Gamecocks Geathers to test NFL waters

Being reported that USC junior defensive end Clifton Geathers has decided to test the NFL waters. He will submit paperwork to the draft advisory committee to see where he would be projected to go in the April draft. Unless he is a first or second rounder he expects to return for his junior season.  Having said that...LOHD expects him to return and it is best for him to do just that.

Two more current gamecocks may follow suit, this is a rumor, and they are junior defensive back Chris Culliver and possibly junior tight end Weslye Saunders also could submit NFL paperwork.

Why the interest by these juniors and others around the college football circuit?  Well, it is due to the fact that the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire.  The result is a possible new agreement that could see rookie salaries drop in 2011 which means some juniors may think it is best to jump now to the NFL before the current deal expires (i.e $$$).

Fellow gamecock blogger - Garnet & Black Attack - dove into this issue better than I so make sure to check his opinion out - HERE.

National Champs

It looks like USC might have played 2 national champs this past season, that is if Alabama can beat Texas in Pasadena on January 7. The other is SC State who one the 2009 SBN Sports Black College National Football Championship yesterday. The bulldogs posted a 10-2 record the season only losing to USC and App State. This is SC States first National Championship since 1981. South Carolina has played the eventual national champion on there regular schedule the last 3 seasons but this might be a first where they have played 2 national champs in one season. Maybe the ACC should look at picking up SC state if they ever decide to add another team.

Gamecocks Eric Norwood is truly a "All-American"

Gamecocks Linebacker Eric Norwood is very fitting of the award of being named a All American by the AP and being named to Sporting News Squad.  Not only has Eric Norwood left his mark on the Gamecocks history books on the field (Norwood is Carolina's all-time leader in both sacks (29.0) and tackles for loss (54.5) and is the SEC active leader in both categories), he's also left his mark in the classroom.

Eric Norwood graduated this past weekend from USC with a criminal justice degree in just 3 1/2 years.  He is the first in his family to get a college education.  Keep in mind this is a guy that was denied admission to USC but was determined.  He got in and through that determination has left his mark on Carolina in many ways.

Eric is truly deserving of all the praise he gets as he is a first-class guy.  He is the first Gamecock since Ko Simpson (2005) to make a first-team All-America squad, and the first Gamecock to be named to the AP first team since 1984 – when both Del Wilkes and James Seawright made the squad.

The 6′ 1″ Georgia native will play his final game at USC on January 2 in the Papajohns.com Bowl against Connecticut.

Congrats Mr. Norwood!

YSU Names Eric Wolford Head Coach

Copy of the press release issued by the Youngstown State University today ---

The energetic Eric Wolford, a Youngstown native who has been labeled a top recruiter at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivison level, was named the sixth head coach in school history on Tuesday, YSU President Dr. David C. Sweet announced. Wolford, a graduate of Ursuline High School, takes over his hometown program after building an impressive resume the past 16 years as a collegiate assistant. Of those, 12 have been spent on the FBS level.

"Coach Wolford comes to Youngstown State with an impressive coaching background and we are more than happy to welcome him to our Football Family," Sweet said. "He will represent our university in a first-class manner and is very highly regarded throughout the collegiate ranks. He is a great fit for our community, university and football program."

Wolford has a tremendous background working with some of the most reputable names in college football. As an assistant, he has coached for Steve Spurrier (South Carolina), Ron Zook (Illinois), Mike Stoops (Arizona), Darrell Dickey (North Texas), Dana Dimel (Houston), Jim Leavitt (South Florida) and Bill Snyder (Kansas State).

In each of the past five years, Wolford has helped programs rank in the top 20 nationally in recruiting according to Scout.com. In 2008, Rivals.com labeled him a top-20 FBS National Recruiter.

"We are very excited to have Coach Wolford join the Youngstown State Football Family," YSU Athletics Director Ron Strollo said. "In all of my discussions with him, he has shown a passion to lead our football program and be an outstanding leader for our student-athletes. He has received extremely positive reviews from within the coaching ranks and members of our community. His ability to be a top-notch recruiter will help take our program to level we all can be proud of."

Wolford spent the 2009 season as the running-game coordinator and offensive line coach at South Carolina. The Gamecocks posted a 7-5 mark this past year and will make an appearance in the PapaJohns.com Bowl on Jan. 2 against UConn. USC had four running backs rush for more than 100 yards in a game in 2009 after having just one eclipse the mark in the previous campaign. During the campaign, he had four members of his offensive line make their first career starts. Overall, 10 different players started at least one contest up front, while three started at multiple positions. After joining the staff in January, Wolford showed his talents helping the Gamecocks land the 13th-ranked recruiting class in the nation.

The 38-year-old Wolford spent two seasons at Illinois (2007-08) with Zook before heading to South Carolina. In his two seasons with the Illini, his lines led the Big Ten Conference in rushing (2007) and passing (2008) yards per game. During his two years, Illinois ranked in the top 20 nationally in recruiting. Averaging 269.3 yards in the air, the Illini ranked first in the Big Ten in the category and 19th nationally in 2008. The team finished the season second in the conference in total offense with 438.8 yards per contest, which also ranked 19th in the NCAA. Illinois’ total yards topped 5,000 for just the fourth time in school history and for the second consecutive year.

Wolford helps the Gamecocks post a 7-5 record in 2009. He spent the previous two campaigns at Illinois.In 2007, Illinois finished with a 9-4 overall mark and represented the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl following a 6-2 league mark. His veteran unit led the offense to 3,338 rushing yards, the most in school history, and paved the way for running back Rashard Mendenhall’s record-setting season. The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Mendenhall broke school records for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and total scores in a season.

Wolford served as an assistant coach at Arizona from 2004-06, North Texas in 2003, Houston from 2000-02, South Florida from 1996-99, Emporia State in 1995 and at Kansas State in 1994.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1994 in social sciences with a focus on monetary policy and banking from KSU. Wolford signed a free-agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals before returning to Manhattan to embark on his coaching career.

A 1989 graduate of Ursuline High School, Wolford earned All-Northeastern Ohio honors in 1988, in addition to being named the defensive player of the year in the Steel Valley Conference. He played both offensive and defensive line helping the Irish to the SVC championship as a senior. In the summer of 2009, he was enshrined into the Ursuline High School Athletics Hall of Fame.

Wolford and his wife, Melinda, have a son, Stone, and a daughter, Marlee.
{Photo: The State}

Letter from USC Coach Steve Spurrier

Via The Daily Gamecock

Nice letter from the Head Ball Coach to the Students a few weeks back. I agree with him as the Carolina Student Body did a good job in 2009 getting behind the gamecocks and making playing in Willy B truly a home field advantage for Carolina as they finished 6-1 this season at home.  Best home record since 1988.

Copy of letter below....
___

To The Carolina Student Body,

I want to personally thank you for the super support that you gave our football team this ‘09 season. Shepard Smith, a news anchor with Fox News and an Ole Miss alumnus, said that Williams-Brice was the loudest SEC stadium that he had ever been to after our victory back in October. This past Saturday, you and all of our other great fans made it very difficult for Clemson to hear their signals and try to communicate throughout the entire game.

We won six of seven at home this year, with our only loss to No. 1 Florida, and it was 17-14 in the fourth quarter. We definitely have a big-time home field advantage here at Carolina. This is “Our House!”

Our coaching staff and our players believe there is no better place to play college football than right here in front of our Carolina student body.

Thanks again and Go Gamecocks!

Sincerely,

Steve Spurrier
South Carolina Head Football Coach

King Cry Baby

Well the story of the PC fan that was removed from the game last Saturday against UNC has now made national news.

If you haven't heard or seen the video of Roy "King Tar-Baby" Williams get a Presbyterian College fan thrown out of the game for yelling "Miss it Dion" while he was shooting a free throw. Just like any story there are 2 sides, well Roy isn't saying much about his side of the story. The PC fan Brian King has now come out and said his side of the story. UNC fans will have you believe that he said racial slurs towards Dion and the North Carolina team. They will also have you believe that he was drunk out of his mind.

Per Kings story neither of these comments are true and he is now trying to save face with the media.

This reminds me of a Kentucky game a few years back when our good friend JR heckled Keith Bogans for the entire game. It was awesome, he had Bogans questing every shot he took. If Roy had been the coach that day for Kentucky, he would have probably fought JR in the stands like Ron Artest against the City of Detroit. Granted JR might have had a few beers but that was allowed in the House that Dave "Man Hands" Odom built.

What will come of Roy vs. The Fan? UNC will apologize to Brian King, and Roy will stick to his side of the story. The Wine and Cheese crowd will bitch about how they get no respect and this will just fuel the fire when they visit Cameron Indoor in March.

The best quote from this story might be this one, I was told, 'Because this is Roy's house, and when Roy says you need to go, you go' " King said. "I thought it was sort of amusing."

Spurrier gets extra year on contract

USC Board of Trustees approved a one-year contract extension for Spurrier on Monday, taking him through the 2013 season. His salary will remain $1.75 million.  This was mostly done for recruiting purposes but still a deserved move in my eyes.

Coach Steve Spurrier entered the season under a little pressure, but he appears to have the Gamecocks headed in the right direction. At least, the administration thinks so. A contract extension was recommended for Spurrier on Dec. 1 and this was just the formal step of making it offical so no real news here as the gamecock faithful knew this was coming.

Spurrier is 35-27 in five season with the Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks went 7-5 this season and begin practice Tuesday to play Connecticut in the PapaJohns.com Bowl on Jan. 2 in Birmingham, Ala.

Wolf gone --- Youngstown State Media Outlets Reporting Gamecocks Wolford to be named Head Coach?

LOHD Breaking News

Eric Wolford is out at USC.....

Rumors of Eric Wolford becoming the next Head Coach at Youngstown State are getting stronger and seems it is a done deal now that a TV station in the YSU area (WYTV 33) is reporting .....

"Multiple sources close to the YSU program say that Ursuline High School product Eric Wolford is set to be hired as the next head football coach at Youngstown State."

Along with that news source, another - 21 WFMJ- is reporting the same "breaking news" that Wolford will be named YSU coach this week and likely Tuesday.  Wolford has a three-year contract with the Gamecocks with two years remaining at $200,000 per year.  He is expected to sign a five-year contract with Youngstown State, with the final salary expected to be in the $250,000 range.

Eric Wolford is currently the Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach at the University of South Carolina and  would be sorely missed if this proves true. 

I hate to see him leave Carolina as he has improved the line from last year and has a great crop of OL talent coming in to the program next year.

If this is just another rumor then I feel Eric Wolford needs to issue a statement first thing Monday that he intends to stay with Carolina, us fans (and potential recruits) need to know the truth.

South Carolina Gamecocks 2009 Football Season Highlights Video

The best plays from the 2009 season put together by vagabound197979
Note: FAU and SC State were left out due to youtube's 10 minute time limit on videos.