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Besting florida key to hopes in sec east race

November 13, 2013 • Volume 35 • Issue 33

home and hungry

basketball faces early test at Clemson

Gators stand inway of record16 home wins

2 • Spurs & Feathers November 13, 2013

The end is in sight for a difficult season at the University of Florida and it isn’t an enjoyable scene for Gators.

It could all finish with a lot of uncomfortable questions or it could de-scend to the unmitigated disaster of not qualifying for a bowl game for the first time since 1986.

Standing between those two unwelcome alterna-tives are the Gamecocks.

For as much as it means to Florida, with what is sure to be a daily accu-mulation of doubt and concern by local and national media, this week’s game is a pretty big deal for Carolina as well.

No offense to the Floridians, but Carolina isn’t in position to hold hands and make an attempt to comfort this week’s visitors through their trying times.

A victory for the home team this week greatly increases the likelihood that the Ga-tors will fail to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since they went 6-5 for Galen Hall and no need to bother wondering what Steve Spurrier’s team was doing back then,

it was the year before he began his head coaching career in 1987 at Duke.

And yes, even the Head Ball Coach would surely admit, it’s been a long time.

Florida didn’t go to a bowl game in 1990 when it was forced to stay home because of NCAA sanctions, but the Gator fan base will no doubt derive a special level of resentment should a team coached by one of their own legends deliver the blow that would knock UF among the ranks of those squads inca-pable of winning at least six football games.

At home against Vanderbilt, the Gators did nothing to indicate they are bowl-worthy, losing for the first time since 1945 to the Commodores with a succession of bungled opportunities and mistakes that are always found in losing teams.

As bad as it was after they watched Vanderbilt take the ball right down the field on the Gators and then saw a muffed punt that was quickly turned into a touchdown for a 10-0 lead, Florida had a chance to re-gain momentum just before halftime when it gained a first and goal at the Vandy 1-yard line, only to settle for a field goal.

Instead of gaining momentum, they seemed to play down to a level not seen in Gainesville for as long as some fans can remember.

The last losing season came in 1979 when Charley Pell took over and the Gators went 0-10-1.

The Gamecocks can bring the sting of a losing season right to the surface this week with a win because, at 4-5 and 3-4 in the Southeastern Conference, Florida’s only remaining game after the trip to Williams-Brice will be at home against Georgia Southern, followed by the last regular-sea-son game at home against Florida State.

Injuries, sure, they’ve had plenty of them, but after all these years, Florida fans have seen injuries just as every other team has

seen injuries, but through it all, they man-aged to win enough games to at least be winners at the end of the season.

Memories of Pell, who took the Florida job after committing a list of recruiting viola-tions at his previous stop, will be fighting for attention among Gators, transposed with the image of Spurrier, their former Heisman winner, their former national championship coach now at South Carolina.

It would make it a November Nightmare if the Gamecocks can get a win and retain a chance for a spot in the conference champi-onship game.

This week’s game is a pretty big deal

photo by jenny dilworth

Bart WrightContributing

Writer

November 13, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 3

Spurs & FeathersPublished by Aiken Communications, Inc.

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Postal Information:Spurs & Feathers (ISSN 074454368) is published weekly by Aiken Commu-nications, 326 Rutland Drive, Aiken, South Carolina 29801. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is pending at Aiken, SC. POSTMASTER: please send address changes to Spurs & Feathers, 326 Rutland Drive, Aiken, SC 29801.

What’s Inside? - Table of ContentsDefense, attention to detail key for Gamecocks .4

Record-setting opener for women’s basketball ..6

SEC standings/football schedule ..............................7

Recruiting Roundup ......................................................8

Men’s basketball season preview .............................9

Distinguished Alumni serve as Honorary Captains .................................................10

Columbia Tip-Off Club ...............................................11

Gamecocks make a splash outside pool .............12

Legendary Fan profile ................................................13

Gamecocks/Gators depth charts ...........................14

Women’s basketball season preview ....................15

South Carolina/Florida football rosters ........ 16-17

Sand volleyball & men’s golf ....................................18

Darlington County profile ........................................19

The Ultimate Tailgaters ..............................................20

Gamecocks in the NFL ...............................................22

Meet the men’s basketball team ............................26

“Inside the Chart” with Andy Demetra ................27

Meet the women’s basketball team ......................28

Upcoming Events: Gamecock Club .......................29

Ed Girardeau’s column ...............................................30

Something to Crow About!

Gamecock football players receive recognitionUniversity of South Carolina senior quarterback Connor Shaw has

been selected as one of 16 semifinalists for the 2013 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and is one of 10 finalists named for the 2013 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

Shaw, a 6-1, 209-pound senior from Flowery Branch, Ga., has completed 62.9 percent (122-for-194) of his passes this season for 1,655 yards with 18 touchdowns and just one interception. His quarterback efficiency rating of 164.13 ranks 11th in the country. In addition, he is the Gamecocks’ second-leading rusher with 375 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

Shaw is 23-5 as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback, just one win shy of Todd Ellis’s school record of 24 career wins. He is a perfect 14-0 as a starter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Shaw is the school’s career leader in passing completion at 65.6 percent, is second in touchdown passes with 50, is fourth in total offense with 6,782 yards, is seventh in career passing yards with 5,282, and is the only player in Carolina history to throw for more than 5,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards.

University of South Carolina junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is among 12 players named as semifinalists for the 44th Rotary Lombardi Award.

Clowney has started eight games at defensive end for the Gamecock defense and compiled 27 tackles (19 solo). He has made 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks on the year. Clowney was named to Phil Steele’s Mid-Season All-SEC Team as well.

Gamecock junior wide receiver Damiere Byrd earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-District 4 Team as a wide receiver for the second-consecutive year as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Byrd leads the team with 485 receiving yards on the season and has started eight of the nine games thus far for the 7-2 Game-cocks. He has four touchdown receptions on the year, tied for second on the team. Byrd twice has pulled down five catches in wins over UCF and Kentucky, while he set a new personal best with 121 yards at Tennessee.

(Courtesy of South Carolina Athletics Media Relations)


by brian [email protected]

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina opened its 2013-14 regular season with a dominating 82-44 win over Longwood at the Colonial Life Arena.

The Gamecocks never trailed in the game and finished the game shooting 49.1 percent (28-for-57) as a team. South Carolina shot a scorching 62.5 percent (15-for-24) from the field as a team in the second stanza.

South Carolina’s stingy defense held Longwood (0-1) to just 22.8 percent (13-of-57) shooting as a team. The 13 field goals allowed by the Gamecocks tied for the fewest field goals made in the history of the Colonial Life Arena. The 22.8 percent shooting by the Lancers in the game is the lowest field goal percentage in the his-tory of the Colonial Life Arena.

The 44 points surrendered by the Gamecocks in the

game were the fewest points by a Gamecock opponent since Southeastern Loui-siana scored 43 points in a South Carolina win on Dec. 21, 2011.

South Carolina (1-0) head coach Frank Martin was ob-viously happy with the play of his team’s defense in the game.

“We gave up some cheap baskets coming down the stretch there which I don’t want to think about right now … we’ve been real hard on our guys to under-stand defensive concepts, to understand the sense of ur-gency that you have to play with,” Martin noted. “That’s why I’m so proud right now. We didn’t outscore them; we defended them. There’s a difference there. Atten-tion to detail … it’s hard to prepare for a first-year coach with a bunch of new players and you’ve got a bunch of freshman on our side. The attention to detail from our players is pretty darn good.”

South Carolina sophomore

forward Michael Car-rera agreed with Martin’s thoughts on the defensive effort of the team.

“We just played great de-fense,” Carrera remarked. “We’ve been working on defense every single day. We push each other every day in either zone or man. We just have great teammates. Now we feel like we have a team that can match up with the better guys, so it’s a great year for us like I say every time.”

Even before the game start-ed the Gamecocks received great news as transfer point guard Tyrone Johnson had been given a waiver to play immediately by the NCAA.

The junior transfer from Villanova celebrated the decision by the NCAA by scoring the first three points of the game for the Game-cocks.

The three points were part of a 6-0 run by South Carolina to start the game. Longwood’s first bucket of the game came with almost

six minutes already gone in the contest.

The Gamecocks started to take things over from there with back-to-back treys from Michael Carrera extending their lead to 14 points at 18-4 with 11:04 left in the open-ing stanza.

The 14-point lead would not hold though with Long-wood going on a 7-0 run over the next almost five and a half minutes before South Carolina’s Mindaugas Kaci-nas connected on a jumper in the paint to snap the skid for the Gamecocks and set the score at 20-11.

The Kacinas basket proved to be the first two points of a 7-0 run for South Carolina with the Gamecocks once again leading by 14 points at 25-11 after a Brenton Wil-liams 3-pointer with just over four minutes remaining until intermission.

South Carolina from there would go on to enter the halftime break with a 37-15 advantage. The Gamecocks closed the half on a 19-4 run.

The Gamecocks shot 39.4 percent (13-for-33) from the field as a team in the first half. Longwood shot 20.7 percent (6-of-29) as a team in the opening half. Carolina knocked down six 3-pointers in the first half with Duane Notice, Carrera and Wil-liams each nailing two treys in the half.

The second half began just as the first ended with South Carolina going on a 10-3 spurt to own a 47-18 lead with 17:12 left in the game. The Gamecock lead was 30 points just a short while later at 49-19.

The Gamecocks would lead by as many as 42 in the second half before settling on the 38-point victory over Longwood.

Four Gamecocks finished in double figures with John-son leading the way with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He also had two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

In his first regular season college action, freshman Sindarius Thornwell ended

his afternoon with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal.

Williams finished his ef-forts with 14 points, four rebounds and an assist, while Carrera concluded his day with 12 points, nine re-bounds, two blocks and two steals.

Kacinas led the Game-cocks in rebounds with 14 (five offensive). He also added eight points and two blocks.

In total, South Carolina out-rebounded Longwood, 50-27. The Gamecocks held an 8-0 advantage in blocks.

South Carolina closed out the contest shooting 83.3 percent (20-for-24) from the free throw line as a team. Longwood shot 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from the charity stripe as a team.

The Gamecocks will next hit the road to Waco, Texas to face off against No. 25 Baylor at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The game is part of ESPN’s 24-hour Hoops Marathon.

Stingy defense, attention to detail guide Gamecocks in opening victory

photos by allen sharpeTyrone Johnson (left) and Sindarius Thornwell (right) both finished in double figures in the season-opening victory over Longwood at the Colonial Life Arena on Nov. 9, 2013.


Florida Gators (4-5, 3-4 SEC)

The Gators lost 34-17 to Vanderbilt at home last Saturday for their Home-coming game

Site: At Columbia, South Carolina, Williams-Brice Stadium

Time: 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Series: Florida leads the all-time series (24-6-3); the Gamecocks are 5-10-1 at home

Last game: Oct. 20, 2012; in Gainesville, Fla. the Gators won, 44-11

In a top-10 matchup, the No. 9/8 Gamecocks were unable to overcome three costly f irst-half turnovers and fell to No. 3/4 Florida, 44-11.

Last t ime in Columbia: South Caro-lin won 17-12 on Nov. 12, 2011

The 15th-ranked Gamecocks were led by then-sophomore quar terback Connor Shaw who rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Brandon Wilds also contr ibuted with 120 yards on the ground in the vic-tory that made South Carolina 5-0 against SEC East competition that season.

Most memorable play in the se-ries: In 2010 at “ the Swamp,” Stephen Garcia scored on an 8-yard touch-down run with 13:35 remaining in the four th quar ter to put the Gamecocks up, 29-7. Marcus Lattimore sealed the victory and South Carolina’s f irst SEC East Championship with an 11-yard touchdown run with 2:43 lef t in the game. Lattimore rushed for a then-career high 212 yards and three touchdowns as the Gamecocks broke an 0-for-12 streak in Florida to earn a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

Spurrier’s record vs. Florida at South Carolina: 3-5

The Florida Game

photo by allen sharpe


by mike [email protected]

South Carolina opened its season in style by recording the largest women’s basketball vic-tory in the history of the Colonial Life Arena by defeating Charleston Southern, 99-29.

The 99 points were the most points scored by the Gamecocks in the Colonial Life Arena since scoring 117 against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 17, 2006. The 70-point victory was also the fourth-largest margin of victory in program history.

The Gamecocks (1-0) started out fast and never looked back while taking advantage of their front line to outscore Charleston South-ern, 70-6, in the paint.

The Gamecocks also held a 46-25 advan-tage on the boards while blocking 12 shots (tied for third-best in program history) as a team. The domination in rebounds and the large amount of blocks allowed South Caro-lina to get out in transition as they forced 25 turnovers and held a 32-4 advantage in fast break points.

“We want to get up and down the floor. I think we’re able to block shots … and that leads to transition baskets. We wanted to push the ball down the floor and put Charleston Southern back on their heels. We did a pretty good job of that,” head coach Dawn Staley said. “I thought we had an opportunity to score a lot of points if we got out in transition

and made some easy buckets.”Freshman Alaina Coates led the five Game-

cocks in double figures with 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Elem Ibiam also added 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the floor, six rebounds and five blocks to bol-ster the Gamecocks’ post play.

“I’m very, very pleased … Elem got us started fairly nicely and then Alaina comes in and gives us a big boost off the bench by us being able to punch that ball inside to her. Our post players are the most efficient that we’ve got on our team, so we’ve got to keep feeding them the ball until the cows come home and that’s what we’re going to do,” Staley commented.

Coates said that she was happy with her ability to play consistently and see her hard work pay off in a game situation.

“I’m just glad that I’m able to show every-body that I can transition from high school to college and still produce well for my team,” Coates said of her performance.

Ibiam said that transition basketball was a focus in practice and it was good to see that work out in the game. She added that she was pleased with the way the team was able to play through the post.

“It feels really good to see what we have done in the preseason transfer into the season. We are working hard down there and it’s good to know that our guards are seeing us now … we can always kick it back out to our

guards, so it kind of just works out for every-body,” Ibiam explained.

Aleighsa Welch added 15 points and eight rebounds, Tiffany Mitchell chipped in 12 points and Khadijah Sessions rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.

The Gamecocks opened the season scoring the first 16 points of the game before Charles-ton Southern (0-1) got on the board with three free throws at the 13:18 mark to make the score 16-3. The Gamecocks used size inside and were able to score in transition to build a 20-3 lead through the second media timeout at the 11:32 mark.

Welch and Mitchell each had six points dur-ing the run and Ibiam had two points, three rebounds and two blocks early in the game.

South Carolina picked up right where it left off to close the half on a 30-5 run in the final 9:45 of the first period to take a 52-13 half-time lead over Charleston Southern. Coates highlighted the close of the first half by scor-ing the Gamecocks’ final nine points of the opening period.

Three Gamecocks finished the season’s inaugural half in double digits led by Welch and Coates with 11 points each. Welch pulled down seven rebounds and Coates had six boards and two blocks in the first half.

Mitchell chipped in 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Khadijah Sessions contributed eight points, two assists and a steal. Ibiam scored six points, grabbed five rebounds and

swatted four shots in the first half as well.South Carolina shot 55.6 percent (20-for-36)

in the opening period while holding Charles-ton Southern to 13.8 percent (4-for-29). The Gamecocks utilized their size to hold a 28-13 advantage on the glass and outscored the Buccaneers, 38-2, in the paint in the first half. The Gamecocks were also able to get out in transition for a 20-0 advantage in fast-break points.

South Carolina came out hot to begin the second half on a 15-2 run to take a 67-15 lead at the 15:02 mark. The run was capped by a Tina Roy 3-pointer from the right wing.

The Gamecocks pushed to a 74-20 advan-tage at the second media timeout in the sec-ond half before pulling the starters with 11:45 remaining in the game.

South Carolina finished the game shooting 60.9 percent (39-for-64) from the floor while holding Charleston Southern to just 18.5 per-cent (10-for-54) from the field. South Carolina was 3-for-6 (50 percent) from beyond the arc to Charleston Southern’s 4-for-23 (17.4 percent). The Gamecocks were 18-of-28 (64.3 percent) from the charity stripe while the Buccaneers went 5-of-6 (83.3 percent).

The Gamecocks held the advantage in bench scoring, 41-10.

South Carolina hosted Louisiana Tech on Sunday, Nov. 10, but it was after the deadline of Spurs & Feathers. Check www.spursand-feathers.com for a full recap and much more.

Gamecocks earn record-setting victory in season openerphotos by allen sharpe and jenny dilworth

Elem Ibiam (left) and Khadijah Sessions (right) helped lead South Carolina women’s basketball to the largest women’s basketball victory in the history of the Colonial Life Arena.


08/29/13..... vs. North Carolina ...........Columbia, S.C. ...........W, 27-10

09/07/13 .... at #11 Georgia .................Athens, Ga. .................L, 41-30

09/14/13 .... vs. Vanderbilt ...................Columbia, S.C. ...........W, 35-25

09/28/13 .... at UCF .............................Orlando, Fla. ...............W, 28-25

10/05/13 .... vs. Kentucky ....................Columbia, S.C. ...........W, 35-28

10/12/13 .... at Arkansas ......................Fayetteville, Ark. ...........W, 52-7

10/19/13 .... at Tennessee ...................Knoxville, Tenn. ...........L, 23-21

10/26/13 .... at #5 Missouri ..................Columbia, Mo. . W, 27-24 (2OT)

11/02/13 .... vs. Mississippi State ........Columbia, S.C. ...........W, 34-16

11/16/13 .... vs. Florida ........................Columbia, S.C. ............... 7 p.m.

11/23/13 .... vs. Coastal Carolina .........Columbia, S.C. ............... 1 p.m.

11/30/13 .... vs. Clemson .....................Columbia, S.C. .................. TBA

South Carolina Gamecocks2013

football SCheduleTeam SEC Pct. Overall Pct. Home Away Neutral StreakEastErnMissouri 5 - 1 .833 9 - 1 .900 5-1 4-0 0-0 W2

South Carolina 5 - 2 .714 7 - 2 .778 4-0 3-2 0-0 W2Georgia 4 - 2 .667 6 - 3 .667 4-1 1-2 1-0 W2

Florida 3 - 4 .429 4 - 5 .444 3-1 1-3 0-1 L4

Vanderbilt 2 - 4 .333 5 - 4 .556 3-2 2-2 0-0 W1

Tennessee 1 - 4 .200 4 - 5 .444 4-1 0-4 0-0 L2

Kentucky 0 - 5 .000 2 - 7 .222 2-4 0-2 0-1 L1

WEstErnAlabama 6 - 0 1.000 9 - 0 1.000 6-0 2-0 1-0 W9

Auburn 5 - 1 .833 9 - 1 .900 6-0 3-1 0-0 W6

Texas A&M 4 - 2 .667 8 - 2 .800 6-2 2-0 0-0 W3

Ole Miss 3 - 3 .500 6 - 3 .667 4-1 2-2 0-0 W3

LSU 3 - 3 .500 7 - 3 .700 5-0 1-3 1-0 L1

Mississippi St. 1 - 4 .200 4 - 5 .444 4-1 0-3 0-1 L2

Arkansas 0 - 6 .000 3 - 7 .300 3-3 0-4 0-0 L7

standings


South Carolina GamecocksReCRuitinG Roundup

by phil koRnblutDE Dante Sawyer of Suwanee, GA

is a highly regarded uncommitted 2014 prospect and he was at USC last Saturday

for the Mississippi State game. The Gamecocks have been one of his fa-vorites along with Tennessee, Auburn and Missouri. He has also been to Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia for games. Sawyer has said he plans to take his official visits before mak-ing his decision

and those have not yet been scheduled. DB DJ Smith of Atlanta is another of

the top uncommitted players for 2014. On September 11th he announced a final four of Clemson, USC, Georgia and Tennessee. Entering November, those four remain intact on his board with no favorite and no decision until Signing Day. His last game visit was to Clemson for the Florida State game. As for USC, Smith said he talks to recruiter GA Mangus a lot and gets a lot of mail from the Gamecocks. “They’re tell-ing me they are holding that one spot for me at DB,” he said. He’s not been to USC for a game this season though he visited last June. He plans to get back for either the Florida or Clemson game. Smith has also been to Georgia for a game and he thinks he’ll get to Tennessee. He is not sure he’ll take all four official visits and said Clemson is the only certain official visit at this point. No date has been set. Smith said his finalists are equal and he will evaluate them on “my best fit and playing time. I want to play early to gain some experience and then the next year would be more of a competing year.”

OL Donnie Foster of Bradenton, FL continues to hear from USC and has plans to visit Columbia following the season. His offers are from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth and Savannah State with interest from USC, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Mis-sissippi State, Georgia Tech and Indiana among others. Foster has attended games

at Florida State and Miami and has plans to attend a game at Mississippi State later this season.

Juniors:DB Kaleb Chalmers of Greenwood has

been to Clemson, USC, North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Geor-gia for games. Chalmers said Clemson, Tennessee, North Carolina and Duke are making the strongest push for him and each has offered along with Georgia Tech Stanford and Georgia Southern. USC has shown interest and may have offered though Chalmers is not 100% sure on that. Chalmers does not have a favorite at this point and won’t make his decision until the summer.

RB Bryce Love of Wake Forest, NC re-ceived an offer from Ohio State last month and took his first visit to Columbus last month. Love has 16 offers including USC, Clemson, Tennessee, North Carolina, Stanford, NC State, Duke, Arkansas, East Carolina and Virginia Tech. He has also been to games at Clemson, Georgia, East Carolina, North Carolina, NC State and Ohio State this season and plans to attend the Clemson-USC game. Love does not have any favorites but has strong interest in Clemson and USC. His parents are USC grads.

USC remains the leader for DB Des-mond Cain of Delray Beach, FL. The Gamecocks are his only offer thus far and he’s also getting interest from Miami, Michigan State, Indiana, Central Florida, North Carolina and Nebraska. Cain vis-ited USC for the Black Magic camp. “I liked everything about it,” Cain said. “It is so well-organized and they know what they’re doing. I love the coaching staff.” His only visit this season so far was to Central Florida where he saw the Knights host USC. Cain does not have any other visits planned but wants to return to Co-lumbia next summer.

DB Terry Godwin of Hogansville, GA has 22 offers including Clemson and USC. But it’s the Tigers showing him serious in-terest right now and they stand to be on his short list when he puts that together in a few weeks. He was at the Clemson-Florida

State game earlier this season. Godwin has also been to games at Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss and North Carolina. He plans to go to the upcoming LSU-Alabama and Georgia-Auburn games. Godwin attended USC’s Black Magic Camp last summer but hasn’t heard from the Gamecocks since then so he’s not giving the Gamecocks much consideration at this point. Godwin would like to make his decision by the end of his junior year in school.

DE Michael Barnett of Woodland has had a top three of Virginia Tech, Florida and Florida State but now there’s only one school on his mind and that’s Virginia Tech. He said the Hokies are #1 on his list and there is not a #2 or #3 right now. He has been to games at Virginia Tech, Clem-son, USC, NC State, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Tennessee and Florida and will go to Tennessee this weekend. Barnett has an offer from Clemson and the Tigers con-tinue to show interest. USC also remains in touch with but has not offered. His other offers are Florida, Florida State, Tennes-see, NC State and Georgia Tech.

WR Tavin Richardson (6-4 205) of Byrnes has offers from Pittsburgh, Boston College, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Louisville, Illinois, Maryland, Ole Miss, Miami, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State. He’s getting mail from Clemson and USC but thus far no offer. “They want to see my junior film and see how I’ve increased my talents from last year,” Richardson said. He has been to Clemson, Georgia, NC State and Ole Miss for games. Ole Miss, Richardson said, has been showing the most interest with a steady supply of hand written mail from the coaching staff.

Byrnes RB Isaiah Hill (6-2 210) is emerging as a prospect this season. “He has a tremendous skill set and has matured into a D-1 prospect,” said Byrnes assistant coach Freddie Brown. “He runs extremely well and has tremendous ball skills, an SEC skill set.” Brown said North Carolina is showing strong interest in Hill and he’s also getting interest from USC. Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Wake Forest also have shown interest.

WR Freddie Phillips of Pelion has of-fers from North Carolina and NC State

and is hearing from USC, Clemson and Florida State among others. He also has been to Georgia, UNC, Appalachian State and NC State for games.

Basketball News:6-7 Dante Buford, the Simpsonville na-

tive who attends Arlington County Day School in Jacksonville, FL, announced a commitment to Oklahoma last Thursday morning. Buford picked the Sooners over USC. He had also considered Miami. USC coach Frank Martin and his staff had made Buford a priority recruit for the 2014 class and made several visits to his school. Bu-ford made two visits to USC this fall, one unofficially for a football game and an of-ficial visit last weekend. Buford’s decision leaves the Gamecocks with two commit-ments for the November signing period.

The USC women gained a pair of com-mitments last week from highly rated guards from the Northeast. 6-0 Doniya Cliney of Newark, NJ is the 13th ranked guard in the 2014 class and the 105th ranked prospect overall according to Pros-pectsNation.conm. In 30 games last season Cliney averaged 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. She shot 43% from the floor and 60% from the foul line.

5-6 PG Bianca Cuevas of Brooklyn, NY is ranked the #8 point guard in the class nationally and the #44 player overall by ESPN’s HoopGurlz. The USC women have four commitments for their 2014 class.

Baseball News:LHP Banks Cromer (6-3 150) of AC

Flora announced via Twitter that he’s com-mitted to USC for the 2014 class.

And 1B Collin Steagall (6-1 240) of Spartanburg Methodist also committed to the Gamecocks. He’s a former standout at Lexington and grew up a Clemson fan. Last season in 50 games for the Pioneers, the lefthanded hitting Steagall hit .313 with one home run and 32 RBIs. He struck out 19 times and walked 19 times in 147 at bats. In the field, Steagall committed 3 errors and had a .993 fielding percentage. The Gamecocks have 16 commitments for the 2014 class.

Phil KornblutContributing

Writer



Youthful but talented, the 2013-14 South Caro-lina men’s basketball team looks to continue to progress in year two under the guidance of head coach Frank Martin. Seven letterwinners return from last year’s squad and eight talented newcomers will add to the roster. Martin said the Gamecocks have an unbelievable personal-ity and the players have bought into the system to help rebuild the program. He added they have brought enthusiasm and excitement every day and it should pay off on the court this year.

The frontcourtSouth Carolina’s front line has added the size

and strength needed to compete in the SEC. Returners Michael Carrera, Laimonas Chat-kevicius and Mindaugas Kacinas will see plenty of minutes this season, but freshmen Demetrius Henry and Desmond Ringer should provide strong play on the floor as well. Freshman Reg-gie Theus, Jr. and walk-on Brian Steele could spell some minutes at the wing. Carrera should be able to move to the wing from the four and his toughness and skill will lead the frontcourt. The size inside should allow the team to match-up with the athleticism found in the SEC better

than they were able to last year. “We’re bigger, longer and thicker … it gives

us better length and girth. Now all we have to do is teach these young guys how to utilize their strength and their size,” Martin said.

The backcourtThe Gamecock guards will get a boost once

two-sport standout Bruce Ellington becomes eligible, but the group has the talent to play well

until that time. Senior Brenton Williams is a team leader that can play at either guard spot for Martin. Tyrone Johnson, a transfer from Villanova, will most likely run the point with his size, strength and experience; he is an SEC-ready point guard because of his experience and talent. Ellington’s knowledge of the system will be a huge asset once he makes the transition from football. Freshmen Duane Notice and Jay-

len Shaw could see time at the point until then and Notice looks to be game-ready. Sindarius Thornwell was highly recruited and will likely play off the ball; Martin has said that he can score in many ways and is a big-time player. Jus-tin McKie will likely see some time as well and looks solid coming into the season. There is an abundance of talent at guard for the Gamecocks and finding a balance and minutes for everyone makes for a good issue to have for this squad.

OutlookMartin is proud with the way the team cares

about the game and one another, commits to getting better and brings intensity every day. The Gamecocks were picked to finish 12th in the SEC, but Martin and the team are not wor-ried about outside projections. They will have a defensive focus, as do all of Martin’s teams and look to use their size and talent on offense. The team goals are to compete in the SEC and con-tend for a spot in the “Big Dance.”

“I don’t really care what people say about our team. I think we have a great team. I think we have one of the best coaches in the nation and we just want to work hard, be together as a fam-ily and just win as many games as we can win so we can make it to the NCAA Tournament. That’s our goal this year,” Carrera commented.

South Carolina men’s basketball season preview


Jaylen Shaw could see some valuable minutes early in the season for the Gamecocks.



Bill and Lou Kennedy had an eventful weekend at South Carolina to open Novem-ber by receiving the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from the My Carolina Alumni Association on Friday, Nov. 1 and serving as Honorary Captains at the South Carolina-Mississippi State football game on Saturday, Nov. 2.

“It was so unbelievable. You hear ‘2001’ and it gives you chills in the stands, but to be on the field like that and you look around an see 80,000 fans, it’s surreal,” Lou Ken-nedy said. “It was magical, anxious and nervous, all of those emotions all at once … Bill was tickled that they asked us to do that and it was a big weekend for us because we received the Distinguished Alumni Award, so it was just a double-whammy and it was so nice.”

Both Bill and Lou Kennedy are graduates from South Carolina, Bill in 1966 from the USC College of Pharmacy and Lou in 1984 with a BA in journalism. They now both work in the pharmaceuticals industry. Lou became President and CEO of Nephron Phar-maceuticals Corp. in 2007 and Bill serves as a strategic consultant for the company.

In a desire to give back to their alma mater,

the Kennedys donated millions to South Carolina according to a video produced by the University of South Carolina in order to create the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in 2010.

The Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center was created to give a strong foundation to students not only scientifically, but also with business and other aspects needed to succeed in the pharmaceutical industry.

“I think the Pharmacy School gives stu-dents a terrific scientific education, but the KPIC is trying to round the students out to make sure they are more qualified to partici-pate in the professional pharmacy in various ways,” Bill Kennedy commented.

The Kennedys support South Carolina academically and athletically and being rec-ognized on the field was quite an honor for them.

“We’re big, huge Gamecock fans and since they’ve nicknamed me ‘Cock-a-doodle Lou,’ I’m always excited about doing something that’s a part of the Gamecock Nation … it’s so exciting to be named anything that is at-tached to your favorite school, let alone your alma mater,” Lou Kennedy said.

The Kennedys made the trip from their home in Orlando, Fla. to serve as Honorary Captains for the game and it was a big thrill for both Bill and Lou. She said that it was an

action-packed weekend that kept them busy, but it was a lot of fun as well.

“We were looking forward to that all week and even the folks that work here with us at Nephron and all these extra viewers, every-one was trying to tune in. We didn’t know if we were going to be able to flip the coin or not and I think everyone was trying to tune in to see ‘are they going to mess this up? Are they going to drop the coin?’” Lou Kennedy said with a laugh.

When the Gamecocks traveled to Orlando to take on Central Florida this season and for the Capital One Bowl a few years ago, the Kennedys set up a big tailgate to welcome them. Kennedy said she had everything dec-orated in black and white this year so Game-cock fans and their many employees who are Central Florida graduates would all be able to tailgate together. Kennedy estimated that a total of about 200 to 300 people at this year’s tailgate prior to the game.

“I just wanted to show a proud, Orlando welcome to all my Gamecock friends,” Lou Kennedy noted. “It was awesome … when the Gamecocks come to Orlando, we have to make everybody feel welcome since we are based here.”

South Carolina has a special place in the Kennedys’ hearts and family life because Bill and Lou met at a Georgia-South Caro-

lina game that the Gamecocks won in 2000. They both love the University and are thank-ful for their time spent on campus.

“The way we were raised, we never dreamed that we would get to have the busy life that we have today. We feel so very for-tunate that we got a great education at USC and we took what we learned and expanded on that. It was the start of everything,” Lou Kennedy said. “We’re very grateful and proud to be in and around Gamecock football because while education is what bode us so well in business, the social and fun activities were the ice cream and whipped cream on top.

“To me it was a well-rounded way to spend your college years because you had so much fun on the athletic side and such a good edu-cation as a foundation for what you’re going to do the rest of your life,” Lou Kennedy continued.

Bill confirmed this as well saying that it was great to receive these honors from a place that has meant so much to their lives.

“I’m extremely excited about this award. It’s very interesting … to receive an award like this. It makes you feel like you’ve ac-complished something in life, you’ve accom-plished some of your goals that you set out to do,” Bill Kennedy said. “It’s very exciting to be honored by your school.”

Distinguished Alumni chosen as Honorary Captains for Mississippi State


Bill and Lou Kennedy served as Honorary Captains during South Carolina’s big Homecoming victory over Mississippi State at Williams-Brice Stadium on Nov. 2, 2013.



With the Gamecock basketball seasons getting underway, support for the pro-grams is being significantly buoyed by the Columbia Tip-Off Club.

The Columbia Tip-Off Club is a non-profit booster group of Gamecock basket-ball fans. The Club works closely with the coaching staff in providing fan support, behind the scenes access to the Carolina men’s and women’s basketball programs and an opportunity to further enhance col-legiate basketball relationships.

President of the Columbia Tip-Off Club and former Gamecock basketball player from 1969-71 Dennis Powell said that the Athletics Department has been great in helping to make the coaches available and promoting Gamecock basketball.

“We’ve had a lot of help from the Uni-versity although it’s not connected with the Tip-Off Club. The Tip-Off Club is a private enterprise, but they help us tremen-dously with support,” Powell said.

The goals of the Columbia Tip-Off Club are to help develop, promote and grow fan interest in each of the Gamecock basket-ball programs. The club seeks to increase community involvement and support for the basketball teams.

There is a great amount of support from former South Carolina basketball players who have joined the Board of Directors. Gary Gregor (1965, 67-68) serves as the

Vice President and a number of former players also serve on the Board.

Branden Conrad (2008-09), Bill Gause (1976-66), Carey Rich (1993-95), David Ross (1998-2001) and Robert Wilder (2008-10) all serve on the Board of Direc-tors. Public address announcer Dave Aiken is a member of the Board of Directors among others as well.

“We are hoping to give the people of Columbia a great experience that will help promote the Gamecock basketball teams. We need to build fan support for South Carolina basketball and this is great expo-sure for the programs,” Powell commented.

The Columbia Tip-Off Club offers either individual or corporate membership plans that each guarantee access and a meal for the meetings on selected game days. The individual membership is $125 for the sea-son and the corporate membership is $350 and covers three people for the season.

Columbia Tip-Off Club members will have the opportunity to hear from some of the opposing coaches in a relaxed, intimate environment along with hearing from the South Carolina coaches.

The Columbia Tip-Off Club has lined up a great slate of speaker for their meetings which will start on Wednesday, Dec. 4 in the McGuire Room at 12 p.m. The featured speakers for the opening meeting will be Athletics Director Ray Tanner and men’s basketball head coach Frank Martin.

Martin is scheduled to speak at every meeting with a host of different coaches

joining him. Scheduled to appear are USC Upstate coach Eddie Payne, LSU coach Johnny Jones, Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy, Alabama coach Anthony Grant, Kentucky coach John Calipari and Florida coach Billy Donovan. Scheduled to speak during Legends Weekend and the McGuire Dedication will be a South Carolina Leg-end as well.

Powell said membership in the Club is a great opportunity for basketball fans in

Columbia to become more involved with the basketball programs. He added that it is a good time for Gamecock basketball and the Columbia Tip-Off Club can let fans ex-perience gameday like never before.

To find out more or if you have any ques-tions about the Columbia Tip-Off Club, please contact their answering service at (800) 817-4336. You can also contact them via email at [email protected].

Columbia Tip-Off Club backs Gamecock basketball

Football viewing party in Charlotte

Submitted photo

The Charlotte Gamecock Club enjoy the win over Mississippi State at a viewing party at Icehouse South End. Keep up with the Charlotte Gamecock Club @CLTGamecocks.



The South Carolina swimming and diving teams are more than just stellar athletes, they also care about others and are making a differ-ence outside the pool.

The women’s team has taken Harper Dough-tie, a young girl from Greenville, N.C., under their wing and stayed in close contact with her after head coach McGee Moody found out that Doughtie was diagnosed with leukemia at age five. Moody and her mother were friends in college and he found out about the situation through her.

“I was telling my girls on the team about the story and they became not only interested in the story, but also concerned with what was going on, how she was doing and if she was improving,” Moddy explained. “They started taking it upon their own initiative to reach out to her.”

Moody said that the team has gathered gifts for Doughtie’s birthday and Christmas, made Valentines for her, stayed in touch with her and most recently they all made masks for her. He added that it is not something that he started, rather the team took it upon themselves as something that they wanted to do and before he knew it, emails and calls were going back and forth.

“When we went up to Greenville to swim at East Carolina, they had an opportunity to see Harper - Harper came to the meet - and they gave her the masks. It gave them a chance to hang out for a little while which is good be-cause we don’t get to do that often,” Moody said. “There are a lot of emails, phone calls and pictures sent back and forth, but they don’t get to see Harper very often.

“It’s a situation where I think both groups are pretty blessed to have the other one. I know our women’s team is so inspired by what Harper has done and the things that she faces. This little girl is absolutely unbelievable. She’s got more fight in her than a lot of adults I know,” Moody continued.

Doughtie has served as an inspiration for the women’s team and they have developed a very close relationship with each other throughout their interactions. Moody said that it was very special to see her at the East Carolina meet be-cause she was determined to see the team even though she had just gone through some treat-ment. She said ‘I’m not missing it, I’m going.’

“They sat down on our side of the pool down with the team, kind of gave her a little bit of special treatment and it was good. When you get to see her and she’s smiling and happy, that’s great … I know our girls love Harper and I know she loves them. It’s a pretty cool thing to see develop over the last couple of

years,” Moody said. “She’s a special little girl and it does mean a lot to our team to see her healthy and see her smile.”

Doughtie has been special to the team and they try to do whatever they can for her and her family. Moody said that when she is able, they hope to host Doughtie and her family for a meet and football or basketball game and con-tinue to support them in any way they can.

Moody said that the team has also become involved with fundraising for breast cancer research and survivors. He explained that this project began when he was coaching at the World University Games over in Russia with Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich.

“While we were out there, Matt found out that his wife back over here in the States had been diagnosed with breast cancer … it’s one of those things where you start to realize that these are good people and it could just as eas-ily happen to me, my family or anybody else,” Moody said. “If it happened to me I would want someone to help us and do anything that they could to help us get through.

“So at that point we decided that we were going to do something as a program … we decided that we were going to do a swim cap with the interlocking SC logo on the side in the breast-cancer pink,” Moody continued. “We decided that what we would do is sell off the caps and an autographed poster and all of the money that we raise, we would give to the Uni-versity of Tennessee Cancer Institute. We’re going to make that donation in the Kredichs’ name,” Moody explained.

When the Gamecocks swam at Tennessee on Oct. 18, they got a chance to see and hear from the Kredichs who felt it was amazing for the team to come together in support of another coach’s family.

“You think of the SEC as being a big rival conference that is cutthroat, but to be honest we take great pride in being the best conference in the country. A lot of the coaches and athletes are very good friends. We’re as competitive as

you’ll ever find, but outside of that arena we are very close friends. Close friends help each other out and that’s what we wanted to do,” Moody said.

Moody said that he feels there is so much emphasis put on athletics in the SEC, that as coaches they need to take the opportunity to help the student-athletes develop character and become good citizens.

“While we take our sports very seriously, life is bigger than that. I think sometimes we need to be reminded that there are things outside of whatever our sport is and if we have the oppor-tunity to help, then we need to do that,” Moody commented. “I like to focus on the whole student-athlete.

“We’ve got some really great kids in our Ath-letics Department. Kids that care about people and they want to go out and help people how-ever they can. It’s our job as coaches to make an environment where they know that is impor-tant … and build strong student-athletes as they move toward graduation,” Moody concluded.

If you would like to get one of the meet-worn caps and autographed posters, visit http://game-cocksonline.cstvauctions.com/auctiondisplay.cfm?auctionnbr=81712.

Gamecocks make a splash outside the pool

submitted photo



Dr. Roy Hudgens of Florence, S.C. was honored as the Legendary Fan at the Mis-sissippi State football game on Nov. 2.

“That was really nice to get honored and be down on the field. It’s special to get to see yourself on the big board up there,” Hudgens said. “It was a lot of fun and I will always remember that.”

Hudgens has been involved with South Carolina his whole adult life and he said that Gamecock athletics have been a con-stant for him. He previously served as both the president of his local chapter and on the Board of Directors for the Gamecock Club.

As a 47-year member of the Gamecock Club he has followed the football and bas-ketball teams as a season-ticket holder since he became a member. Hudgens also follows the baseball team closely and noted that it was very special to have two National Championships and almost a third.

During his time following South Carolina Athletics, Hudgens has seen the progres-sion of the programs as they have improved

to the high point that Gamecock fans are currently enjoying. He said that he always hoped the program would become a highly recognized team despite a few doubts along the way.

“Overall following the Gamecocks has been very exciting. There has been a lot of good and a lot of bad, but lately it has been a whole lot of good,” Hudgens noted. “The crowning achievement is the recent success that Ray Tanner had with the baseball team and I think that Coach Holbrook will keep it going pretty good too. To win back-to-back and then go to the final game the next year is quite an accomplishment.”

Hudgens remembers many games fondly, but he said that one of his favorite memo-ries was the 1975 football game against Clemson that resulted in a 56-20 victory for Carolina led by quarterback Jeff Grantz.

“We scored every time we had the ball. One of the touchdowns didn’t count be-cause it was fourth down and there was an offensive pass interference penalty in the end zone, but otherwise we scored every time that we had the ball,” Hudgens re-called.

Football is not his only love as Hudgens added that he has been going to basketball games since Frank McGuire was coach-ing the Gamecocks. He recalled attending games at the Fieldhouse as a student and the Carolina Coliseum, including the first game played there.

“The first game in the Coliseum we played Auburn. We almost didn’t beat them, but we won by a couple of points. John Roche made a basket right before the buzzer to win that game,” Hudgens reminisced. “We had some good times when Alex English was playing also. He went on to pretty much become a star in the NBA as well.”

Hudgens attended South Carolina’s medi-cal school from 1954-58 after serving three years in the Navy during the Korean War. He majored in pharmacy as an undergradu-ate at South Carolina and used his degrees to create his practice as an anesthesiologist in Florence, S.C. for 33 years.

He said that his times at South Carolina were some of the best of his life and as he remembers events in his life, he can recall different Gamecock memories from each time period.

“I’ve been following the the Game-cocks for a long time and it has been great through the ups and downs. I’m enjoying that we’re up now and looking forward to a lot more Gamecock memories,” Hudgens concluded.

Lifetime fan recalls his favorite Gamecock momentsphoto by allen sharpe

Dr. Roy Hudgens was honored as the Legendary Fan at the South Carolina win over Mississippi State. Giving Hudgens a special blazer is Brent Skinner of B.P. Skinner Clothiers.


OFFENSEWR: 1 Damiere Byrd 5-9, 166, Jr. Sicklerville, N.J. 4 Shaq Roland 6-1, 190, So. Lexington, S.C. 8 Shamier Jeffery 6-1, 207, So. St. Matthews, S.C.WR: 23 Bruce Ellington 5-9, 196, Jr. Moncks Corner, S.C. 11 Pharoh Cooper 5-11, 184, Fr. Havelock, N.C. 80 K.J. Brent 6-4, 188, So. Waxhaw, N.C.WR: 3 Nick Jones 5-7, 174, Jr. Moore, S.C. 85 Kane Whitehurst 5-11, 179, So. Duluth, Ga 82 Kwinton Smith 6-4, 212, RFr. Hamer, S.C.LT: 53 Corey Robinson 6-8, 341, Jr. Havelock, N.C. 74 Mason Zandi 6-9, 293, RFr. Irmo, S.C.LG: 50 A.J. Cann 6-4, 314, Jr. Bamberg, S.C. 65 Brock Stadnik 6-5, 286, RFr. Greensboro, N.C.C: 51 Cody Waldrop 6-2, 319, RFr, Seffner, Fla.-OR- 54 Clayton Stadnik 6-3, 281, RFr. Greensboro, N.C.RG: 67 Ronald Patrick 6-2, 315, Sr. Cocoa, Fla. 75 Will Sport 6-5, 294, So. Milton, Fla. 55 Na’ Ty Rodgers 6-5, 296, Fr. Waldorf, Md.RT: 71 Brandon Shell 6-6, 323, So. Goose Creek, S.C. 78 Cody Gibson 6-7, 286, Jr. Tallahassee, Fla.TE: 81 Rory Anderson 6-5, 242, Jr. Powder Springs, Ga. 89 Jerell Adams 6-6, 237, So. Pinewood, S.C. 83 Mason Zandi 6-9, 293, RFr. Irmo, S.C.QB: 14 Connor Shaw 6-1, 209, Sr. Flowery Branch, Ga. 17 Dylan Thompson 6-3, 218, Jr. Boiling Springs, S.C. 5 Brendan Nosovitch 6-1, 220, RFr. Allentown, Pa.FB: 41 Connor McLaurin 6-0, 237, Jr. Raleigh, N.C. 31 Jordan Diaz 6-1, 233, Jr. Hamilton, N.J.TB: 28 Mike Davis 5-9, 215, So. Lithonia, Ga. 7 Shon Carson 5-8, 219, So. Scranton, S.C. 26 Jamari Smith 5-10, 183, Fr. Jacksonville, Fla.

DEFENSEDE: 90 Chaz Sutton 6-5, 263, Sr. Savannah, Ga. 44 Gerald Dixon 6-2, 268, So. Rock Hill, S.C. 34 Mason Harris 6-3, 218, So. Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.DT: 97 J.T. Surratt 6-2, 307, Jr. Winston-Salem, N.C. 92 Gerald Dixon Jr. 6-3, 318, So. Rock Hill, S.C. 93 Deon Green 6-4, 287, So. Windermere, Fla.DT: 99 Kelcy Quarles 6-4, 298, Jr. Hodges, S.C. 52 Phillip Dukes 6-3, 315, So. Manning, S.C 94KelseyGriffin 6-2,292,Fr. Buford,Ga.DE: 7 Jadeveon Clowney 6-6, 274, Jr. Rock Hill, S.C. 5 Darius English 6-6, 226, RFr. Powder Springs, Ga.MLB: 11 T.J. Holloman 6-2, 228, RFr. Stone Mountain, Ga.-OR- 8 Kaiwan Lewis 6-0, 221, So. Mays Landing, N.J. 28 Jonathan Walton 6-0, 234, Fr. Daphne, Ala.WLB: 21 Marcquis Roberts 6-1, 225, So. Powder Springs, Ga. 10 Skai Moore 6-2, 205, Fr. Cooper City, Fla. 18 Cedrick Cooper 6-2, 213, So. Lithonia, Ga.SPR: 9 Sharrod Golightly 5-10, 195, Jr. Decatur, Ga. 42 Jordan Diggs 6-0, 214, RFr. Fort Myers, Fla. 32 Larenz Bryant 6-0, 215, Fr. Charlotte, N.C.CB: 27 Victor Hampton 5-10, 202, Jr. Darlington, S.C. 4 Ahmad Christian 5-10, 189, So. Jacksonville, Fla.SS: 12 Brison Williams 5-11, 218, Jr. Warner Robins, Ga. 25 Kadetrix Marcus 6-1, 195, Jr. Stone Mountain, Ga.FS: 17 Chaz Elder 6-2, 199, RFr. Union City, Ga. 20 T.J. Gurley 5-10, 196, So. Cairo, Ga.CB: 15 Jimmy Legree 6-0, 187, Sr. Beaufort, S.C. 1 Rico McWilliams 5-11, 187, RFr. Hampton, Ga.

SPECIALISTSKO: 19 Landon Ard 5-9, 172, So. Rock Hill, S.C. 29 Elliott Fry 6-0, 150, Fr. Frisco, TexasPK: 29 Elliott Fry 6-0, 150, Fr. Frisco, Texas 19 Landon Ard 5-9, 172, So. Rock Hill, S.C.P: 13 Tyler Hull 6-2, 206, Jr. Mount Airy, N.C. 18 Patrick Fish 6-0, 195, Jr. Shelby, N.C.KR: 11 Pharoh Cooper 5-11, 184, Fr. Havelock, N.C. 23 Bruce Ellington 5-9, 196, Jr. Moncks Corner, S.C.PR: 11 Pharoh Cooper 5-11, 184, Fr. Havelock, N.C. 27 Victor Hampton 5-10, 202, Jr. Darlington, S.C.SSN: 58 Ryland Culbertson 6-4, 265, Jr. Laurens, S.C.LSN: 47 Drew Williams 6-2, 190, Fr. Irmo, S.C.H: 18 Patrick Fish 6-0, 195, Jr. Shelby, N.C. 5 Brendan Nosovitch 6-1, 220, RFr. Allentown, Pa.

Depth Charts for November 16, 7 p.m.South Carolina

FloridaOFFENSELT: 70 D.J. Humphries 6-5, 285, So. Union, N.C. 76 Max Garcia 6-4, 311, Jr. Norcross, Ga.LG: 76 Max Garcia 6-4, 311, Jr. Norcross, Ga. 63 Trip Thurman 6-5, 315, So. Dover, Del.C: 72 Jonotthan Harrison 6-3, 310, Sr. Groveland, Fla. 64 Kyle Koehne 6-5, 315, Sr. Indianapolis, Ind.RG: 67 Jon Halapio 6-3, 320, Sr. St. Petersburg, Fla. 64 Kyle Koehne 6-5, 315, Sr. Indianapolis, Ind. 77 Ian Silberman 6-5, 306, Jr. Orange Park, Fla.RT: 73 Tyler Moore 6-5, 320, So. Clearwater, Fla. 74 Trenton Brown 6-8, 361, Jr. Albany, Ga.TE: 88 Clay Burton 6-4, 257, Jr. Venice, Fla. 87 Tevin Westbrook 6-5, 255, Jr. Coconut Creek, Fla.RB: 33 Mack Brown 5-11, 215, Jr. Lithonia, Ga. 21 Kelvin Taylor 5-10, 214, Fr. Belle Glade, Fla.QB: 3TylerMurphy 6-2,210,Jr. Wethersfield,Conn. 17 Skyler Mornhinweg 6-2, 214, RFr. Philadelphia, Pa.FB: 41 Hunter Joyer 5-11, 240, Jr. Wesley Chapel, Fla. 25 Gideon Ajagbe 6-2, 244, Jr. Coconut Grove, Fla.X: 1 Quinton Dunbar 6-2, 194, Jr. Miami, Fla. 11 Demarcus Robinson 6-2, 201, Fr. Fort Valley, Ga.Z: 83 Solomon Patton 5-9, 177, Sr. Mobile, Ala. 5 Ahmad Fulwood 6-5, 196, Fr. Jacksonville, Fla. 85 Chris Thompson 6-0, 167, Fr. Gainesville, Fla.F: 8 Trey Burton 6-2, 225, Sr. Venice, Fla. 9 Latroy Pittman 6-0, 210, So. Citra, Fla.

DEFENSEDE: 90 Jonathan Bullard 6-3, 270, So. Shelby, N.C. 94 Bryan Cox, Jr. 6-3, 260, RFr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.NT: 44 Leon Orr 6-5, 302, Jr. New Port Richey, Fla. 55 Darious Cummings 6-1, 305, Jr. Titusville, Fla.DT: 4 Damien Jacobs 6-3, 300, Sr. Gibson, La. 90 Jonathan Bullard 6-3, 270, So. Shelby, N.C.Buck: 6 Dante Fowler, Jr. 6-3, 266, So. St. Petersburg, Fla. 95 Alex McCalister 6-6, 238, RFr. Clemmons, N.C.SLB: 7 Ronald Powell 6-4, 240, Jr. Moreno Valley, Calif. 49 Darrin Kitchens 6-2, 237, Sr. Homestead, Fla.MLB: 3 Antonio Morrison 6-1, 230, So. Bolingbrook, Ill.-OR- 51 Michael Taylor 6-0, 233, Jr. Atlanta, Ga.WLB: 51 Michael Taylor 6-0, 233, Jr. Atlanta, Ga.-OR- 11 Neiron Ball 6-3, 235, Jr. Jackson, Ga.RCB: 15 Loucheiz Purifoy 6-0, 190, Jr. Pensacola, Fla. 1 Vernon Hargreaves, III 5-11, 192, Fr. Tampa, Fla.S: 14 Jaylen Watkins 6-0, 188, Sr. Cape Coral, Fla. 20 Marcus Maye 6-0, 206, RFr. Melbourne, Fla.S: 31 Cody Riggs 5-9, 190, Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 21 Jabari Gorman 5-10, 184, Jr. Miami, Fla.LCB: 5 Marcus Roberson 6-0, 195, Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 1 Vernon Hargreaves, III 5-11, 192, Fr. Tampa, Fla.Nickel: 24 Brian Poole 5-10, 205, So. Bradenton, Fla. 1 Vernon Hargreaves, III 5-11, 192, Fr. Tampa, Fla.Dime: 20 Marcus Maye 6-0, 206, RFr. Melbourne, Fla. 31 Cody Riggs 5-9, 190, Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

SPECIALISTSKR: 83 Solomon Patton 5-9, 177, Sr. Mobile, Ala. 15 Loucheiz Purifoy 6-0, 190, Jr. Pensacola, Fla.K: 95 Frankie Velez 5-9, 182, Jr. Ocala, Fla. 16 Austin Hardin 5-10, 208, RFr. Atlanta, Ga.H: 43 Kyle Crofoot 6-4, 220, So. Windemere, Fla. 3TylerMurphy 6-2,210,Jr. Wethersfield,Conn.P: 19 Johnny Townsend 6-1, 191, Fr. Orlando, Fla. 4 Kyle Christy 6-3, 198, Jr. Brownsburg, Ind.PR: 5 Marcus Roberson 6-0, 195, Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 1 Vernon Hargreaves, III 5-11, 192, Fr. Tampa, Fla.LS: 46 Drew Ferris 6-0, 205, Jr. Carlsbad, Calif. 43 Kyle Crofoot 6-4, 220, So. Windemere, Fla.

*These depth charts are taken from the listings from each team’s previ-ous game. Spurs & Feathers goes to print shortly after each football game. Please visit www.spursand-feathers.com over the course of the week for updated depth charts.



The 2013-14 South Carolina women’s basketball team is expecting to continue the success of back-to-back 25 win seasons under head coach and recent Naismith Bas-ketball Hall of Fame inductee Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks return only two starters and six letterwinners, but the talented squad will look to contend in the competi-tive SEC and in the NCAA Tournament. Staley will count on the returning experi-ence to help sustain the success seen in the program over the past few seasons.

The frontcourtThe Gamecocks’ front line will be bol-

stered by plenty of returning experience and talented newcomers. Last season’s lead-ing scorer and preseason All-SEC first-team selection Aleighsa Welch will be called upon to lead the team. Welch has worked on her perimeter game to be able to move to the wing so the Gamecocks can run a big-ger front line this year. That front line will be solidified by senior Wilka Mountout, ju-nior Elem Ibiam and highly-recruited fresh-man Alaina Coates. Mountout’s experience

and solid play will help steady the team during SEC play and Ibiam and Coates will bring the physical aspect needed to compete in the conference. Ibiam came on strong during the second half of the season and postseason play last year and will look to continue that as a leader on this year’s squad. Coates will come in and bring size defensively and the ability to score in the post to strengthen the frontcourt. Freshman India Farmer will also figure in the mix in the frontline. The size and talent of the frontcourt create an asset that Staley has not had yet in her time at South Carolina and can be an advantage this season in the SEC.

“We really haven’t had a big front line to put in the game in my five years at South Carolina, so really it’s good to be able to kind of go big for a change,” Staley noted.

The backcourtReplacing Ieasia Walker, last season’s

point guard, will be the biggest challenge for South Carolina’s backcourt, but it is something this years squad has the person-nel to do. Sophomore Khadijah Sessions has worked hard over the summer on condi-tioning, ball-handling and leadership to step in and run the team both offensively and de-

fensively. Sophomore Tiffany Mitchell re-turns looking to take the next step after av-eraging almost 10 points a game and being selected to the freshman All-SEC team last season. Asia Dozier will also see time at the wing position and will be more aggressive offensively this year. Tina Roy returns after losing last season to injury and will get her share of minutes as well. Olivia Gaines and LeAnna Morrison round out a strong back-court that will challenge in the SEC.

OutlookThe Gamecocks have the talent to chal-

lenge for SEC supremacy this season and are ranked in the top-25 heading into the season. The SEC coaches picked South Carolina to finish fifth in the league, but with strong play they could easily exceed that projection. The Gamecocks will need their experienced players to play to their po-tential and the younger players to develop. If that happens, it could be another strong year for a squad that Staley feels could win an SEC championship and make noise in the NCAA Tournament.

“I think it’s a team that has the talent to do it. If we win an SEC Championship, then we’re talking about maybe winning a

National Championship because I do feel like we would be in contention to do that,” Staley commented.

South Carolina women’s basketball season preview


Tiffany Mitchell was tabbed to the freshman All-SEC team last season.


South Carolina GamecocksFootball Roster

# Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Cl. Hometown/High School/Last College1 Damiere Byrd WR 5-9 166 JR Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek1 Rico McWilliams CB 5-11 187 RS FR Hampton, Ga./Lovejoy3 Nick Jones WR 5-7 174 RS JR Moore, S.C./Byrnes3 Jamari Smith CB 5-10 183 FR Jacksonville, Fla./Fletcher4 Ahmad Christian CB 5-10 189 RS SO Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian4 Shaq Roland WR 6-1 190 SO Lexington, S.C./Lexington5 Brendan Nosovitch QB 6-1 220 RS FR Allentown, Pa./Central Catholic5 Darius English DE 6-6 226 RS FR Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern6 Chris Moody FS 6-1 212 RS FR McDonough, Ga./Henry County6 Connor Mitch QB 6-3 227 FR Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield7 Jadeveon Clowney DE 6-6 274 JR Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe7 Shon Carson TB 5-8 219 RS SO Scranton, S.C./Lake City8 Kaiwan Lewis LB 6-0 221 SO Mays Landing, N.J./St. Joseph8 Shamier Jeffery WR 6-1 207 RS SO St. Matthews, S.C./Calhoun County9 Sharrod Golightly SPR 5-10 195 RS JR Decatur, Ga./Southwest DeKalb10 Skai Moore LB 6-2 205 FR Cooper City, Fla./University10 Perry Orth QB 6-1 212 RS FR Ponde Verda, Fla./Ponte Verda/Fla. State College11 Pharoh Cooper WR 5-11 184 FR Havelock, NC./Havelock11 T.J. Holloman LB 6-2 228 RS FR Stone Mountain, Ga./St. Pius X12 Brison Williams SS 5-11 218 JR Warner Robins, Ga./Northside/Fork Union13 Grant Davitte QB 6-3 190 FR Columbia, S.C./Irmo13 Tyler Hull P 6-2 206 RS JR Mount Airy, N.C./Mount Airy/Guilford College14 Ali Groves CB 5-10 184 FR Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson14 Connor Shaw QB 6-1 209 SR Flowery Branch, Ga./Flowery Branch15 Austin Hails QB 6-2 214 RS SO Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville15 Jimmy Legree CB 6-0 187 RS SR Beaufort, S.C./Beaufort16 Kelvin Rainey TE 6-3 233 RS FR Yulee, Fla./Yulee16 Nick St. Germain PK 5-9 175 RS FR Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern17 Chaz Elder SS 6-2 199 RS FR Union City, Ga./Banneker17 Dylan Thompson QB 6-3 218 RS JR Boiling Springs, S.C./Boiling Springs18 Patrick Fish P 6-0 195 RS JR Shelby, N.C./Burns18 Cedrick Cooper LB 6-2 213 RS SO Lithonia, Ga./Lithonia19 Landon Ard PK 5-9 172 SO Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe19 Jody Fuller WR 5-11 217 RS FR Charlotte, N.C./Sun Valley20 T.J. Gurley FS 5-10 196 SO Cairo, Ga./Cairo21 Marcquis Roberts LB 6-1 225 RS SO Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern21 Andrew Bunch WR 5-11 185 RS FR Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Bishop England/Presbyterian22 Brandon Wilds TB 6-2 223 SO Blythewood, S.C./Blythewood23 Bruce Ellington WR 5-9 196 JR Moncks Corner, S.C./Berkeley24 Ronnie Martin CB 5-11 179 JR Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg/Georgia Military24 Kendric Salley TB 5-9 183 RS FR Williston, S.C./Williston-Elko25 Kadetrix Marcus FS 6-1 195 JR Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson26 Jasper Sasser S 6-0 192 FR Jacksonville, Fla./Wolfson27 Victor Hampton CB 5-10 202 RS JR Darlington, S.C./Darlington28 Jonathan Walton LB 6-0 234 FR Daphne, Ala./Bayside Academy28 Mike Davis TB 5-9 215 SO Lithonia, Ga./Stephenson29 Elliott Fry P/K 6-0 150 FR Frisco, Tx./Prince of Peace Christian30 Sidney Rhodes CB 5-10 167 JR Easley, S.C./Wren/Western Carolina31 Jordan Diaz FB 6-1 233 RS JR Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West31 Mohamed Camara SPR 6-1 181 FR Cumming, Ga./Forsyth32 Larenz Bryant LB 6-0 215 FR Charlotte, NC./Vance33 Gerald Turner DE 6-2 256 FR Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek33 David Williams TB 6-1 200 FR Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter34 Mason Harris DE 6-3 218 RS SO Fort Oglethorpe, Ga./Ridgeland

# Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Cl. Hometown/High School/Last College35 Jeff Homad TE 6-2 220 RS JR Hilton Head Island, S.C./Hilton Head/UNCP36 Kyle Fleetwood SS 5-11 216 RS FR Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson39 Max Huggins P/K 6-1 185 FR Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach40 Andrew Komornik P 6-5 225 FR Fort Mill, S.C./Nations Ford41 Kyle Morini LB 5-10 212 JR Lexington, S.C./White Knoll/Gray Military41 Connor McLaurin FB 6-0 237 RS JR Raleigh, N.C./Garner42 Jordan Diggs SPR 6-0 214 RS FR Fort Myers, Fla./Island Coast43 James King LB 6-0 235 SO Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek/Benedict43 Garrison Gist FB 5-10 255 RS SO Rock Hill, S.C./Northwesterm44 Gerald Dixon DE 6-2 268 RS SO Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe45 Brandon Sturdivant FB 6-2 212 RS FR Fort Mill, S.C./Nation Ford/York Tech47 Drew Williams LS 6-2 190 FR Irmo, S.C/Dutch Fork48 Caleb Kelly PK 6-0 184 RS FR Cayce, S.C./Brookland-Cayce49 Garrett Shank S 6-0 171 FR Marietta, Ga./Lassiter49 Devin Potter TB 5-10 200 FR Granite Falls, N.C./South Caldwell50 A.J. Cann OG 6-4 314 RS JR Bamberg, S.C./Bamberg-Ehrhardt51 Cody Waldrop OC 6-2 319 RS FR Seffner, Fla./Armwood51 Devin Washington DE 6-3 225 FR Orlando, Fla./Jones52 Phillip Dukes DT 6-3 315 RS SO Manning, S.C./Manning52 Bryce King OG 6-3 281 FR Dillon, S.C./Dillon53 Corey Robinson OT 6-8 341 RS JR Havelock, N.C./Havelock54 Clayton Stadnik OC 6-3 281 RS FR Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford55 Na'Ty Rodgers OT 6-5 296 FR Waldorf, Md./McDonough55 David Johnson LB 6-1 268 FR Lithonia, Ga./Lithonia57 Cedrick Malone SPR 6-0 201 RS FR Camden, S.C./Camden/Coastal Carolina58 Ryland Culbertson LS 6-4 265 RS JR Laurens, S.C./Laurens Academy59 Coleman Harley LS 6-1 264 RS SO Aiken, S.C./South Aiken65 Brock Stadnik OG 6-5 286 RS FR Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford67 Ronald Patrick OG 6-2 315 SR Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa69 D.J. Park OT 6-4 334 FR Dillon, S.C./Dillon70 Alan Knott OC 6-4 272 FR Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek71 Brandon Shell OT 6-6 323 RS SO Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek73 J.P. Vonashek OT 6-6 283 FR Saint Marys, Ga./Camden County74 Mason Zandi OT 6-9 293 RS FR Irmo, S.C./Chapin75 Will Sport OG 6-5 294 RS SO Milton, Fla./Pace76 Mike Matulis OT 6-5 266 JR Boynton Beach, Fla./Park Vista78 Cody Gibson OT 6-7 286 RS JR Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln80 K.J. Brent WR 6-4 188 RS SO Waxhaw, N.C./Marvin Ridge81 Rory Anderson TE 6-5 242 JR Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern82 Kwinton Smith WR 6-4 212 RS FR Hamer, S.C./Dillon83 Carlton Heard WR 6-0 178 SO Athens, Ga./Clarke Central/Garner-Webb84 Matthew Harvey WR 6-8 225 SO Rock Hill, S.C./Rock Hill85 Kane Whitehurst WR 5-11 179 RS SO Duluth, Ga./Chattahoochee/Arkansas86 David Wilkins WR 6-1 182 SR Cowpens, S.C./Broome87 Drake Thomason WR 6-1 205 RS JR Greenville, S.C./Eastside88 Drew Owens TE 6-6 244 RS SO Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell89 Jerell Adams TE 6-6 237 SO Pinewood, S.C./Scott's Branch90 Chaz Sutton DE 6-5 263 SR Savannah, Ga./Jenkins/Fork Union Military92 Gerald Dixon, Jr. DT 6-3 318 RS SO Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern93 Deon Green DT 6-4 287 RS SO Windermere, Fla./Olympia94 Kelsey Griffin DT 6-2 292 FR Buford, Ga./Mill Creek95 Michael Washington DE 6-3 243 SO Allendale, S.C./Allendale-Fairfax/S.C. State97 J.T. Surratt DT 6-2 307 RS JR Winston-Salem, N.C./Parkland99 Kelcy Quarles DT 6-4 298 JR Hodges, S.C./Greenwood/Fork Union

Coaches

Steve Spurrier - Head CoachDeke Adams - Defensive LineKirk Botkin - Linebackers/SpursGrady Brown - Secondary/Assistant Special Teams CoordinatorShawn Elliott - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive LineG.A. Mangus - Quarterbacks

Joe Robinson - Special Teams CoordinatorEverette Sands - Running BacksJamie Speronis - Associate AD/Football OperationsSteve Spurrier Jr. - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers/ Recruiting CoordinatorLorenzo Ward - Defensive CoordinatorRobbie Liles - Director - Recruiting OperationsPatrick Shine - Administrative Coordinator - Recruiting


Florida GatorsFootball Roster

# Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Cl. Hometown/High School/Last College1 Vernon Hargreaves, III DB 5’ 11” 192 FR Tampa/Wharton1 Quinton Dunbar WR 6’ 1” 194 RJR Miami/Booker T. Washington2 Dominique Easley DL 6’ 2” 285 SR Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis3 Tyler Murphy QB 6’ 2” 210 RJR Wethersfield, Conn./Wethersfield3 Antonio Morrison LB 6’ 1” 230 SO Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook4 Damien Jacobs DL 6’ 3” 300 SR Gibson, La./H.L. Boureois/East Miss. C.C.4 Kyle Christy P 6’ 3” 198 JR Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg4 Andre Debose WR 6’ 0” 187 RSR Sanford/Seminole5 Ahmad Fulwood WR 6’ 5” 196 FR Jacksonville/Bishop Kenny5 Marcus Roberson DB 6’ 0” 195 JR Ft. Lauderdale/St. Thomas Aquinas6 Dante Fowler, Jr. BUCK 6’ 3” 266 SO St. Petersburg/Lakewood Senior6 Jeff Driskel QB 6’ 4” 239 JR Oviedo/Hagerty7 Ronald Powell LB 6’ 4” 240 RJR Moreno Valley, Calif./Rancho Verde7 Alex Adler HS 6’ 2” 219 FR Melbourne/Rockledge8 Jeremy Brown DB 5’ 10” 185 RSR Orlando/Boone8 Trey Burton WR 6’ 2” 225 SR Venice/Venice Senior9 Latroy Pittman WR 6’ 0” 210 SO Citra/North Marion9 Matt Rolin LB 6’ 4” 227 FR Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods9 Jacob Guy QB 6’ 5” 210 RFR Dade City/Pasco10 Valdez Showers RB 5’ 11” 190 RSO Detroit, Mich./Madison11 Neiron Ball LB 6’ 3” 235 RJR Jackson, Ga./Jackson11 Demarcus Robinson WR 6’ 2” 201 FR Fort Valley, Ga./Peach County12 Max Staver QB 6’ 6” 238 FR Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy13 Daniel McMillian LB 6’ 1” 225 FR Jacksonville/First Coast13 Christian Provancha QB 6’ 6” 223 RJR Cocoa/Cocoa Beach14 Jaylen Watkins DB 6’ 0” 188 SR Cape Coral/Cape Coral14 Chris Wilkes QB 6’ 4” 230 FR Orlando/Dr. Phillips15 Ryan Parrish WR 6’ 1” 200 RJR Lakeland/Lakeland Christian15 Loucheiz Purifoy DB 6’ 0” 190 JR Pensacola/Pine Forest16 Austin Hardin K 5’ 10” 208 RFR Atlanta, Ga./Marist17 Jordan Sherit DL 6’ 4” 247 FR Tampa/Hillsborough17 Skyler Mornhinweg QB 6’ 2” 214 RFR Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep18 Kent Taylor TE 6’ 5” 224 SO Land O’Lakes/Land O’Lakes19 Johnny Townsend P 6’ 1” 191 FR Orlando/Boone19 Ryan McGriff QB 6’ 0” 203 RSO Gainesville/Gainesville20 Marcus Maye DB 6’ 0” 206 RFR Melbourne/Holy Trinity Episcopal School21 Jabari Gorman DB 5’ 10” 184 JR Miami/Monsignor Pace21 Kelvin Taylor RB 5’ 10” 214 FR Belle Glade/Glades Day22 Adam Lane RB 5’ 7” 222 FR Winter Haven/Winter Haven22 Evan Schroeder DB 5’ 11” 183 RSO New Smyrna Beach/New Smyrna Beach22 Nick Washington DB 6’ 0” 191 FR Jacksonville/Trinity Christian Academy23 Danny Krysalka K 6’ 1” 191 FR Ocala/Forest24 Brian Poole DB 5’ 10” 205 SO Bradenton/Southeast24 Matt Jones RB 6’ 2” 226 SO Seffner/Armwood25 Garrett Stephens DB 5’ 8” 185 FR Louisville, Ky./Saint Xavier25 Gideon Ajagbe LB 6’ 2” 244 RJR Coconut Grove/Ransom Everglades26 Marcell Harris DB 6’ 2” 215 FR Orlando/Dr. Phillips27 Ben Peacock DB 5’ 8” 170 RSO Bradenton/Braden River28 Jeremi Powell LB 6’ 1” 210 RFR Largo/Pinellas Park29 Rhaheim Ledbetter DB 5’ 9” 219 RFR Shelby, N.C./Crest Senior30 Tim Clark DB 5’ 9” 197 RSR Wellborn/Branford30 Michael McNeely WR 5’ 8” 175 RJR Clearwater/Palm Harbor University31 Cody Riggs DB 5’ 9” 190 RJR Ft. Lauderdale/St. Thomas Aquinas32 D.L. Powell WR 6’ 1” 178 FR Alachua/Sante Fe33 Chris Maignan WR 5’ 11” 185 RSR Miami/Northwest Christian Academy33 Mack Brown RB 5’ 11” 215 RJR Lithonia, Ga./King34 Alex Anzalone LB 6’ 3” 239 FR Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing Area34 Case Harrison WR 6’ 0” 183 FR Gainesville/Gainesville35 Michael Iorio DB 5’ 10” 185 FR Nokomis/Venice

# Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Cl. Hometown/High School/Last College36 David Campbell LB 6’ 0” 221 RSR Live Oak/Suwannee/UCF/Sante Fe37 Mark Herndon RB 5’ 9” 198 SO Ocala/Forest38 Kerolin Francois DB 5’ 9” 180 FR Lake Worth/Forest Hill40 Justin Vogel P 6’ 4” 211 RFR Tampa/Berkeley Prep40 Jarrad Davis LB 6’ 2” 226 FR Kingsland, Ga./Camden County41 Hunter Joyer FB 5’ 11” 240 JR Wesley Chapel/Tampa Catholic42 Keanu Neal DB 6’ 1” 206 FR Bushnell/South Sumter43 Kyle Crofoot LS 6’ 4” 220 RSO Windemere/The First Academy44 Leon Orr DL 6’ 5” 302 RJR New Port Richey/Gulf45 Antonio Riles DL 6’ 4” 287 FR Lawrenceville, Ga./Archer46 Drew Ferris LS 6’ 0” 205 RJR Carlsbad, Calif./San Diego Jewish Academy46 LeAndre Rembert LB 5’ 8” 238 FR Alachua/Santa Fe48 William Few P 5’ 8” 164 FR Tampa/Plant49 Darrin Kitchens LB 6’ 2” 237 SR Homestead/Homestead50 Octavius Jackson OL 6’ 4” 304 FR Moultrie, Ga./Colquitt County51 Michael Taylor LB 6’ 0” 233 RJR Atlanta, Ga./Westlake52 Steven Stipe LB 5’ 11” 204 FR Waycross, Ga./Pierce County53 Cody Adams LB 6’ 0” 233 RSO Ocala/North Marion54 Cameron Dillard OL 6’ 4” 297 FR Canton, Mich./Plymouth Canton55 Darious Cummings DL 6’ 1” 305 JR Titusville/Astronaut/East Mississippi55 Roderick Johnson OL 6’ 5” 316 FR Delray Beach/American Heritage56 Andre Palmer LB 5’ 11” 213 FR Ocala/Lake Weir57 Caleb Brantley DL 6’ 2” 313 FR Crescent City/Crescent City57 Dakota Wilson DL 5’ 11” 260 RSO Bradenton/Braden River63 Trip Thurman OL 6’ 5” 315 RSO Dover, Del./Dover64 Kyle Koehne OL 6’ 5” 315 RSR Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral67 Jon Halapio OL 6’ 3” 320 RSR St. Petersburg/St. Petersburg Catholic69 Nick Davis OL 6’ 3” 251 FR Salt Lake City, Utah/Buchholz (Gainesville)70 D.J. Humphries OL 6’ 5” 285 SO Union, N.C./Mallard Creek72 Jonotthan Harrison OL 6’ 3” 310 RSR Groveland/South Lake73 Tyler Moore OL 6’ 5” 320 RSO Clearwater/Countryside/St. Petersburg74 Trenton Brown OL 6’ 8” 361 JR Albany, Ga./Westover/Georgia Military75 Chaz Green OL 6’ 5” 300 RJR Tampa/Tampa Catholic76 Max Garcia OL 6’ 4” 311 RJR Norcross, Ga./Norcross/Maryland77 Ian Silberman OL 6’ 5” 306 RJR Orange Park/Fleming Island78 Trevon Young OL 6’ 4” 272 FR Bradenton/Braden River79 Quinteze Williams OL 6’ 4” 280 RFR Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek79 Matthew Fuchs OL 6’ 2” 246 RFR Gainesville/Buchholz81 Marqui Hawkins WR 6’ 1” 213 FR Columbus, Ga./Carver81 Darius Masline WR 5’ 8” 172 RFR Jacksonville/Raines82 Bair Diamond TE 6’ 4” 228 RFR Fort Myers/Bishop Verot83 Solomon Patton WR 5’ 9” 177 SR Mobile, Ala./Murphy84 Colin Thompson TE 6’ 4” 258 RFR Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood85 Chris Thompson WR 6’ 0” 167 FR Gainesville/Gainesville86 Raphael Andrades WR 6’ 0” 198 SO Tallahassee/Lincoln87 Tevin Westbrook TE 6’ 5” 255 JR Coconut Creek/North Broward Prep87 A.J. Mobley WR 5’ 11” 219 RJR Fayetteville, Ga./Starr’s Mill/Sante Fe88 Clay Burton TE 6’ 4” 257 JR Venice/Venice Senior89 Alvin Bailey WR 5’ 11” 185 FR Seffner/Armwood90 Jonathan Bullard DL 6’ 3” 270 SO Shelby, N.C./Crest Senior91 Joey Ivie DL 6’ 3” 270 FR Dade City/Pasco92 Connor Gilboy P 5’ 8” 180 FR Land O’Lakes/Sunlake93 Dallas Stubbs P 5’ 9” 151 RSO Gainesville/Gainesville/Santa Fe CC94 Bryan Cox, Jr. DL 6’ 3” 260 RFR Ft. Lauderdale/St. Thomas Aquinas95 Alex McCalister DL 6’ 6” 238 RFR Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth95 Francisco Velez K 5’ 9” 182 RJR Ocala/Trinity Catholic96 Sterling Stanley DL 5’ 11” 172 FR West Palm Beach/Dwyer97 Brad Phillips K 5’ 10” 195 SR Gainesville/Buchholz99 Jay-nard Bostwick DL 6’ 3” 305 FR Port Saint Lucie/West Centennial

Coaches

Head Coach - Will MuschampSpecial Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers - Jeff ChoateOffensive Line - Tim DavisDefensive Coordinator/Linebackers - D.J. Durkin

Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line - Brad LawingTight Ends - Derek LewisOffensive Coordinator - Brent PeaseWide Receivers - Joker PhillipsDefensive Backs - Travaris RobinsonRunning Backs - Brian White



South Carolina’s sand volleyball team made final preparations for their fall competition last week before getting a sense of where they stack up against some of the best teams in the nation.

Head coach Moritz Moritz said that the team was “very ready” to play against dif-ferent competition and they were excited to see how they matchup with Florida State and Georgia State.

“It’s good to get out there and see some dif-ferent competition. I told the team the most important thing is not wins and losses this weekend, but that we just need to go out and compete. We will get a good sense of where we are and where we need to be playing these teams, so that can help us a lot going forward,” Moritz commented.

Sophomore Maddie Frome agreed with Moritz saying that the team’s level of excite-ment is very high before playing against out-side competition.

“There’s a lot of excitement for the week-end competition. We’re working hard in the weight room and everybody is doing their best. We’re very excited to see another team and see how we work against them,” Frome said.

Moritz noted that he is starting to get to work out some pairings and the ones that he will use in the competition are fairly well set. He said that there may be some adjust-ments to matchup with the teams during the weekend, but he likes the way the duos are competing together.

“We are continuing to stress that you want to be that player that can play with any other partner, that everyone will want to play with because you can do anything,” Moritz said. “We want them all to be versatile and adapt to anything that is happening on the court or in the match.

“We are telling them ‘be that player that can complement any other player. If they are a good blocker, then you be tremendous on

Sand volleyball amped up for fall competition


The Gamecock men’s golf team captured team titles at the Badger Invitational and Wendy’s Kiawah Classic each by over 20 strokes to close out their fall schedule on an upswing.

“I think winning is contagious and it always helps to accomplish that. The thing that I was most impressed with was that we got contributions from everybody the last two events,” head coach Bill McDonald said. “Everybody seemed to be playing really well this past week and it should give them a lot of confidence in the offseason. Hopefully we use that to springboard into the spring with a little tougher schedule and accomplish some good things then.”

McDonald said he has been pleased with the solid play throughout the roster because there is no way to compete at this level unless you have everyone playing well. He was happy to see all five golfers were almost in the top-20, Will Murphy tied for 21st, and two finished in the top-five as well. He said that is evidence of the team’s depth which will be a strength going forward.

“The overall atmosphere of the team this fall was excellent. We’ve got great leadership from our team captain Caleb (Sturgeon) … I feel good with the way that everybody has

contributed,” McDonald noted. “Ben (Di-etrich) really stepped in the last two events and as a freshman I think he handled himself extremely well.

“We’ve had great play from Will Starke, Caleb Sturgeon and Matt NeSmith obviously and Will Murphy has been really solid for us as well,” McDonald continued.

The team will have some time to relax, which McDonald said will be beneficial for them after playing full summer and collegiate

schedules in addition to their school work. He added they will individually set goals for each player’s work over the break, but they will really just need to take the time to catch their breath.

“I’m very pleased with the fall. I think we’ve got some work to do since we’re playing in arguably the toughest conference in the coun-try,” McDonald commented. “I think we’ve got some work to do to compete at the highest level in our conference and nationally, but it’s

work that we can accomplish.“We’re obviously wanting to be very com-

petitive and peak at the right time around con-ference and regionals and we’ll set some goals when they come back in January that are more specific to each individual based on how the fall went. Every year it’s about the same. We want to be in the mix for the SEC Champion-ship and have a chance to play for a National Championship,” McDonald concluded.

Men’s golf has strong finish to fall schedulephoto by Mike kucharski

Moritz and the Gamecocks faced off against FSU and Georgia State this past weekend.Please see Volleyball, Page 30



The Darlington County Gamecock Club may not have as many members as some other chapters, but president Jimmy Grif-fin said there is great support from the local community for every sport.

“We’ve got a lot of interest out here in all sports. That’s what makes our club go so good; everybody down here is really sports-minded and the area is really heavy with Gamecocks. We get a lot of support in this area in everything that we do,” Griffin said. “We get great cooperation out of the com-munity.

“The last few years we’ve gained a few fans in the area. Naturally when you win, you win a few fans over … it’s really good to see all the Carolina flags and stickers waving down in this area,” Griffin added.

There have been a number of local athletes that have gone on to play for the Gamecocks, including Jeff Grantz among others. Cur-rently on the South Carolina men’s basketball team is guard Jaylen Shaw who helped Harts-ville win back-to-back state championships. Griffin said that being able to cheer on one of your own as a Gamecock always makes games even more fun.

Griffin said that it takes a lot of work to make run and organize the chapters, but he said that it is definitely worth it to help out South Carolina Athletics.

The Darlington county chapter holds about four meetings each year, a summer party to start off the year, a kickoff party in August to prepare for football season, a Christmas party and a barbecue fundraiser in January. Another special event the chapter does is tak-ing part in the local Christmas parade every year.

“We take part in the Christmas parade with Cocky. We get Gamecocks, Gamecock golf carts and Cocky all to be in the Christmas parade in Hartsville. It’s always a fun time to get together and do that,” Griffin said.

The Darlington County Gamecock Club held their elections on Nov. 4 and Griffin was elected to serve his third term as chapter president. Other Board members elected were Woody Barfield as vice president, Cur-tis Tyner as treasurer and Sandy Gaskins as secretary.

“I am very fortunate in the Board that I’ve got. My vice president is a good friend of mine; we’ve been friends since the ‘50s and he played ball at Carolina (football 1960-62).The secretary is a retired school teacher and the treasurer is president of a bank, so you couldn’t go wrong with either one of those,” Griffin commented.

Griffin is proud of his chapter even though

it is sometimes tough to compare to some of the larger chapters. The Darlington county chapter won the Executive Director’s Cup twice which is a point of pride for Griffin and the local Gamecock Club members.

“The biggest thing with our club that we’re proud of is the response that we get from the community in all the activities we have … the first year that we had coach Spurrier here we had 800 people show up and the following year when he came we had over 600 despite some really bad wether,” Griffin recalled. “The one that we’re most proud of is two years ago when there was the Fan Fest all around the state and the event at Darlington Race Track was cancelled due to bad weath-er. A couple of weeks later, (Gamecock Club Executive Director) Patrick (McFarland) called me and said ‘coach Spurrier is coming to Hartsville Monday to make up that bad weather event in Darlington.’

“He called me on a Thursday afternoon to say they were coming that Monday. Well we found a place and still had over 300 people come out on that short of notice. We were re-ally happy about that and that just shows you the kind of support that we have here,” Grif-fin continued.

Griffin said that he has been blessed to be a part of such a great community and great organization. He added that he has been extremely pleased with the involvement that has led to meeting great people, forging great friendships and providing incredible fellow-ship with other Gamecock fans. Griffin said he loves the team philosophy of the Game-cock Club and the cooperation between his group and other chapters as well.

“It’s just great for all of us to get together and work as a team for South Carolina Ath-letics with such great people. It just seems like everything is going great right now with the Gamecock Club and on the field this year,” Griffin concluded.

Gamecock pride brings community together

Submitted photo

Submitted photo

Jimmy Griffin with Steve Spurrier.



When it comes to barbecue, the Ultimate Tailgeters know how to set up for a football game which was confirmed when they were named the 2013 National Collegiate Tailgat-ing Champions this past August.

Chris and Kathy Fulmer of the Aiken County Gamecock Club and the Ultimate Tailgaters BBQ team have competed in the World BBQ Food Championships the past two years by being named Grand Champions at qual-ifying events.

The Ultimate Tailgaters are enthusiastic Game-cock fans and they have taken their skills for tailgating to competitions, but never at the expense of miss-ing a Carolina football game. This year Chris Fulmer had to scramble at the qualification in September where they cooked at noon in one of the last competitions that would qualify for the World BBQ Championship. This put them back in Columbia at 6 p.m. before the 7 p.m. kickoff against Kentucky.

“Of course you know I’m a diehard Game-cock fan so my deal in the fall is that I won’t miss a football game. Luckily both years this has been on the open date, so that is a reason that we came out as well,” Fulmer explained.

Fulmer said that they did not get into bar-becue for competitions, rather it is just some-thing that developed from their time tailgat-ing before football games.

“I’ll be honest with you, we have a big tailgate group that has been around about 20 years, the Ultimate Tailgaters, and the barbecue kind of came from that,” Fulmer ex-plained. “We always cook up a lot of things at our tailgate and we’ve really gotten more into the competitions in the last four or five years.

“In the last three years we really got into the competition side of barbecuing and prob-ably did about 20 contests this year. They’re mostly in the early part of the year … we’ve done a couple in the fall. Only if it’s a night football game have we squeezed a couple in, but I won’t miss a game,” Fulmer continued.

The Ultimate Tailgaters are one of about 90 teams competing in Las Vegas, Nev. from around the world in the World BBQ Cham-pionship, although the vast majority of teams are from the United States. There are seven teams in the competition from South Carolina

and each team will cook brisket, ribs and a Boston butt for judging.

Fulmer said the National Collegiate Tailgat-ing Championships are a bit different because they do not focus on the barbecue as much, but it is a place where the Ultimate Tailgaters have felt at home by winning the Champion-ship this year and runner-up last year.

“Those are more about the tailgating. They grade you on your team spirit, tailgate set up and it’s more like tailgate foods … your

finger foods,” Fulmer noted. “It’s pretty much what-ever you want to cook and put on the table that will please the judges.”

Fulmer said that every-thing started from a group of Gamecock

fans tailgating before the football games and that is something he has been doing since he was young.

“My dad owned a grocery store … and my dad started taking me to the games in the late 1960s with my brothers. That was our day,” Fulmer recalled. “My dad always set aside those Saturdays for us to go up to the game and have a good time. We tailgated back when I don’t even know if you could call it tailgating quite honestly.”

He added that everything developed from those times and it is something that he has loved ever since. The Ultimate Tailgaters were formed in 1994 and he became more involved in the cooking side that has led them to these competitions today.

Wherever they compete, the Fulmers make sure to show off their Gamecock pride. He said that you meet a lot off good people, have a good time and there is great fellowship to be had at those events.

“A lot of these people are really into the bar-becue side and not really the football, but we love both. So we have our Gamecock cano-pies up, Gamecock banners and a Gamecock flag,” Fulmer said. “It’s kind of neat because we have a lot of people come up during the competition and comment to us about South Carolina.

“We’re kind of excited to be carrying the South Carolina Gamecock torch out here. We’ve got our Gamecock Pride, we’re going to try and do them proud out here and we’re going to have some fun doing it,” Fulmer concluded.

Taking tailgating to a whole new level

submitted photo

“A lot of these people are really into the barbecue side and not really the football, but we love both. so we have our Gamecock canopies up, Gamecock banners and a Gamecock flag.”

~ chris Fulmer


Arizona CardinalsJohn Abraham - DEStarted six of eight games for the Cardinals and made 15 tackles (13 solo) and three sacks this season. He has forced two fum-bles and deflected two passes. Jasper Brinkley - LBStarted three games and played in seven for the Cardinals and compiled 25 tackles (21 solo) and one pass deflection.

Atlanta FalconsPartick DiMarco - FBStarted four games and played in six this season for the Falcons and has made three catches for 25 yards.Cliff Matthews - DEHas played in all eight games for the Fal-cons this season and tallied two tackles.Travian Robertson - DTRobertson has appeared in one game for the Falcons.

Buffalo BillsStephon Gilmore - CBHas played in four games and started two after returning from a wrist injury. Com-piled 16 tackles (12 solo) and deflected two passes on the year.

Carolina PanthersCaptain Munnerlyn - CBStarted all eight games for the Panthers while collecting 34 tackles (23 solo) and six pass deflections. He also has one intercep-tion that he returned for a touchdown, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.Travelle Wharton - GHas appeared in all eight games and started four for the Panthers this season.

Chicago BearsAlshon Jeffery - WRStarted seven of eight games this season, compiling 38 catches for 621 yards and three touchdowns. He is averaging 16.3 yards per catch and has rushed seven times for 89 yards.

Cincinnati BengalsTJ Johnson - CJohnson is on the Bengals practice squad and has not appeared in any games this season.

Cleveland BrownsTori Gurley - WRWas promoted from the Browns practice squad to active roster. He has one catch for 15 yards in three games.Spencer Lanning - PPunted in all nine games for the Browns for

a total of 50 punts for a 45.7 yard average with 16 downed inside the 20 yard line and a long of 59 yards.Lanning has also com-pleted his only passing attempt on the sea-son for an 11-yard touchdown and made an extra point in his only attempt on the year.

Dallas CowboysDeVonte Holloman - LBPlayed in six games for the Cowboys, compiling five tackles and recovered one fumble.

Detroit LionsDevin Taylor - DEHas played in six games and totaled six tackles (four solo), one sack and one forced fumble for the Lions.

Houston TexansJohnathan Joseph - CBStarted all eight games for the Texans this year. Joseph has made 18 tackles and has nine pass deflections. He also has one inter-ception on the season.D.J. Swearinger - SSSeen action in all eight games while making two starts. He has made 21 tackles (19 solo) this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars Ace Sanders - WR/PRStarted three games and played in seven for the Jaguars this year. He has 16 catches for 182 yards for an 11.4 yard per recaption av-erage. Sanders has also returned eight punts and one kick this year for 33 and 23 yards respectively.

Kansas City ChiefsDunta Robinson - CBPlayed in four games and started one this

season while compiling six tackles (all so-lo). Robinson has also recovered one fumble and has two pass deflections.

Ryan Succop - KServed as the placekicker and kickoff spe-cialist for all nine of the Chiefs’ games. Suc-cop is 18-for-21 on field goals with a long of 51 yards and has made all 23 of his extra point attempts. He has had 34 touchbacks in 50 kickoffs giving an average opponent starting field position at the 25 yard line.Rokevious Watkins - OLWatkins was promoted from the Chiefs practice squad to the active roster on Oct. 30.

New York Jets Antonio Allen - SStarted seven games and played in all nine for the Jets this year, collecting 49 tackles (29 solo) and one sack this season. Allen also has a blocked punt, four pass deflec-tions, one interception and one touchdown on the year.

Philadelphia EaglesClifton Geathers - DEHas played in all nine games this season while compiling five tackles (3 solo) on the season.

San Diego ChargersMelvin Ingram - LBSuffered a torn ACL in May and is current-ly on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Ingram has returned to practice and must be activated by Week 11 to play this season.

Byron Jerideau, - DTA reserve player for the Chargers who has not seen action this season due to shoulder

surgery.

San Francisco 49ersChris Culliver - CBCulliver is on injured reserve and out for the season with at torn ACL.Marcus Lattimore - RBLattimore is on the reserve/non-fooball injury list with the knee injury he suffered against Tennessee last season as a Game-cock. He is not expected to play this season while recovering from surgery.

Seattle SeahawksLemuel Jeanpierre - G/CAppeared in all nine games for the Se-ahawks, starting two.Sidney Rice - WRHas a torn ACL and is out for the season, but started six games for the Seahawks and played in eight. Rice had 15 catches for 231 yards, an average of 15.4 yards per catch, and three touchdowns on the year.

St. Louis RamsJared Cook - TECook has started seven games playing in all nine for the Rams this year while compiling 32 catches for 411 yards. He is averaging 12.8 yards per catch and has scored three touchdowns this season.Darian Stewart - SStarted five games and played in six for the Rams. Has made 20 tackles (16 solo), has one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He also has one pass deflection this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jamon Meredith - OTAppeared in all eight games and started one for the Buccaneers this season.

Gamecocks in the NFL (through Week 9)

photo by travis bell/sideline carolina

Former Gamecock and current Buffalo Bill Stephon Gilmore after picking up a Georgia fumble during third-quarter action in Athens, Ga. on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011.


We highly recommend taking advantage of this membership payment option. You must enroll in this three-month payment plan option by November 27th. Please see below for a chart showing your monthly installments should you to take advantage of this offer.

To enroll in a payment plan, please log into your AccountManager by visiting

www.GamecocksOnline.com/Tickets, or contact the Gamecock Club at 803.777.4276 or [email protected].

As a reminder, the renewal deadline for 2014 Gamecock Club membership is Janu-ary 31, 2014.

Thank you for your support of South Caro-lina Athletics. It’s great to be a Gamecock!

(Story by the Gamecock Club)

Spread your 2014 Gamecock Club Membership out over the next three months

submitted photo

Pictured is 2 1/2 year old Hayden Henderson enjoying his first Gamecock football game at the Mississippi State game. He is the son of Chuck and Renee Henderson.


Seeking Advertising Sales ExecutiveIf you love the Gamecocks and have a proven track record of sales success there is an opportunity to join the Spurs & Feathers team. The successful candidate will be responsible for sales around the State of South Carolina for advertising in the newspaper, magazine and web site. Please email your resume and a cover letter to General Manager Tim O’Briant at tobriant@spursandfeathers.


City Call letters FrequenCy Football basketball CoaChes shows baseballAbbeville WZLA-FM 92.9 X X Johnston/Aiken WKSX-FM 92.7 X X X XAllendale WDOG-FM 93.5 X X X XAnderson WRIX-FM 103.1 X X X XCamden WPUB-FM 102.7 X X X XCamden WCAM-AM 1590 X X X Charleston WWIK-FM 98.9 X X X XCharleston WTMZ-AM 910 X X X XChesterfield WVSZ-FM 107.3 X X X XClinton WPCC-AM 1410 X X X XColumbia WISW-AM 1320 Women’s BasketballColumbia WNKT-FM 107.5 X X X XFlorence WHYM-AM 1260 X X XFlorence WOLH-AM 1230 X X XFlorence WOLH-FM 98.9 X X XFlorence/Lamar WFRK-FM 95.3 X X Gaffney WZZQ-FM 104.3 X X Gaffney WZZQ-AM 1500 X X Greenville WROO-FM 96.7 X X X Greenville WGVL-AM 1440 XHilton Head WGZO-FM 103.1 X X Kingstree WDKD-AM 1310 X X X XMyrtle Beach WSYN-FM 103.1 X X X Myrtle Beach WHSC-AM 1050 XNewberry WKDK-AM 1240 X X X Rock Hill/Lancaster WRHM-FM 107.1 X X X XRock Hill/Lancaster WVSZ-FM 107.3 X X X XSeneca WSNW-AM 1150 X X X Seneca WSNW-FM 103.5 X X X Spartanburg WSPG-AM 1400 X X X XSumter WIBZ-FM 95.5 X X Sumter WDXY-AM 1240 X X XUnion WBCU-AM 1460 X X X Woodruff WQUL-AM 1510 X

The Gamecock Sports Network from IMG College counts 34 affiliate stations for the 2013-14 season. For Sirius/XM subscribers, follow the Gamecock Radio Twitter page for weekly updates on chan-nel information for Gamecock broadcasts.

The weekly Carolina Calls show will air from 7-8 p.m. on the flagship station of the Gamecocks, WNKT-FM (107.5 FM), and over the Internet at www.Gamecock-sOnline.com. The show takes place each week at Wild Wing Café, located at 729 Lady Street in the Vista. Wild Wing Café, which is South Carolina’s home for the best wings south of Buffalo, has 12 loca-tions in the Palmetto State. Visit www.wildwingcafe.com for more information.

Inside the RoostSouth Carolina Athletics Director Ray

Tanner and Derek Scott from the Game-cock Sports Network from IMG College host an hour long radio show every Mon-day night at 7 p.m. from Hilton Columbia Center in the Vista. The show is broadcast on 107.5 FM and features discussions on current issues with Ray Tanner and inter-views with coaches and athletics depart-ment staff.

South Carolina-Florida television The game will be at 7 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN2.

Gamecock Radio/Television Information2013-14 Radio Affiliates


Meet the 2013-14 South Carolina men’s basketball team**Preseason: stats based off 2012-13 season; Johnson now eligible immediately (South Carolina Athletics Media Relations)

photo by allen sharpeSophomore forward Michael Carrera was named to the 2012-13 SEC All-Freshman Team.


Demetrius Henry averaged 18.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game during prep school last season at Faith Baptist Christian.


Welcome to college basketball’s version of shock therapy.

Don’t be alarmed. You won’t feel any elec-trical currents. Just a series of sharp whistles administered by men in black and white-striped shirts. You may experience some discomfort and you’ll definitely experience some ringing in the ears. But in the end, you’ll be bet-ter off for it.

In an effort to boost scoring, the NCAA basketball rules committee has enacted a series of 28 rule changes for the upcoming season. Officials have been instructed to crack down on the clutching, grabbing and excessive contact that have turned them into choppy, inartistic muckfests. Last year, scoring in Division I dipped to its lowest level (67.7 ppg) since 1952. Field-goal shooting (43.3%) reached its lowest level since 1965. As ESPN analyst Jay Bilas wrote, “the quality of play simply isn’t matching up to the quality of players and coaches.” By giving players more freedom of movement, the NCAA believes that scoring will return to healthier levels.

Across the country, players have had to reprogram the way they defend. A play that barely would’ve raised an eyebrow last year will now draw a foul – and likely, a lot of groans from fans.

But before you complain too loudly about the new whistles, there’s a potential side effect to this shock treatment. Head coach Frank Martin says it could give his team a big edge.

“The way we guard is not conducive to more fouls,” Martin told me.

Because of the way Martin teaches defense, South Carolina could adapt to the rules faster than others. In the early season, that could lead to more free throws, more lineup mis-matches – and, perhaps, more wins.

“The coaches’ principles that we play by, it almost feeds into our hands,” senior Brenton Williams said.

So why are the Gamecocks well equipped to handle the new rules?

Martin hates hand-checking. “[The coach-es] already tell us not to use our hands, even before the refs came and told us it was a new rule,” Williams told me.

How serious is Martin about policing hand-checks at practice? “Even without referees, when guys put their hands on the guy with the ball, we stop practice and we talk about it,” he said. “Sometimes we yak at them. Sometimes we pull them out.”

The Gamecocks don’t like to gamble for steals. Teams that like to pressure the ball may be in for a rude awakening this year. Don’t count the Gamecocks among them.

“I’m into making people play fast. I’m not into stealing,” he explained.

The numbers support that. In six seasons as a head coach, Martin’s teams have never ranked highly in steal percentage, or the percentage of a team’s defensive posses-sions that results in a steal (the Gamecocks finished 318th nationally last year). Martin doesn’t like the unnecessary rotations that a whiffed steal attempt creates.

“We’re not too much into being overly ag-gressive,” Williams added. As a result, the Gamecocks could avoid fouls more easily than other teams.

Holding off the ball – an area of concentra-tion for officials – isn’t something Martin teaches, either. “We’re not into grabbing people away from the ball. We’re not into

chucking cutters. Our strategy does not in-clude any of these things,” he said. Martin wants his team’s length to force opponents into taking uncomfortable shots. Clutching and grabbing off the ball only hinders that.

Last year, South Carolina ranked 329th out of 347 Division I teams in average height (75.1”) according to college basketball stats guru Ken Pomeroy. The Gamecocks were the shortest power-conference team in the nation and by a wide margin. In the heat of the halfcourt, the Gamecocks may have had to resort to those holding tactics as they chased taller opponents around the floor. But a beefed-up roster that includes 6’8” fresh-men Demetrius Henry and Desmond Ringer, along with tall guards like 6’5” Sindarius Thornwell and 6’3” transfer Tyrone Johnson, should give Martin the length he desires – and the length that should make holding off the ball unnecessary.

Andy DemetraContributing Writer

photo by Allen shArpePlease see inside, Page 30


Meet the 2013-14 South Carolina women’s basketball team**Preseason: stats based off 2012-13 season (South Carolina Athletics Media Relations)


Elem Ibiam saw action in 30 games last year for the Gamecocks.


Alaina Coates came to Carolina as a McDonald’s and a Parade All-American.


Reminder from Gamecock Club: Please remember that the Gamecock Club renewal deadline is January 31, 2014.

New York City Gamecock ClubWeekly Football Game-Watching EventSaturdays at The Mason Jar.The best place to watch Gamecock football if you can’t be at Williams-Brice!Located at 43 E 30th Street in Manhattan, with a Gamecock-inspired menu and discounts for Game-cock fans. Call them at: (212) 213-3587.For more information, check out the website at: www.nycgamecocks.com or email chapter president JR Buzzelli at [email protected].

Florence County Gamecock Club invites you to a Pre-Florida Rally Thursday, November 14, 2013 at Redbone Alley in Florence from 4:30-6:30 p.m. All Gamecock Club members and fans are invited to attend the Florence County Gamecock Club Pre-Florida Pep Rally on Thursday, November 14, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Redbone Alley in Florence. Ken Ard will be hosting his daily sports talk show from there which airs on 98.9 ESPN radio. Fans will have an opportunity to tell Ken about some of their favorite games, plays and stories on the radio. Redbone has graciously offered special prices on beer, liquor and appetizers. Be sure to bring your business cards as there will be some giveaways. No RSVPs are necessary. If you have any questions, please call Rod Jernigan at Jernigan Law Firm (843) 664-0540.

Savannah Gamecock Club SocialTuesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m.B&D Burgers - 209 W. Congress St. Savannah, Ga.Get to know other fellow Gamecocks, hear from some of the Gamecock Club staff members and talk about future events. Don’t forget to bring your business card for the raffle; prize is a signed Steve Spurrier football. RSVP by Nov. 13 to Reeves Skeen at [email protected].

Fairfield County Gamecock Club Meeting Tuesday, November 19th at 7:00 p.m.All Gamecock Club members and fans are invited to the Fairfield Cove Restaurant (1418 Hwy 321 Bypass South, Winnsboro, S.C. 29180) for the Fairfield County Gamecock Club business meeting. The meal will be a Dutch treat and there will be great door prizes. Additionally, a 2012 Outback Bowl autographed Steve Spurrier football will be raffled. Tickets will only be sold at the meeting and you must be present to win. Guest speaker will be Jay Brown, Assistant Director of the Gamecock Club. A special thanks to Carolina Wings (Blythewood), Frank’s Carwash, Jewelry Warehouse Garnet and Black Traditions, and Scotties’ Café and Grill (Blythewood) for their generous dona-tions to the Fairfield County Gamecock Club.

Colleton County Gamecock Club - Pep RallyMonday, Nov. 25 from 6-8 p.m.Walterboro Elks Lodge at 236 Milestone Ln. in Walterboro, S.C. 29488.Fun for all ages! DJ and Cocky will be present with raffle tickets for awesome prizes.For more information contact Lori Beard at [email protected] or (843) 909-1919.

Kershaw County Gamecock Club MeetingLangston Moore, former Gamecock great and current Gamecock Radio Sideline reporter, will address the Kershaw County Gamecock Club on the Monday (November 25) before the Carolina-Clemson game! The event will be held at Gadget’s in Camden and is free of charge! The bar and the restaurant will be open for your convenience. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. with Langston Moore speaking approx. 6:50-7 p.m. ALL GAMECOCK FANS AND FRIENDS ARE WELCOME! You do not have to be a Gamecock Club member to attend. There will also be raffle drawings and a drink special if you have on Garnet and Black. Come on out with your Kershaw County Gamecock friends and get ready to make it 5 IN A ROW against “that school in the upstate.” Contact Gamecock Club President Casey Robinson for more information at (803) 669-0273.

Upcoming South Carolina Athletics Events

z November 12

Men’s Basketball at Baylor ..........................................................3 p.m.

z November 13

Volleyball at Florida ......................................................................7 p.m.

Men’s Soccer vs. Tulsa at C-USA Tournament .....................3 p.m.

z November 14

Women’s Basketball vs. College of Charleston .......8 p.m.

z November 15

Cross Country at NCAA Southeast Regionals ..................12 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Alabama ...............................................7 p.m.

Men’s Soccer at Conference USA Tournament ...................... TBA

z November 16

Football vs. Florida .....................................................7 p.m.

z November 17

Volleyball vs. Missouri ......................................... 1:30 p.m.

Women’s Basketball vs. Seton Hall ...........................3 p.m.

Men’s Basketball at Clemson ....................................................5 p.m.

Men’s Soccer at Conference USA Tournament ...................... TBA

Home events listed in Bold

Don’t forget to check the calendar on www.spursandfeathers.com for all upcoming events.

Gamecock Club Upcoming Events

Gamecock Club Holiday Hours


The new hand-checking rules will reward teams who attack the rim. The Gamecocks finished 5th in the SEC last year in Free Throw-Point Distribution Percentage, or the percentage of a team’s overall points that come from the free-throw line. Martin has always drilled his teams to play “inside-

out” – to work the ball into the lane on every halfcourt possession. With the crackdown on hand-checking inside the three-point line, teams that make a habit of getting into the paint can draw more fouls than ever before. “We’ve got to program our guys to be ultra-aggressive going to the rim now,” Martin said.

Martin is quick to point out that the tighter

officiating won’t change his team’s attitude on defense. “We’re physical when the ball is shot. We want to box out and we go to the offensive glass. We don’t give in to contact,” he said.

Still, the Gamecocks received their first dose of shock therapy in their 84-72 exhibi-tion win over USC Aiken at Colonial Life Arena. With a crew that included SEC veter-ans Ted Valentine and Tony Greene, officials

called a total of 55 fouls, including 29 in the first half. Last year, Division I games aver-aged 35.7 fouls total.

That’s the irony of the officiating crack-down: to clean the game up, games might get messier. But the new rules will also create op-portunities for teams that can adapt better.

Can South Carolina take advantage? Don’t be shocked.

inside, cont. from page 27

defense. If you need to attack, then you have to be able to play with anyone.’ I think they are getting there and understanding that pretty well,” Moritz continued.

Frome said that the team members are getting in synch with one another, learning how to play together and communicating well.

“A lot of the partners are working really well with each other and luckily everybody plays well together anyway. All the matchings are working well and he (Moritz) definitely thought through it a lot. It has been great,” Frome commented.

The Gamecocks competed against Florida State and Georgia State in pool play on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Seminole Sand Volleyball Com-plex. Each match was decided by two sets to 21 points and South Carolina won four sets to split

matches. Sophomore Jordan Loney was a part of three of the four splits as the Gamecocks will use the experience to build toward its competition season this spring.

The team and Moritz have enjoyed their first week practicing in their newly-completed home facility. Moritz said that it is great to have a place that they can call their own and the facility is in-credible for them. There are still scoreboards and a few other details to be completed, but Moritz and the team have been pleased to be able to have the place to come every day that is specifi-cally for them.

Frome echoed Moritz’s excitement to have their own home to practice and play and lauded the facility as an asset to the program.

“It’s awesome. It’s definitely one of the best facilities in the country for sure. They definitely took care of us here so we love it. The whole

team is loving it,” Frome said.The team has had multiple guests at practices

lately including coach Tanner and other mem-bers of the administration as they check in on the newest Gamecock team and their new facility. Moritz said it was special when Tanner came out and addressed the team on the first day of prac-tice on the new courts and the show of support means a lot to the team.

Another first for the team was when the indoor volleyball student-athletes got the chance to come work out with the team recently. Moritz said that it was great to see all the players come out and show enthusiasm to get out in the sand despite the poor weather one of the days.

“It’s fun to see everyone come out and it is just a little preview of what we will get in Janu-ary when we get all the girls out here,” Moritz noted. “It’s nice to see the support that we have

throughout the program in our volleyball fam-ily.”

The Gamecocks are now focusing on the task at hand and keeping with the theme of firsts, they hope to play well in their first matches. Moritz is excited to really see where the team stands head-ing into the break.

“We will learn a lot about our team and where we are this weekend, but I have stressed that the results aren’t the most important thing,” Mortiz noted before competition last Saturday. “We just want to go out and show these teams ‘hey, we’re here and we’re serious about this.’

“We know that we want to get to that level and measuring where we are will tell us where we need to go. It will give us the taste of competition and help us to figure out what areas we will work on going forward getting ready for the spring season,” Moritz concluded.

volleyball, cont. from page 18

The lack of a football game on a Saturday can leave one lost. It is such a habit from week to week that the break can leave you looking around wondering what to do. Fortunately, that was alleviated at USC as basketball started. The women and men started with a bang with two blowouts on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The women were not challenged by Charleston Southern, winning 99-29, so what can we tell from that? Check the scores of the big time programs in women’s basketball and the scores against teams like that: UConn, Tennessee, Baylor, etc. The final score will be something like 99-29. Are we ready to challenge the elite programs? I think we will find out that we are before this year is over.

The men about doubled up Longwood in the opener, 82-44. Longwood was outsized and just could not handle the Gamecocks’ smother-ing defense. And we had heard that Ty Johnson would be good. He is. Johnson led all scorers with 18 points and he is a smooth player. Add in Mindaugas Kacinas’ 14 rebounds it was a good win for the Gamecocks. Now things will get interesting at Baylor this week, #25 in the AP, and at Clemson next Sunday. Who says we don’t play anybody in basketball until January?

But football is really never out of our minds as we kept up with Missouri/Kentucky, Auburn/Tennessee and Vanderbilt/Florida while watch-ing basketball. I am officially a huge War Eagle fan. If we are to win the East, it comes down to Auburn beating Georgia (yes, I know Georgia plays Kentucky, too). That will be the game to watch for us at 3:30. In the perfect world, Geor-gia loses and we play for the 6-2 finish, elimi-nate the Dawgs and put the pressure on Mis-souri (yes, I will also be a big Rebel fan and/or Aggie, as Mizzou will need to lose one of those two as well, but that’s not until next week).

The Gamecocks will be playing for the longest home winning streak in their history (16) as last week the record of tying 15 straight home wins was accomplished against Missis-sippi State. The original record was set starting with the last home game of 1978 against Wake Forest, a 37-14 win, and ended with the last home game in 1980 which was also against Wake Forest, and was a 39-38 win which was a game that the Gamecocks trailed late in the game after a fourth quarter rally by the Demon Deacons. Gary Harper threw a long touchdown pass with less than a minute and USC went for two and won the game by the one point. George Rogers had 177 yards rushing that day and the win very probably enabled Rogers to win the Heisman as a loss would have severely hurt his chances. Carolina would lose the home opener in 1981 against Ole Miss to stop the streak.

The other memorable win in that streak was the home finale in 1979, as Clemson came in ranked #13 in the nation. Leading 13-9 late in the fourth quarter, Carolina lined up to punt at their own 16 with Jay Feltz being the punter. Feltz got off the kick of his career, an 82-yard bomb to the two yard line. The Gamecocks would need every yard as Clemson marched in-side the five but threw out of the back of the end zone on fourth down and the celebration was on. I was a sophomore at USC and my room-mate thought it be a good idea to run around on the field after the game. We jumped the rail and went running with a policeman trailing right behind me. At some point he looked up and realized there were people running all over the place (of course we don’t do this anymore), so he stopped his pursuit. I ended up in the arms of one of our offensive linemen who picked me up and was throwing me up in the air. When I got away, I made my way to Harper who was stripped of his chin strap, but still had the game ball. We stood in front of the West Stands and I came up with the well thought out, “good game!” He responded with, “it was a good game wasn’t it?” He turned and shook the ball at the fans and they just roared. It is one of my favorite moments in Carolina football!

Once the year is over we will take time to look back and highlight all the great moments that have occurred. Here’s to seeing these re-cords run up a good bit higher in the weeks to

come!Free throwsOn Friday, November 1, there was a memorial

held for former Head Coach Warren Giese who passed away September 12. It was held at the Lettermen’s Lounge at Williams-Brice. Coach Giese’s Pastor from St. Paul Lutheran, Rev. Tony Metze, spoke as did the Luthern Campus minister Rev. Frank W. Anderson. Speaking at the memorial were Giese’s former players Jim Merck, Steve Satterfield and Nelson Weston. Former Gamecock football player Mike Fair, who served in the South Carolina State Senate with Giese spoke, as did Coach Giese’s son Barney Giese. We share our sympathies with the family and remember an important part of our Gamecock history.

We also have something new in this week’s Spurs. It’s a roster brought to you by Simplified Office Systems (SOS). For your convenience, pull it out and take it to the stadium with both the Gamecocks and the Florida rosters. We ap-preciate Kevin Hunter and his staff for printing these up and making them available to us. And they just so happen to have a selection of the Carolina Copier or Printer! The perfect copier/printer for your Gamecocks office, corporate, home or otherwise. Check out these Garnet and Black, Gator Trapping, Tiger Taming, Fighting Gamecock Machines! And keep up with the players with the roster printed by the Carolina Printer! Go Cocks! Beat Florida!

Records are meant to be broken

ed GirardeauContributing

Editor

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