More SEC Honors for Gamecock Players

The other day the SEC handed out AP All SEC Team Honors, now the league's coaches voted on what they viewed as the best in the SEC and University of South Carolina junior linebacker Eric Norwood received the 1st team hononrs as did junior tight end Jared Cook on Offense. On Second Team Defense there was Senior linebacker Jasper Brinkley and junior strong safety Emanuel Cook.

Good News Ellis not leaving Gamecocks

Seems that Ellis Johnson's former employer will end there interest in him as their new head coach as it has been reported by ESPN that Mississippi State will hire Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen to be its next football coach.

Again this is good news for Gamecock Fans as Ellis has been a great hire and hope he sticks around for many years.

Will be interesting to see how Dan does with MSU without a Tebow and now without Wesley Carroll, who started this season as Mississippi State's quarterback, who has been granted a release and plans to transfer.

What Iowa is expecting in the Outback.

News article from the Des Moines register

Iowa City, Ia. — Here’s all you have to know about the South Carolina offense: They have a quarterback named Smelley.Smelley — Chris Smelley — alternates under center with Stephen Garcia, and, collectively, the two of them make Adam Weber look like Tim Tebow.The Gamecocks, Iowa’s dance partner for the 2009 Outback Bowl, rank 54th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing offense, 109th in rushing offense, 97th in total offense and 92nd in scoring offense. In losses to LSU, Florida and Clemson, South Carolina averaged 243.6 yards of offense and converted just 10-of-41 third-down opportunities.

Some bowls are designed to be shootouts.This isn’t one of them.“I wouldn’t have predicted that,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said tonight when asked about the Gamecocks’ struggles. “I really don’t know that much about them. I know this: (South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier) knows how to coach and he knows offense. And they’ll be ready to go, I know that.”So will Iowa fans. Take a bow, folks, once you find an airfare that won’t destroy your Christmas budget. The Hawkeyes are playing on New Year’s Day for the fifth time in seven years not so much because of star running back Shonn Greene (although that helped), or that massive win over previously unbeaten Penn State (although that helped too), but because of you.Northwestern beat Iowa, in Kinnick Stadium no less, and posted a better overall record (9-3), but bowls aren’t about standings — they’re about the bottom line. To the suits in Tampa, the Wildcats are a private school with a small fan base, alumni scattered across the country, and only a marginal presence in the Chicago media market.They’re a nice story. The Hawkeyes are a safe, proven investment.Bowls want fannies in the seats. Iowa faithful flock to bowls like ants to a picnic. If there’s a game in Uzbekistan, they’ll find a tent big enough to host a Hawkeye Huddle.Of course, the same could be said of South Carolina fans, which is part of what makes this game so intriguing — or, if you’re a bowl selection committee, so lucrative.The Hawkeyes and Gamecocks have never met on the football field, but they’ve got quite a bit in common. Each is the largest public university in a historically rural state. Each has a large-school rival that resides in another conference (here, Iowa State; there, Clemson). Ferentz has reportedly been on the radar for NFL teams for years; Spurrier, um, used to be.But the comparisons sort of end there.While the Hawkeyes galvanized their offensive identity over the final six weeks of the season — a little play-action and a lot of Greene — the Gamecocks have gone through more extended funks than the Dow Jones Industrial Average. South Carolina closed out its slate by dropping three of five, including back-to-back ugly setbacks against Florida and Clemson that saw Spurrier’s men outscored 89-20.“Hopefully,” the Ol’ Ballcoach told reporters tonight, “we can get back to playing the way we were (during) the middle of the season.”After a 31-14 loss to Clemson, Spurrier dumped his offensive line coach and his quarterbacks coach resigned to take a job with Tennessee. Through his first four seasons in Columbia, he’s made at least nine changes to his staff.“I’ve heard they’ve got a pretty good defense, though,” Greene said of the Gamecocks. “So I look forward to that challenge.”He heard right. They’re quick, salty and legit. First-year defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has a reputation for being as creative — and aggressive — as they come. The Gamecocks have allowed eight passing touchdowns all season.Of course, it says here they’ve also surrendered 20 scores on the ground. If you’re an Iowa fan, you have to like the smell of that.

Welcome

Giles is a Gamecock

Gaither (Tampa, FL) 4-star running back Jarvis Giles, one of the most heralded running back prospects in America this recruiting year, has chosen South Carolina over Tennessee. This is huge as the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder will play a great role in the USC backfield. Welcome!

For you myspace kids show Jarvis some Gamecock Nation love on his page HERE . Do notice how in his picture he is standing with Michael Phelps in Williams Brice.

Gamecocks make All-SEC Team

USC linebacker Eric Norwood was named to the AP first-team All-SEC defense today according to the SEC Site.

Tight end Jared Cook and safety Emanuel Cook were named to the second team.

USC WR Kenny McKinley and Kicker Ryan Succop get Honorable Mention accolades.


Here is how the AP handed out the other big awards -

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR---Tim Tebow, Florida
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR---Eric Berry, Tennessee
COACH OF THE YEAR---Nick Saban, Alabama
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR---Julio Jones, Alabama

Gamecock Recruiting Going Well

Rivals has the Gamecock recruiting efforts listed in the Top 10 thus far....keep it up!

Just need RB Giles to sign and OL Farms to come back on board to add icing to the cake.

Oh and we join Garnet and Black in welcoming DE Duane Chisolm (6-4, 245) of Beaufort who committed recently to the Gamecock Family.

I feel strongly that we need a Outback Bowl win to help keep the momentum as it seems the battles are beginning to occur heavier now with Dabo and Kiffin. Speaking of Lane did anyone see this article where he is talking to Giles about UT basically going towards a Southern Cal type offense...thoughts? Not sure if it will work up there in rocky top, just look what happened to Auburn when they tried to institute the spread. Gotta have the right athletes in place and something tells me the UT patience is thin.

Monday DYK related to USC Football

Did you know...

This is the 115th season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 102nd-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906.
Carolina owns an all-time record of 528-528-44.

That is right boys and girls the USC football team is a cool .500 ! Let's hope that the game vs. Iowa puts us going in the right direction and let's stay there as it has been a wild ride for Gamecock Nation to simply get to .500.

Gamecocks Outback Bowl Bound

The University of South Carolina football team has been invited to participate in the 23rd annual Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 1, 2009, it was announced Sunday. The Gamecocks (7-5, 4-4 SEC) will take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten).

Gamecocks Invited to Outback Bowl

Thoughts? I like the match-up at first glance....more later.