USC : DT depth chart expects boost

[IE]

South Carolina is getting at least one starting defensive tackle back this week. It could still get the other one too.

Senior Nathan Pepper, who missed the Florida Atlantic game with a knee injury, said he felt ?a lot better? and thinks he may be able to play.

?We?re still evaluating,? said Pepper, who wore a white practice jersey on Sunday. ?I?ve gotta keep working out and try to get myself ready to play. In the next few days we?ll be able to tell.?

Junior Ladi Ajiboye is set to play his first game after sitting out the first three games on a suspension. The Gamecocks started in a three-man front against Florida Atlantic, a lineup they used for much of the game. Travian Robertson and Melvin Ingram got most of the action at defensive tackle.

Shoulder issues. Coach Steve Spurrier played down concerns about the team?s shoulder pads, after Ellis Johnson, the team?s assistant head coach for defense, cited them as a possible reason for an uptick in shoulder injuries.

Players have a choice of two different types of pads, according to Spurrier.

?Every now and then our guys are getting hit underneath. I don?t know if it?s the padding or something. We?ll look into it. It?s not that big a deal,? Spurrier said. ?We need to look into it and make sure we?re covering the front part of the shoulders.?

Kickoff woes. Freshman Adam Yates will still get the chance to kick off, despite being pulled after struggling on Saturday. Special teams coach Shane Beamer said Yates ?needs to be the guy,? citing his power. Spencer Lanning, who replaced Yates, also has the punt and place-kicking duties.

?You need a guy that can kick the ball down there in the end zone, and Yates gives us the best chance to do that,? Beamer said. ?When he kicked the ball where he was supposed to, we had good coverage. When we didn?t, we gave up long returns. It?s not rocket science.?

Quitting while ahead. Receiver Moe Brown owns a 50-yards-per-rush average after his end-around on the opening play of Saturday?s game. He joked about not wanting another carry this season so he could keep up the gaudy average.

?I was looking at that,? Brown said, laughing. ?I don?t know anybody in the history of South Carolina that had 50 yards per carry average. So I might want to keep that in the tank for awhile. That?d be nice. That?d put my name up there right beside Eric Norwood, wouldn?t it??

Extra points. Spurrier said he tried to get catches for more receivers in the waning moments against Florida Atlantic. His son Scottie Spurrier got one, but Stephen Flint, inserted in the game for that purpose, lined up too tight and didn?t get open. ?We don?t have too many games around here where we can get the walk-on guys and guys who just earned a scholarship a chance to catch the ball. That?s an opportunity to do it, so we?ll try to do it when we can,? Spurrier said. . . . . Beamer said he might use freshman tailback Bryce Sherman more as a kick returner. Sherman had one return at Georgia for 19 yards.

 

[IE]

South Carolina-Ole Miss: Five Keys to a USC Victory


This may be the biggest game of the year for South Carolina. Ole Miss comes in at No. 4 in the country but has yet to play anyone with any true merit.

Here comes USC, fresh off of two explosive offensive games (one a loss to Georgia and the other a win over Florida Atlantic). A mysterious team thus far this season, South Carolina has yet to prove it can do ANYTHING consistently.

The immediate thought is that South Carolina has no chance to beat an Ole Miss team with a No. 1 draft pick at quarterback. However, South Carolina has the potential to upset a good team and prove that it can contend in the SEC this season.

Here are the five keys to a USC victory.



1. Get healthy in time for kickoff.

This may seem like cheating because this really is not an in-game key. South Carolina has many players nursing injuries. Nathan Pepper may be ready to go for this game. If he is, that would be a huge boost to the defense, especially with Ladi Ajiboye finally coming off his three-game suspension.

Ole Miss is coming into this game healthy. We need to do the same.



2. Make sure we do not give up gaudy averages on special teams this week.

In all three of South Carolina's games, the kickoff team has given up a ridiculous number of long returns. This has to stop this week. South Carolina is not good enough on defense this season to give teams short field position.



3. Continue the offensive output.

Recently, South Carolina has erupted into a fairly good offensive team. They have looked crisp on offense, especially with the timing routes. Stephen Garcia has the look of a great SEC QB.

The running game looked better last week, but that may have been due to the poor play of Florida Atlantic's defense. Either way, South Carolina must maintain a well-balanced attack and continue to execute.



4. Try to regain defensive confidence.

The team's defense (while plagued by injuries and suspensions) has lost a bit of the "South Carolina Swagger" that it has had the past few seasons.

The team needs to play well against Ole Miss' offense early. Getting C.C. Whitlock, Ajiboye, and possibly Pepper will help a great deal.



5. Find some way to get Bryce Sherman the ball.

Whether it is on kick returns, punt returns, receiving, or running, we must make sure Bryce Sherman gets his hands on the ball. He would easily be the fastest player on the field and has carried four times for a gaudy eight yards per carry.

The coaches may have a reason for not getting him more time?I am sure of it, in fact?but the truth remains that he could be a great playmaker. It is time to see it.

 

[IE]

Nix has defense primed for Gamecocks


Just before the Ole Miss football program finally figured out how to win on a consistent basis last season, there was the debacle against South Carolina at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

In that game, the Rebels jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter before a pair of crucial fumbles in the second quarter helped the Gamecocks regain some traction. Then quarterback Chris Smelley carved up the Ole Miss defense on the way to a career day and a 31-24 victory.

On Monday afternoon at the Indoor Practice Facility, UM coach Houston Nutt looked like he'd just swallowed some lemon juice while remembering that afternoon.

"I was hoping you wouldn't bring that up," Nutt said. "We started very well in the first half and then the guy who was playing quarterback had his best day. The receivers were making plays. They made throws and basically got us in the second half."

The loss was frustrating to all involved, but especially for UM defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix.

Nix coached for three years at South Carolina, including the last two as defensive coordinator, under veteran Steve Spurrier before coming to Ole Miss.

And in round one against his former boss, Nix had to watch as his defense was picked apart.

"We had several missed assignments," Nix recalled. "They just outexecuted us and outplayed us."

In round two, Nix hopes for a different outcome. The second-year UM coordinator admits he looks forward to this game, but not because of some sort of revenge factor.

Instead, it's the charge of trying to beat a Spurrier offense, especially in a Thursday night game that will be nationally televised on ESPN.

"He is the best, or one of the best, offensive minds and head coaches in the game so it's always a challenge," Nix said. "It was a challenge when I was there and just going through practice against him."

The Rebels won't have to worry again about Smelley this time. He transferred to Alabama after last season to use his two remaining years of eligibility on the baseball field.

But the defense still has to find a way to slow down a solid South Carolina offense, which has found some consistency at quarterback thanks to the emergence of Stephen Garcia.

Nix said he's been impressed after watching the sophomore on film. Garcia has completed 64 of 102 passes this season for 683 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

"I see a complete quarterback," Nix said. "One that can check at the line and get them in the correct play. A quarterback that understands his reads and where to throw the ball. A quarterback that knows if it's not there to throw it into the stands or run it.

"He's much more poised."

But the same thing can be said for the Ole Miss secondary, which was going through some excruciating growing pains this time last season.

Guys such as Marshay Green and Jeremy McGee were still having trouble learning the cornerback spot after switching over from the offense and it showed in the South Carolina loss.

Now they're back in their second year and feeling much more confident.

"It's a big-time game and I've got a year of experience under my belt," Green said. "Let's do it, man. Let's do it."

So far this season, the Ole Miss defense has been solid, giving up only 14 points to Memphis and six to Southeastern Louisiana.

But not all has been good. There's been several missed tackles and the defensive line, which was supposed to be the strength of the team, has been strangely quiet.

The Rebels have only three sacks in two games, which ranks last in the SEC.

But help could be on the way. Defensive end Greg Hardy, who led the team with 8 1/2 sacks last year, is expected to play on Thursday after missing most of the first two games with an ankle injury.

Even though Nix is known for aggressive play-calling with plenty of blitzing, he wasn't particularly concerned about not bringing down the quarterback on a regular basis.

"I don't get into sacks," Nix said. "That's for people who get into stats. Our No. 1 goal is winning and getting better every week."

UM defensive end Kentrell Lockett said Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana have been so concerned with the Rebels' pass rush that there's been a lot of short passes and three-step drops, which means very few opportunities for sacks.

"They know the pressure is coming so they're trying to change up their scheme," Lockett said. "So I think of that as respect. But the sacks are going to come.

"You never know. This Thursday might be a replay of the Mississippi State game. We might have 11 or 12."

Some of the UM defensive players weren't shy about saying this game was personal, especially since it was their unit that got schooled the most often in last year's loss to the Gamecocks.

Now Lockett said it's time for the Rebels to do something about it.

"They came in here and did something that we don't like - something we don't approve of," Lockett said. "So now we've just got to go there and battle."