace a number of significant players, most notably offensive stars Matt Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, and Mohamed Massaquoi. On the other hand, they return significant talent on defense and on the offensive line. Their success will likely depend on whether Joe Cox can be efficient and can at least come to close to matching Stafford's productivity and if their defense can stay healthy and play better than it did in highly publicized meltdowns against LSU, Florida, and Georgia Tech last season. We'll probably know a lot more about Georgia after they open their season at Oklahoma State, a team with an absolutely explosive offense that will probably be preseason top ten.

Let's take a closer look at how we match up against these guys.

Quarterback

Mark Richt plans to start senior Joe Cox, who got significant playing time early in 2006 but since then has been Stafford's backup, only playing in mop-up duty. Cox is a fairly talented player and has spent a lot of time in the system, so the 'Dawgs can reasonably hope that he will be a competent signal caller. However, he lacks Stafford's physical abilities, so his ceiling is probably relatively low. I'd call it a push between Cox and Stephen Garcia; Cox has had longer to grow into his roll and is a more mature player, but he lacks Garcia's natural talent and has less in-game experience than Garcia. Usually, I'd say that means that Garcia has the advantage, but Garcia was hardly impressive in some of his appearances last year. Although he showed promise at times, he has plenty to prove this time around.

Verdict: Push

Running Backs

While Moreno leaves big shoes to fill, Georgia is uncommonly deep at the running back position, with several highly recruited players waiting to become the next Moreno, Garrison Heart, or Herschel Walker. The one most likely to become a household name is Caleb King, a speedy home run threat who rushed for over 200 yards last year as Moreno's primary backup. However, Richard Samuel will also get plenty of touches, and the two backs may form something of a Thunder and Lightening duo. I'd say UGA has a slight advantage over us here; while I like our stable of backs and expect us to field a much improved running game in the fall, both King and Samuel could start at any school in the nation. These guys are monsters and, while we might get the 'Dawgs during a transition period while UGA tries to figure out how best to divvy the caries, I doubt UGA will miss a beat without Moreno this year.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Offensive Line

UGA returns a seasoned, talented offensive line led by tackles Quintin Sturdivant and Clint Boling. Sturdivant's preseason injury last year caused this unit to underperform last year, but if Sturdivant is able to return close to full strength, this should be a very good unit. I would give them a slight advantage over our line. While I expect much-improved blocking from our guys this year and the play in the spring gives us every indication that that's what we'll get, we simply lack the talent possessed by Georgia at these positions.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Georgia returns phenomenal receiver A. J. Green (yep, the same Summerville star that screwed his home state's flagship university by committing to a bitter rival) but loses the aforementioned Massaquoi, and so far it's unclear who will be the second receiver. That could be problematic for Georgia, as Cox could use the benefit of a slew of targets. At TE--a position that hasn't been featured in recent UGA offenses but may be this year--UGA loses ball-dropping machine Tripp Chandler but brings in the highly recruited Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch. Charles is a big, fast player receiving end somewhat out of the Jared Cook mold, while Lynch is more of a traditional end. Either will be a significant improvement over Chandler. I'd call it a push at these positions; after losing Kenny McKinley we don't have anyone like Green on our team, but what we lose in that contrast we gain in better depth.

Verdict: Push

Defensive Line

The 'Dawgs return a very strong couple of players at tackle in Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens. However, they appear to lack a dangerous pass rusher, especially as they'll be without end Justin Houston, who is suspended for the first two games, when they play us. If Ladi Ajiboye plays in this game, I think we have a slight advantage here. While I like Atkins and Owens a bit more than Ajiboye and Nathan Pepper, UGA lacks the sack threats at end that we have in Clifton Geathers and Cliff Matthews.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Linebackers

UGA and Carolina each return one of the nation's best linebackers in Rennie Curran and Eric Norwood. UGA, however, also returns Daryl Gamble, another quality player, whereas Carolina will still be in the process of breaking in Rodney Paulk and Shaq Wilson as Norwood's partners in crime. UGA gets a slight advantage here.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Secondary

Georgia returns star safety Reshad Jones as well as corner Prince Miller but is a little more uncertain at the other two starting spots. This puts them in a similar spot to Carolina, who returns Chris Culliver, who came into his own as a future star late last season, and Darian Stewart but, after the departure of Emanuel Cook, Captain Munnerlyn, and Stoney Woodson to the NFL, will have to fill the other spots with a host of freshmen and returning lettermen like Addison Williams who haven't always been the best around. I'm calling this one another push.

Verdict: Push

Special Teams

UGA returns a pretty good placekicker in Blair Walsh. However, their return units were a liability last season, and they'll have to prove they can improve in those areas this year. Carolina has similar questions and lacks the returning kicker, so I'll give UGA a slight advantage here.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Head Coaches

Although he's yet to win a national title, Mark Richt has been one of the most consistent coaches in the SEC while at Georgia and has one of the highest winning percentages in school history. In a way, that makes him a lot like Steve Spurrier at Florida before Spurrier won the national title in 1996, as Spurrier had up until that point been a coach that won lots of games and often got his team in position to compete for national titles but usually ended up dropping a game he should have won. My thinking is that Richt will put together that perfect season one day; a coach doesn't put his team in the top 10 as consistently as Richt does without finally having a season when the ball rolls his way. In terms of comparing the two, you can put me in the camp that believes that Spurrier still has his coaching chops, but the fact that Spurrier hasn't managed to really do much since he left Florida in 2001 means that advantage here has to go to Richt, who still appears to be at the height of his powers.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Overall

We and our coach tend to be at the top of our game when facing the 'Dawgs. However, Georgia does have more talent than us at most positions. They also have more depth than us, although I think the gap has closed somewhat and, at any rate, depth shouldn't matter too much in the second game of the season. All of that means that a victory in this game, especially considering it's in Athens, would be an unqualified upset. I think the game will be close and that we'll have a chance to win it late, but I can't bring myself to predict a victory at this point. After we've seen how these two teams play in their season openers, maybe we can revise that.

Prediction: Georgia wins by a touchdown

The Non-Conference Games That Will Shape The 2009 College Football Season: #1 South Carolina @ North Carolina State

FSUncensored — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:13:57 -0000

As regular readers know, TomahawkNation.com is obsessed with scheduling. We find it fascinating how teams can run materially different races and yet one can be crowned the winner over another at the end of the season. Often, evaluators turn to conference affiliations when judging a team, and that's why non-conference games are so important. With less than 100 days left until the start of college football season, Tomahawk Nation decided to take a look at the non-conference games that will shape the college football landscape in 2009.

As a general rule, the non-conference games that matter most to a conference's reputation are those in the first two weeks before the conference seasons begin, and those played during bowl season. The reason is simple: there aren't any conference battles going on and the games easily draw the attention of the media.

Last year the ACC took a big early hit after Alabama thumped Clemson, East Carolina upset Virginia Tech, and Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee State. It was such a bad opening weekend that much of the rest of the country stopped following ACC football, but the ACC was easily the best conference when they played the teams from the big 6 conferences. Examine:

	% of Games played against BCS Conference Competition	Combined Record of Each League's BCS conference competition	Winning % against BCS competition
ACC	48%	.652	.598
Big East	39%	.563	.573
Big XII	31%	.467	.495
Big 10	29%	.462	.538
Pac 10	45%	.429	.607
SEC	31%	.400	.578

The ACC played the most games against the other BCS conferences, and their opponents had the best winning percentages (meaning they played the good teams from the big conferences), yet the ACC had the 2nd best winning percentage against those squads.

Just as you wouldn't judge a conference on one bad weekend in november, it's equally stupid to render a final verdict as to a conference's strength based off the opening week.

Last August 28th, in yet another early season loss, South Carolina scored a huge blow for the SEC against the ACC, on national television. After a first half that saw 5 punts, two fumbles, three interceptions, and one missed field goal, South Carolina led 3-0 in Williams-Bryce Stadium (South Carolina). This was one of the ugliest football games I have ever seen. NCST Quarterback Russell Willson got knocked out cold

After that, it was all South Carolina, as the Gamecocks went up 13-0 to start the final quarter and Spurrier ran the score up to appease the alumni. Final: 38-0, Gamecocks.

But that might be different this year...

For the casual observer, NC State was one of the toughest teams to figure out last year. They started out the year 2-6, before winning their last 4 games to get bowl eligible. For those who followed the program closely, however, there was a pretty logical explanation for this turnaround: injuries. NC State lost an incredible 43 starts to injury last year (only 5 teams lost more). That lack of a consistent starting lineup hurt the Wolfpack early, particularly with Russell Wilson suffering from post concussion syndrome. They also suffered major injuries on the defensive side of the ball, losing star Linebacker Nate Irving.

The coaches sat Wilson for the South Florida contest to make sure he was over his concussion. Once Wilson came back, it was a whole new ballgame. NCST's offense exploded:

Opponent	NCST Yards Per pLay
BC	4.6
FSU	7.2
@ Maryland	4.8
@ Duke	6.4
Wake Forest	4.2
@ UNC	6.4
Miami (Fl)	6.5

Almost a 20% improvement over what they had been averaging before Wilson's comeback.

In fact, WIlson is on a streak of 249 passes without an interception, the longest such streak in the country.

With 15 returning starters, and a less than devastating level of injuries, the Wolfpack figure to be much better on offense and defense (where they were particularly hit hard by the injury bug). Their defensive line features 4 senior starters, including NFL prospects Willie Young Jr. and Alan-Michael Cash. In fact, NCST will have one of the most veteran lineups in the country on both sides of the ball, as they start 12 seniors, 5 juniors, 5 sophomores, and no freshmen.

South Carolina on the other hand faces far more uncertainty. Last year they had one of the best defenses in the country (15th by advanced metrics), and a terrible offense (75th by same).

On offense, the Gamecocks featured an average passing game behind QB's Chris Smelley and Stephen Garcia, throwing to senior Kenny McKinley and junior Jared Cook. The Cock's problem was in the run game, where only Auburn and Mississippi State were worse.

This year they lost RB Mike Davis, WR McKinley, TE Jared Cook, and both offensive tackles. That said, South Carolina's offense could be better with improved interior line play, provided that they don't have to slide one of their guards to tackle. Garcia takes over at QB and most feel that he is the most talented quarterback the Gamecocks have had in some time. If he can avoid off-field issues and not upset Steve Spurrier, he will have every opportunity to succeed at QB, seeing as the Gamecocks lost almost every major skill position player.

On the defensive side, the gamecocks were superb, as they had the league's 4th best overall defense (scroll down), 4th against the pass and 7th against the rush. As in the NC State game, the Gamecock defense repeatedly stopped their opponents, forcing turnovers and punts. The unit was visibly frustrated at times (see Florida) and sometimes lost their composure when the offense self destructed. They were hit hard by graduation, and rank 102nd in percentage of tackles returning. The Gamecocks lose 5 seniors in total, including NFL draft picks LB Jasper Brinkley and CB Captain Munnerlyn.

Their secondary will feature three underclassmen starters and Brinkley could be very difficult to replace, as there aren't many athletic 270lb linebackers available.

Last year the Gamecocks were favored by 10 and covered by a healthy margin in the end. This year, look for the Wolfpack to be the favorites by 3-7 points. Interesting Note: Carolina could be an underdog in as many as 8 of their 12 regular season games! That is a brutal schedule on par with those of Florida State, Miami, and Oklahoma.

If Carolina can find a running game and limit their turnovers, they can win this game. If no solution can be found for the ground attack, however, this one could get ugly quickly as the Wolfpack's defensive personnel are heavily skewed to playing the pass.

Saturday News and Notes

Gamecock Man — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:15:07 -0000

NFL Draft

2009 Impact Rookies. Jared Cook and Ryan Succop (maybe not Mr. Irrelevant after all!) made the list. Who do you think will be the biggest impact rookie from this year's Gamecocks class?

Cook Impresses. If Cook puts on a few pounds and learns to block better, I have no doubt he can be one of the best TEs in the league.

Ex-Gamecocks in Try-Outs. Mike Davis with the Bills and Jonathan Williams with the Jaguars.

Tennessee Titans Tight End Jared Cook Highlights

Jimmy — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:09:58 -0000

Click through the jump to see some highlights from Jared Cook

One special for gramsey