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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID COLUMBIA SC PERMIT NO. 389 Tiger tails! November 27, 2013 • Volume 35 • Issue 35 $1.50 gimme five Gamecocks to battle clemson in historic top-10 matchup; hope to extend streak Mizzou tigers lose, we win sec east fans for a day aggie

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Page 1: Spurs & Feathers 1127

PRSR

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Tiger tails!N

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gimmefiveGamecocks to battle clemsonin historictop-10 matchup; hope to extend streak

Mizzou tigers lose,

we win sec east

fansfor a day

aggie

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2 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

by mike [email protected]

South Carolina was clicking on all cyl-inders in picking up a 70-10 victory over Coastal Carolina at Williams-Brice Sta-dium to extend the program-record home winning streak to 17 games.

The 70 points are the most scored by the Gamecocks during the Steve Spurrier era, surpassing the 69 scored against Troy on Nov. 20, 2010.

The victory also gave senior quarterback Connor Shaw his 25th victory as a starter which set the program record for wins as a starter. Shaw replaces Todd Ellis as the all-time winningest Gamecock quarterback and he is now 25-5 as a starter. Shaw is 16-0 at home.

“Obviously it’s pretty special to me, just the way we did it today too. Our whole of-fense played really great and it was fun to watch. Nobody got hurt and it was a good overall day for us,” Shaw commented.

The Gamecocks were able to start out quickly and build a 42-7 lead at the half which allowed the opportunity to rest play-

ers and give experience to younger players.“Obviously we had Coastal outmanned,

outsized and so forth. I’m really proud of guys; they really played well too … we scored about every time - messed up once - and our defense played very well also. They kept getting the ball back,” Spurrier said. “Obviously Connor played very well early there in the game where we got a comfort-able lead and then Dylan came in and threw some good ones and so forth. Again the entire team played well.”

South Carolina (9-2, 6-2 SEC) took its first offensive possession 85 yards for a touchdown capped by Shaw rolling out to escape pressure and hitting Shaq Roland on the right sideline. Roland dove into the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown recep-tion capping the 10-play drive in 4:10. Shaw starred on the drive accounting for all but two yards with two rushes for 15 yards and 4-of-6 passing for 68 yards and the touch-down.

The Gamecock offense picked up right where it left off taking its second possession 63 yards for a touchdown. Freshman run-ning back Jamari Smith capped the drive

with his first career touchdown from three yards out.

The Gamecocks punched in another touchdown in four plays following a fumble recovery by Sharrod Golightly. The drive ended with Shaw’s fourth rushing touch-down of the season to give South Carolina the 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

Dylan Thompson then came off the bench and hit Nick Jones down the seam for a 34-yard touchdown on his first play of the game. The Gamecocks extended their lead when Thompson hooked up with Pharoh Cooper for an amazing catch in the left corner of the end zone to put South Carolina up, 35-0, with 11:21 left in the first half. The touchdown was Cooper’s first as a Game-cock.

The Gamecocks added another touchdown before the half from Brandon Wilds to take a 42-7 lead into halftime. South Carolina scored touchdowns on six of its seven drives in the first half.

South Carolina scored 28 points in the second half, 21 of those in the third quarter. The Gamecocks had their largest offensive output and most rushing yards of the season

with 639 total yards, 352 rushing and 287 passing.

Shaw and Thompson were each 8-of-11, the former for 115 yards and one touchdown while the latter accumulated 140 yards and two touchdowns. Each rushed for a touch-down as well.

Eight different Gamecocks found the end zone against Coastal Carolina (10-2). Shaw, Thompson, Cooper and Wilds all scored multiple touchdowns. Nick Jones and Shon Carson also found the end zone for the Gamecocks; Carson’s touchdown was the first of his career.

The Gamecock defense forced three turn-overs with the Golightly fumble recovery and interceptions by Victor Hampton and T.J. Gurley. T.J. Holloman made seven tack-les and had a sack in the game while Darius English and Hampton each had six tackles.

Smith finished the Gamecock victory with 103 yards rushing on 10 carries.

South Carolina will next take on Clemson on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in Williams-Brice Sta-dium to battle for Palmetto State suprema-cy. The Gamecocks enter the game having won four straight against the Tigers.

Gamecock offense powers huge victoryphoto by Jenny dilworth

Connor Shaw established a new school record with 25 wins as starting quarterback. Shaw is now 25-5 as a starter for the Garnet & Black, besting Todd Ellis’ record of 24-16-3.

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 3

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4 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

Spurs & FeathersPublished by Aiken Communications, Inc.

Contact Us:218 Richland Ave. W. Aiken, SC 29801(803) 335-1399

To subscribe:Please call 800-559-2311;annual subscription price is $50

Scott B. HunterPublisher & PresidentAiken 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 ContentsAnother game, another chance for history ...........5

Coastal Carolina postgame notes/quotes .............6

Women’s basketball downs Clemson ......................8

Recruiting Roundup ...................................................10

“Inside the Chart”.........................................................12

Gamecocks salute the military ...............................15

Gamecock signings.............................................. 19-20

Find fellow Gamecocks through TagSeats .........22

Women’s tennis profile ..............................................23

What’s your top Carolina-Clemson memory .....28

Honorary captain gets unique experience ........29

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

Something to Crow About!

The South Carolina men’s soccer team has earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Aca-demic Award, while also being the national Division I leader in team GPA for the 2012-13 academic year with a 3.54 cumulative team GPA.

This marks the second time the team has recorded the highest Division I GPA after also leading the way in 2009-10. It is also the eighth time overall and the fifth-consecutive year the program has received the Team Academic Award.

A total of 862 soccer teams (269 men, 593 women) posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, thereby earning the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the 2012-13 academic year. Of that total, 182 schools, including the University of South Carolina, had both their men’s and women’s programs recognized (story by South Carolina Athletics Media Relations)

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 5

Judging from Saturday’s scores, the two major college football programs in our state are sufficiently warmed up for this year’s rival game and they should be, for the historical sig-nificance that underpins this particular episode of the series first engaged in 1896.

The Clemson contingent will naturally point everyone toward the 65-40-4 advantage that school achieved over the years and good for them, anything that takes the conversation away from the present real-ity serves them well.

The sticky issue with reality is that Carolina has smashed apart the old saying that, winners of the rival game get bragging rights for 365 days.

Already, Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney holds the distinction of being one of only two coaches in that school’s history that has lost four consecutive games to South Caro-lina, so, as the rivalry exists today, the Game-cocks have owned bragging rights for what will be 1,463 days, or, if you prefer, four years, two days, when kickoff comes Saturday night.

Remember a few years back when Swinney agreed to a made-for-television stunt after a severe beating by Carolina? I happened to be there that day when cameras were being set up by people giving giddy instructions on how close to get for the tight shot, they had been tipped off to what he was about to say.

Swinney blathered some silliness about the home cities of other schools, making a refer-ence to “USC,” as in Southern California be-ing on the West Coast. He stole a pregame pep talk one of his assistants had given to his group prior to the loss to Carolina a few days earlier.

It was a ridiculous sophomoric rant spewing narcissism and fear that he must have imag-ined was what his fans wanted to hear.

Carolina coach Steve Spurrier shrugged it off with class, understanding when your rival makes a fool of himself publicly, the best prac-tice is to stand back and let it speak for itself.

But the rivalry surely means something in this state and nothing about it – this is true in any rivalry – carries as much weight as the current circumstances, even for those like D.J. Swearinger who were a part of each one of those defeats of Clemson.

“A lot of people around the country might not understand our rivalry with them,” Swearinger said in a phone interview last week, “but we took it seriously, that whole business about bragging rights for a year is what we wanted and when we got one, we wanted more.

“Now, we got a lot more than 365 days,” he said, “and they need to go out there and make

it five (years in a row).”Swearinger has been playing a big role de-

fensively for the Houston Texans this year, bigger than anticipated after several injuries on defense stretched his playing time. One of his teammates is former Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins, which no doubt makes for some interesting locker room chatter when one player never experienced losing to the rival and the other when through his college career not knowing what it’s like to beat the rival.

“We’re good,” Swearinger said of his team-mate. “I always thought he was a good player and he’s come in and helped out, but when it comes to the rivalry, I got to do it right, I got to speak the truth to him.

“You really don’t care for each other too much when you’re in it,” he said, “but you get past that at this level, until it comes time for the game.”

A victory this week would be unprecedented in that it would stamp the game as official evi-dence that this strain of Carolina players domi-nated Clemson as no other Gamecocks ever have, while hanging a label around Swinney’s neck as the least successful coach in school history against the rival.

Least successful sounds better than biggest loser, right?

To make that happen, Carolina needs to con-tinue its mastery over Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd. You can go look up Boyd’s statisti-cal accomplishments built up over years of playing against competition in the mid-level Atlantic Coast Conference, but the more im-portant numbers this week relate to the Game-cocks’ work against him.

In three years, Boyd is 32-for-71 with 339 yards, 3 interceptions and 2 touchdowns against Carolina. His quarterback efficiency rating against is 86.2, a career worst for him.

This is no knock on Boyd, he’s a smart kid, he has a gift of gab and he’ll do well in the world, whatever line of work he ends up pursu-ing.

“He seems like an OK guy,” Swearinger said, “but he has run his mouth a little bit over the years and that didn’t help him too much when it got to game day.

“How did we do it four years in a row? It all starts up front, our DL destroyed them and that created some issues for (Boyd),” he said. “Our guys have to do that again.”

One last point – it is the Clemson front four that has improved dramatically under defen-sive coordinator Brent Venables. The back end is shaky, but up front, those Tigers are better than they’ve been.

Another game, another chance to make his-tory for people like Jadeveon Clowney and the others who have three wins over their rivals and want what Swearinger took when he left for professional football – a clean sweep.

Another game, another chance to make history

Bart WrightContributing

Writer

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6 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

South carolina athleticS Media relationS

General• No.12/11SouthCarolina’s70-10win

overCoastalCarolinainthefirstmeet-ingbetweentheschoolsextendstheschoolrecordhomewinningstreakto17games,thelongestcurrenthomewinningstreakinthecountry.

• Thewinisthe75thinheadcoachSteveSpurrier’stenureatSouthCaro-lina.

• Itisalsothe40thGamecockwininafour-yearperiod,whichalsoextendsaschoolrecord.SouthCarolinanowhasfour-consecutiveseasonswithatleastninewins.

• TheSouthCarolinawinningstreakoverteamsfromoutsidetheBCSau-tomaticqualifyingconferencesisnow32games.Carolina’slastlosstoanon-BCSteamcameagainstECUin1999.

• ThewinpushestheGamecocks’win-ningstreakagainstnon-conferenceopponentsto13games.

offense• SeniorquarterbackConnorShawes-

tablishedanewschoolrecordwith25winsasstartingquarterback.Shawisnow25-5asastarterfortheGarnet&Black,bestingToddEllis’recordof24-16-3.

• The70pointsisthemostoftheSpur-rierEra(previously69pointsvs.Troyin2010)andthefifth-mostinschoolhistory.TheGamecocksscored28first-quarterpointsforthefirsttimesincescoring28inthefirst15minutesagainstTroyin2010.ThelasttimeSouthCarolinascored28pointsinaquarterwasthethirdquarteragainstECUin2011.

• The639totalyardsofoffensematchesthetotalpostedagainstKentuckyin2011forthemostintheSpurrierEra.Thetotalisjust17yardsofftheschoolrecord.The352rushingyardsarethemostinSpurrier’stenure,eclipsingtheprevioushighof288vs.Kentuckyin2011.Theteamalsomatchedtherecordtotalof32firstdownsunderSpurrier(Kentucky2011andArkansas2013).

• SophomoretailbackShonCarsonearnedthefirststartingnodofhiscareer.

• ThreeGamecocksrecordedtheirfirst-careertouchdownstoday-freshmantailbackJamariSmith,freshmanwidereceiverPharohCooperandCarson.

• Cooperhadacareerday,scoringatouchdownintheairandontheground.Hehad168all-purposeyards,

postingcareer-highsinreceivingyards(42)andrushingyards(81).Healsohada71-yardrunanda24-yardrecep-tion,bothcareerlongs.

• Aidedbyacareer-longrunof52yards,Smithposted103yards,thefirst100-yardrushinggameofhiscareer.

• SophomoretailbackBrandonWildsre-turnedtoactionforthefirsttimesincetheCentralFloridagameonSept.28.Heranfor27yardsonhisfirstcarryofthegameandscoredtwotouchdowns,tyingacareerhigh.

• Otheroffensivecareerhighs-fresh-manwidereceiverKwintonSmithbroughtdowna17-yardcatchandfreshmantailbackDevinPotterhada14-yardreception,bothcareerlongs.

defense• Apairofsophomoresrecordedthe

firststartsoftheircareer-defensiveendGeraldDixonanddefensivetacklePhillipDukes.

• JuniorspurSharrodGolightlycollect-edhissecondcareerfumblerecoveryandaddedareturnof23yards.

• JuniorcornerbackVictorHamptoncaughthisfifth-careerinterceptionandsophomorefreesafetyT.J.Gurleybroughtinhisfirst-careerinterception.

• Otherdefensivecareerhighs-Red-shirtfreshmanT.J.Hollomanmatchedacareer-highwithseventacklesandrecordedhisfirstcareersack.RedshirtfreshmanDariusEnglishrecordedsixtackles.FreshmandefensivetackleKelseyGriffinaddedfivetackles.FreshmanlinebackerLarenzBryanthadthreetackles.Sophomoredefen-sivetackleDeonGreenrecordedhisfirst-careertackleforlossandpostedtwotacklesontheday.

Special teams• FreshmanplacekickerElliotFrywent

10-for-10onPATattempts.

head coach Steve Spurrier

opening Statement“WehadCoastalCarolinaoutmannedandoutsized.I’mreallyproudofourguys,theyplayedwell.Ididn’tknowitwasgoingtoenduplikethis;Ididn’tknowwewerego-ingtoendupwith42atthehalf.Wescoredabouteverytimeandmesseduponceandourdefenseplayedverywell,sowekeptgettingtheballback.Connorbeingthewinningestquarterbackhere,hisrecordisalittlebetterthanToddEllis’too.SoIhavetoremindToddthat,Ididn’tknowhehadthatmanylossesoverthoseyears.I’mjustkiddingthough.ObviouslyConnorplayedverywellearlywhenwegotacomfortableleadandthenDylan[Thompson]camein

andhitsomegoodones.Butagain,theen-tireteamplayedwell.WewishCoastaltheverybestintheplayoffsandIthinktheyaretheBigSouthchamps.Theyaretobecom-mendedonbeingtheirconferencechamps.Somethingwehopetodosomeday,andwe’restillaliveforthisyearsowe’llseewhathappensdowntheroad.It’sneattogetninewins.We’veaveragedtenwinsandhopefullywecanaddafewmoreaswegothroughtherestofthisseason.AndlikeItoldtheteam,we’reveryhealthy.Idon’tthinkanyonegothurttoday.WeshouldhaveKelcyQuarlesbacknextweek,Jade-veonshouldbebacknextweekandMikeDaviscouldhaveplayedifweneededhimtotoday,sohe’llbefullgo.JamariSmithhadover100yardsInoticedinhisfirstfewcarriesasaGamecock.He’sagoodbackandagoodplayersowemaygobackandgivehimagameball.”

on his approach next week for clemson using Shaw and thompson“Itwillprobablybethesame,Dylanisgoingtoplaysomewhereinthere.Infact,Dylanwasallsettogoinonthatthirdpos-session.AndIsaidwaitaminute,letCon-norgoinforasecondwehadthatturnoveronthefiveorsix-yardlineandapenaltybacktothe25-yardline.Isaidlet’sletCon-norgoaheadandhopefullygetthatthirdtouchdownandthenyouthrowthenextone,whichiswhatwedid.Butwehadalotofgoodplays.Wehadsomeplayswherewehadtoscramblearoundandmakesome-thinghappen.Againstreallygoodtop-flightteams,obviouslyweprobablydon’tmakethosescrambleplays.Butweweregoodonfourthdownsagain.ButI’mproudofourteam,wegotourninthwinandwe’reinpositiontohopefullymakesomethingbig

happenthisyear.”

defensive coordinator lorenzo Ward

On confidence going into Clemson“It’snotaboutwhoweplaynext.It’saboutusgettingbettereachweekandthat’swhatwetalkabout.Whenwehave11guysdoingwhatthey’resupposedtodoeachplay,wehaveachance.Whenwetryandbeselfishanddothingwe’renotsupposedtothenwearen’tgoingtobeverygoodondefenseandthat’swhatItoldthemathalftime.Wemissedsomeplaysinthefirsthalfthatweshouldhavemade.”

Senior Quarterback connor Shaw

on being the winningest quarterback“Obviously,it’sprettyspecialtome.Justthewaywedidittodaytoo,ourwholeoffensedidreallygreatanditwasfuntowatch.It’sgoodthatnobodygothurtsoitwasanoverallgooddayforus.”

Junior Quarterback dylan thompson

on the week ahead“I’vegotalotofrespectforClemsonandwe’regoingtopreparethebestwecan.We’llbereadyforabig,toughgame.”

Freshman Wide receiver Pharoh cooper

on the clemson game“Weplantoprepareforthisgamejustlikeanyoftheothergamesthisyear.Eventhoughit’sCoastalCarolina,wepreparedforthemjustlikeanyoneelse.LikeIsaid,treatitasanyothernormalgameduringtheseason.Thisweek,we’regoingtopreparelikewedoforanyothergame.”

South Carolina-Coastal Carolina postgame notes/quotes

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 7

Second-half charge keeps Gamecocks perfect at homeby brian [email protected]

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina erased a three-point halftime deficit by outscoring Florida International by 15 points in the second half in its eventual 12-point, 84-72 victory over the Panthers on Sunday, Nov. 24 at the Colonial Life Arena.

The victory keeps South Carolina (2-2) a per-fect 2-0 inside the friendly confines of Colonial Life Arena on the young 2013-14 season. The Gamecock victory snapped a nation-best six-game winning streak for Florida International (6-3).

“I’m real happy with our young kids,” South Carolina head coach Frank Martin said after the Gamecock win. “I knew this was going to be a hard game. I’m happy with how we protected our home court in the second half, but I con-tinue to be unhappy with our perimeter defense. We don’t put up any fight in our man-to-man.

“I knew we had to play some zone today because of matchups and they’ve got a bunch of real good older guys who are dribble-drive guys, but for us to not even provide any resis-tance, we had to learn a lesson. So I left us out there to make sure that we get enough minutes

on film so I can show these guys and then they’ve got to make the decision on whether or not they want to grow as individuals so our team can grow because of their collective ef-forts. With that said, I’m happy with the way we came out in the second half. Our offense was not bad; I continue to say that, but our defense continues to be a concern,” Martin elaborated.

The Gamecocks opened the contest by scor-ing seven of the first 10 points to own a 7-3 lead with just under 17 minutes to play in the first half. The Gamecock lead would still be four just over four minutes later at 15-11 after back-to-back treys by Jaylen Shaw.

The Gamecocks would still hold a two-point lead at 23-21 a little while later, but after a 3-pointer from Marco Porter Jimenez with 8:57 left in the opening half the Panthers owned a 24-23 advantage. Florida International would lead 29-25 with just under eight minutes to play in the inaugural half.

The Panthers would still hold the advantage for the next almost five minutes, but with 3:10 to play in the first half a Shaw trey garnered the Gamecocks the lead back at 34-33.

The Gamecocks would hold a four-point 39-35 lead with under two minutes to play in the first half, but Florida International would go

on to close the half on a 7-0 run to own a 42-39 lead at the halftime break.

Tyrone Johnson and Shaw led the Gamecocks in the opening half with nine points each. Tymell Murphy was the top performer in the first half for the Panthers with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Florida International would score the first two points of the half, but a 6-2 run over the first three minutes of the second half would give the Gamecocks at 45-44 advantage with 17:01 to play in the contest. After five straight points from Shaw five minutes later the Gamecocks owned a five-point lead at 56-51 with 12:03 to play in the second stanza.

After a Brenton Williams steal at halfcourt that led to a fast break dunk the Gamecocks led by eight points at 69-61 with 3:54 left in the game.

Four Gamecocks finished in double figures with Johnson leading the way with 18 points and seven assists. He was 5-for-10 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free throw line.

Shaw concluded the game with 16 points. He knocked down four treys in the game. Shaw was 6-of-10 (4-for-7 from beyond the arc) from the field in the game.

Williams was a perfect 6-of-6 from the char-

ity stripe and 4-for-8 from the field overall in ending his day with 15 points.

Demetrius Henry was the final Gamecock in double figures with 14 points. He also had six rebounds. Henry shot 7-for-10 from the field in the game.

South Carolina’s Mindaugas Kacinas just missed on another double-double in the game with nine points and nine rebounds.

Murphy was the top scorer among four Pan-thers in double figures with 22 points.

South Carolina concluded its win over Florida International shooting 50.8 percent (30-for-59) as a team. The Gamecocks shot 76.2 percent (16-for-21) from the charity stripe and 42.1 per-cent (8-for-19) from beyond the arc.

Florida International finished its loss to the Gamecocks shooting 48 percent (24-for-50) as a team. The Panthers connected on 85.7 percent (18-of-21) of their free throws and 37.5 percent (6-for-16) of their 3-point attempts.

South Carolina had 19 assists on 30 made field goals.

South Carolina will next face off against na-tional No. 7 Oklahoma State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at 9:30 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 6 in Stillwater, Okla. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

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8 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

by brian [email protected]

CLEMSON, S.C. - The nationally-ranked South Carolina women’s basketball team claimed its fourth straight win over rival Clemson in a dominating 68-43 victory over the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“It always feels good to get a win on the road, especially with this being our first road game,” junior forward Aleighsa Welch said after the Gamecock victory. “I think it’s a confidence builder going into this Cal-ifornia trip; two straight games on the road that we’re not going to have the fan support that we had tonight. To come out and to ex-ecute our offense the way we did, to kind of just get in the flow of things, I think it defi-nitely gives us a lot of confidence going into this long road stretch that we have.”

The game against Clemson was the first road game of the year for South Carolina (6-0). The Gamecocks went on to best San Diego State, 88-54, on Saturday, Nov. 23 in San Diego, Calif. South Carolina faces off against Southern Cal at 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25 in Los Angeles.

Staley felt a strong victory over their rival was a good way to start South Carolina’s 2013-14 road schedule, particularly as they prepared to head out west.

“I felt we had the focus that we needed,” Staley said. “I think everybody’s pretty energized. I think they want to go on the road and do well and just kind of measure ourselves and this particular game and also the two games on the West Coast will allow us to do that. I’m pretty pumped to take this team on the road to see how much we’ve learned and how much we’re going to con-tinue to grow.”

Clemson’s Chairmane Tay scored the first bucket of the game for Clemson, but from that point forward it was pretty much all Gamecocks with South Carolina scoring nine of the first 13 points to own a 9-4 ad-vantage with just over 16 minutes to play in the first half.

The Gamecocks would go on to connect on six of their first 10 field goal attempts to own a 13-4 lead with 14:42 to play in the inaugural half of action.

The Gamecocks behind Welch would push their lead to 12 over the next few minutes. Welch’s nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting over the course of the stretch al-lowed the Gamecocks to lead 20-8 with 11:21 left until the halftime break.

South Carolina would continue keeping its lead in double digits over the next almost four minutes with the Gamecocks leading 24-11 with 7:37 remaining in the opening half of play. The Gamecocks allowed Clem-

son to hit just two of their first 12 shots (16.7 percent) in the game.

The Gamecocks would slow down a little

offensively the rest of the half with South Carolina scoring just three points over the final 7:37 of the first half to own a 27-15

lead at intermission. South Carolina concluded the first half

shooting 38.7 percent (12-of-31) as a team. Clemson had just three field goals (3-for-23 for 13 percent) in the first half. The Tigers procured nine of their 15 points in the first half from the charity stripe where they were 9-for-14 (64.3 percent). The Gamecocks were 2-for-3 (66.7 percent) from the free throw line as a team in the first stanza.

Welch led the Gamecocks in the first half with 11 points. She was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor in the first half.

The second half would commence with the Gamecocks going on a 6-0 spurt over the first two and a half minutes to own a 33-17 advantage with 17:28 left in the game. The Gamecock lead had been extended to 20 points at 39-19 with 15:31 left in the contest.

The Gamecocks would eventually go ahead by as many as 28 points before emerging with the 25-point victory.

South Carolina closed out its victory over Clemson shooting 45.6 percent (26-for-57) from the field as a team. The Gamecocks in turn held Clemson to just 29.2 percent (14-for-48) shooting as a team.

The Gamecocks have now held five of their six opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting from the field. That is something in which Staley takes great pride.

“Our defense is a lot different than it’s been in the past,” Staley mentioned. “It looks different, it feels different, it is differ-ent because we’re not putting as much pres-sure that we’ve been putting on the floor. I don’t think we’re as quick as we’ve been in the past either, so that’s a little bit of it, but we’re bigger so our post players are block-ing shots when we get beat off the dribble, which is a good thing. If you’re not going to have the speed then you want the size in the back to make sure we can block shots or deter shots.”

The Gamecocks owned a 49-27 advantage in rebounds. South Carolina plucked 19 of-fensive rebounds.

Four Gamecocks finished in double fig-ures with Welch leading the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds to claim her third double-double of the season. Welch was 7-of-10 from the floor in the game.

South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell, who was 6-for-10 from the field, finished with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Elem Ibiam and Khadijah Sessions both scored 10 points in the Gamecock win. Ses-sions had three assists, while Ibiam had six rebounds.

Chelsea Lindsey led Clemson in its loss to the Gamecocks with 12 points. Tay added 11.

Gamecocks pick up fourth straight victory over rival Tigers

photo by allen sharpeAleighsa Welch finished South Carolina’s fourth straight win over Clemson with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Welch was 7-for-10 from the field in the Gamecock victory.

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 9

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. ...........W, 19-14

11/23/13 .... vs. Coastal Carolina .........Columbia, S.C. ...........W, 70-10

11/30/13 .... vs. Clemson .....................Columbia, S.C. ............... 7 p.m.

South Carolina Gamecocks2013

football SCheduleTeam SEC Pct. Overall Pct. Home Away Neutral StreakEastErnMissouri 6 - 1 .857 10 - 1 .909 5-1 5-0 0-0 W3

South Carolina 6 - 2 .750 9 - 2 .818 6-0 3-2 0-0 W4Georgia 5 - 3 .625 7 - 4 .636 5-1 1-3 1-0 W1

Vanderbilt 4 - 4 .500 7 - 4 .636 4-2 3-2 0-0 W3

Florida 3 - 5 .375 4 - 7 .364 3-2 1-4 0-1 L6

Tennessee 1 - 6 .143 4 - 7 .364 4-3 0-4 0-0 L4

Kentucky 0 - 7 .000 2 - 9 .182 2-4 0-4 0-1 L3

WEstErnAlabama 7 - 0 1.000 11 - 0 1.000 7-0 3-0 1-0 W11

Auburn 6 - 1 .857 10 - 1 .909 7-0 3-1 0-0 W7

LSU 4 - 3 .571 8 - 3 .727 6-0 1-3 1-0 W1

Texas A&M 4 - 3 .571 8 - 3 .727 6-2 2-1 0-0 L1

Ole Miss 3 - 3 .500 7 - 3 .700 5-1 2-2 0-0 W4

Mississippi St. 2 - 5 .286 5 - 6 .455 4-2 1-3 0-1 W1

Arkansas 0 - 7 .000 3 - 8 .273 3-4 0-4 0-0 L8

standings

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South Carolina GamecocksReCRuitinG Roundup

by phil koRnblutRB Derrell Scott of Havelock, NC has

been USC’s top running back target for the 2014 class and he made his official visit with

the Gamecocks over the weekend. His parents joined him on the visit. Scott al-so has taken official visits to NC State and Tennessee. USC has been his favorite through the recruit-ing process and the Gamecocks are try-ing to fend off the others, particularly Tennessee which impressed Scott on

his visit there. A decision from Scott will come after this season.

DB Wesley Green of Lithonia, GA had planned to attend the USC-Florida game Saturday night but did not make it in. Green is a former Gamecock commitment. He is down to USC, Georgia, Tennessee and Auburn. He said he does not have a favorite and he has not scheduled his official visits.

DB DJ Smith of Marietta, GA did make it in for an unofficial visit to USC Saturday night. He’s also been to Clemson, Tennessee and Georgia. All four are even and he plans to take official visits to each before making his decision. That decision may not come until National Signing Day.

USC defensive end commitment Taylor Stallworth made an unofficial visit to Au-burn last Saturday and had a great time, but he said that visit did not affect his pledge to the Gamecocks. “I’m still strongly commit-ted to South Carolina,” Stallworth said. “I’m sticking with my choice.” Stallworth talked with recruiter Kirk Botkin last week and says he told him everything was still good regarding his commitment. On a scale of 10, Stallworth called his USC commitment a “9”. However, Stallworth does plan to take other official visits to Auburn, Mississippi State and Florida State. He will take his USC official visit in January and he will try to get to USC for the Clemson game. Stall-worth said Auburn has not offered and he’s not picked up any new offers recently. As

for the the incredible finish to the Georgia-Auburn game, Stallworth said it was quite a scene inside the stadium. “It was super loud,” he said. “My brother was at work at the time about a mile away and he heard it. A bunch of stuff got dropped (popcorn, drinks) on me.” This season Stallworth had 60 tackles and 6 sacks. He will play in the Alabama-Mississippi All Star Game and the Offense-Defense All Star Game.

OL Kareem Are of Fort Scott JC, KS made his official visit to Florida State over the weekend, the first of four possible of-ficial visits he plans to take. Are said he had a very good time with the Seminoles. “I re-ally liked meeting with coach Trickett. I just love the way he coaches. When you are over there you are going to become the best play-er you can be. That’s what really attracts me. I know he won’t let me give him anything but my best effort which will make me the best player I can be. Right now I’m really liking them because they were my first of-fer, and before last week they were my only offer.” Are will visit Penn State this com-ing weekend followed by an official visit to USC for the Clemson weekend. He said his mother talked recently with Gamecock de-fensive line coach Deke Adams. “She likes it a lot,” Are said. “She had a great con-versation with him and she was all excited about it. She doesn’t really care about all of this football stuff but she sounded excited about it.” Are added that Ole Miss recently offered him and could get a fourth official visit. Right now Florida State is his favorite coming off his first offer and he can’t rank the other three because he hasn’t seen them in person. He’ll make his decision sometime in December.

DL Abu Lamin of Fort Scott has been committed to USC since July and last week, following a visit to Tennessee, he reaffirmed his commitment to the Gamecocks. “It’s close to home and they’ve been loyal from the beginning,” said Lamin who is a na-tive of Fayetteville, NC. “There’s no need to switch. They’ve been doing everything right. It’s the loyalty. I went on the visit to check it out. I really enjoyed it but I was committed to South Carolina and they just didn’t sway me off things that I should get

off South Carolina.” Lamin said his aca-demics look good as he needs only to com-plete a college algebra course and a couple of electives to be able to graduate in De-cember and enroll in January. He also took official visits to USC, Florida, Nebraska, Arkansas and he plans to be at USC for the Clemson game. Lamin finished his season with 34 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss and he hopes to give the Gamecock defensive line another force in the middle. “I feel good about it and confident,” he said. ‘I’m an inside pass rusher and that guy fight-ing in the trenches to hold my side down.”

WR Jamil Kamara of Norfolk, VA just picked up an offer from USC last week. At that time he had not scheduled an official visit with the Gamecocks. That’s changed now as Kamara will visit the Gamecocks of-ficially for the Clemson weekend. That visit replaces one he had scheduled for Virginia. Kamara has taken official visits to Michi-gan State and Wisconsin and is scheduled to visit Pittsburgh November 22nd. He has stated that Wisconsin was his leader ahead of Michigan State.

Pahokee, FL athlete Rashaun Croney (6-0 175). Croney says he has offers from USC, Arkansas, Florida Atlantic, Florida Interna-tional, Bowling Green and Mississippi State. He plays quarterback, receiver, linebacker and safety and has scored 13 touchdowns this season. He’s not visited anywhere thus far this season but he was at USC’s spring game last April. Croney said the only thing standing in his way of committing to USC is a qualifying ACT score. He took the test a few weeks ago and is expecting the score next week. He said he would commit if the score is good enough and he believes USC would take it. He’s also hearing from Arkansas and is interested but USC is the favorite.

After surprising many by committing to Florida State earlier this year, DL Dexter Wideman of Saluda has been mostly silent. Wideman had been considered a strong USC lean having grown up a Gamecock fan. He was back at USC for the Florida game. He also was in for the Vanderbilt game. Wideman continues to consider USC and plans to take official visits to both

schools before making a final decision.

Juniors:LB Ricky DeBerry Jr. of Richmond is

one of the nation’s top prospects for 2015 with nearly 50 offers at this point. He visited Clemson for the Georgia game to open the season and he will visit USC for the Clem-son game to close out the season. He has been to North Carolina and Virginia Tech and plans to go to Penn State this weekend. An Oregon recruiter is coming for a visit and an offer is expected to be made. DeBer-ry is hoping to get out to Eugene in Decem-ber. DeBerry has never been to USC so he wants to get a good look at the campus and the academic side of things on his trip. He was at Clemson last summer and again for the Georgia game and he holds the Tigers in high regard at this point. DeBerry has not narrowed his list and has no favorites.

QB Kelly Bryant (6-4 200) of Wren con-tinues to show the doubters he is a Division One quality quarterback prospect. Bryant transferred to Wren from Abbeville where he was considered an athlete in recruiting circles because he hadn’t convinced the analysts he could be a big-time quarterback. But the new staff at NC State saw some-thing they liked and was the first to offer him strictly as a quarterback. Clemson and USC also have offered. North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Appalachian State also have offered. Bryant has visited Clemson, Ohio State and North Carolina. He’s going to Louisville and plans to be at USC for the Clemson game. There is no front runner at this point.

OL Jake Fruhmorgen (6-5 280) of Tam-pa will be one of the most heavily recruited linemen in the country in the 2015 class. He’s already received 26 offers with USC and Clemson in that group. Fruhmorgen’s father is a former Alabama offensive line-man where his teammates included Clem-son’s Dabo Swinney and USC’s Lorenzo Ward. Next spring and summer father and son play to take a tour of the schools in the Southeast and USC and Clemson will be two stops. Some of his other offers include

Phil KornblutContributing

Writer

Please see Roundup, Page 30

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 11

south carolina athletics media relations

Q: What player do you model your game after the most?

A: I model my game after Russell West-brook (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Deron Williams (Brooklyn Nets). I like how Russell Westbrook is very explosive to the basket and the way he pushes the ball in transition. I like Deron Williams because he is a bigger guard like myself and he can control the game, get his teammates involved and he really uses the pick and roll very well.

Q: You are from the northeast region of the country, what are your thoughts on the south and south carolina?

A: I think South Carolina and the South is a very nice atmosphere. People here are very nice and have great Southern Hospitality. For me, coming to South Carolina and getting away from home is a learning experience and a chance for me to grow.

Q: You are a team newcomer as well, but what are your impressions of the young team members, members of the freshman

class?A: I think the newcomers are doing very

well. We are young, but the guys are willing to learn from coaches and they are doing

everything that they need to do. They come in every day, work hard and try to be the best that they can be.

Q: What is the area of your game that

you are working on the most as this season gets underway?

A: My pull-up jump shot. Just consistently hitting that shot. I think every point guard needs to be able to hit a pull-up jump shot because you can’t always go into the basket, and the pull-up jump shot is very deadly.

Q: What are your thoughts on the sec and your thoughts on the fan support at south carolina?

A: The SEC is a very tough conference. Known for football, but I think basketball powerhouses are going to be very big this year. Teams like Kentucky and Florida and I think the SEC is going to be one of the best basketball conferences in the country. The fan support at South Carolina is amazing. Football games are awesome, fans come out to our games and support us, the women’s basketball games and fan support at all of our sports is very good here at South Carolina and it is a great atmosphere.

For season ticket information, including the new reduced lower level prices, fans should visit www.GamecocksOnline.com/Tickets, or call 1-800-4SC-FANS.

Starting Five with Tyrone Johnson

photo by allen sharpe

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To everyone who says this rivalry means too much, allow me to have this simple reply:

You must not be from around here.

The South Car-olina-Clemson series returns for its 111th edition Saturday when the Gamecocks bid for a fifth straight win at Williams-Brice Stadium. Until 2011, the Game-cocks and Tigers had only met as ranked opponents

four times. Now they’ll meet as top-10 teams, making this year’s game as compel-ling and combustible as any on record. The hype machine, purring since the preseason, has officially kicked into overdrive.

Over the next several days, you’ll read plenty of breakdowns, opinions and predic-tions about the South Carolina-Clemson game. Heck, you’re reading one right now. But I wanted my breakdown to go a little further.

As a broadcaster, it’s my job to find sta-tistics that offer a clue to the outcome of a game. The most telling numbers aren’t always visible to the naked eye. I’ve always enjoyed that thrill of the hunt, combing through patterns and connecting the dots until I come upon some “eureka” number. If I can prepare listeners for something

that’s about to happen – and more impor-tantly, explain the reasoning behind it – then I’ve done my job.

With the Gamecocks riding a four-game winning streak over Clemson, I wanted to sift through my old charts and uncover the more interesting numbers that connect Carolina’s streak. Will they play a role in a fifth straight win Saturday? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Spectator Sport: How has South Carolina stripped Clemson of its playmaking ability? Simple - by not allowing the Tigers to run any plays. In its last 49 games dating back

to the 2010 season, Clemson’s three low-est games in total plays have come against South Carolina.

It should be noted Clemson has averaged 77 plays per game over that span.

Fewer plays mean a fresher defense. Per-haps it’s no surprise that over the course of their winning streak, the Gamecocks have outscored the Tigers 61-16 in the second half.

No wasted opportunities: When the Gamecocks have marched into the red zone against Clemson, they’ve made their trips count. Over the last four years, Carolina

scored on 15 of 16 red-zone possessions against the Tigers (93.8%). Against all other opponents, the Gamecocks converted only 81% of their red-zone chances.

Against an opponent with a high-powered offense, empty possessions on your drives – especially when they’ve crossed into the red zone – can be a big momentum-shifter. The Gamecocks have avoided that problem against the Tigers.

Energy innefficient: Clemson quarter-back Tajh Boyd has had a decorated career, one that will likely lead him to the upper first round of the NFL Draft. But the se-nior’s gaudy numbers have hit a brick wall against South Carolina. That was no more evident than last year, when Boyd entered with the nation’s second-best passer rating. The Gamecock defense, led by Jadeveon Clowney’s 4.5 sacks, throttled him into a career-low-tying 11 completions. His other career low? Against South Carolina in 2011. Whether because of a stifling pass rush, a stingy secondary, or both, Boyd’s drop in efficiency against South Carolina has been startling. It’s hard enough to contain him once. Can the Gamecocks find a way to do it for a fourth straight year?

Those numbers give a glimpse into how South Carolina has controlled the rivalry over the last four years. If they play a role Saturday, Gamecock fans may spend an-other year reveling – and Tiger fans another year rationalizing.

Then again, only one statistic matters most in a rivalry: the final score. You prob-ably didn’t need a broadcaster to tell you that.

Andy DemetraContributing Writer

Year # of Plays vs. USC Season Avg. NCAA Rank2010 62 67.8 74th2011 60 70.0 14th2012 59 85.3 3rd2013 ? 84.1 7th (as of last week)

Red Zone Conversion – Last 4 years Scores-Possessions Percentagevs. Clemson 15-of-16 93.8%vs. All other opponents 141-of-173 81.5%

Tajh Boyd Passing Comp.% Yards/Game Efficiencyvs. South Carolina (3g) 45.1% 113.0 86.0Career vs. other opponents 64.6% 248.2 157.3

The Numbers

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Clemson (10-1, 7-1 ACC)

Site: Columbia, S.C. in Williams-Brice Stadium

Time: 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Series: 40-65-4; 31-49-3 at home

Last time they met: No. 12 South Caro-lina won, 27-17, over No. 9 Clemson in Clemson, S.C.

Steve Spurrier became the winningest coach in South Carolina history, earn-ing his 65th victory at the helm of the Gamecocks’ football program. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was all over the field, wreaking havoc on the Clemson offense while compiling 4.5 sacks to set the single-season record at 13. Dylan Thompson started for an injured Connor Shaw and passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Bruce Ellington caught two touchdowns and Ace Sanders had

119 receiving yards and a touchdown to help lead the Gamecocks to their fourth straight victory in the series.

Last time in Columbia: No. 14/13 South Carolina won 34-13 over No. 18/17 Clemson

Connor Shaw put on a stellar perfor-mance by rushing for a career-high 107 yards and a score while throwing for three touchdowns on 14-of-20 passing for 210 yards. Three different receiv-ers, Bruce Ellington, Rory Anderson and Alshon Jeffrey, caught touchdown passes from Shaw and Kenny Miles ran for 71 yards to help with the offense. The defense stymied the Tigers’ offense only allowing 153 total yards and combining for five sacks and an interception. Anto-nio Allen, Melvin Ingram and DeVonte Holloman, all now on NFL rosters, had the biggest games for South Carolina’s defense.

Spurrier all-time vs. Clemson: 6-5; at South Carolina: 5-3

The Clemson game

photo by allen sharpe

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 15

by mike [email protected]

The University of South Carolina in conjunc-tion with Fort Jackson, Shaw Air Force Base, the South Carolina Army National Guard, the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Marines presented the annual Salute to the Military during the Coastal Carolina game on Saturday, Nov. 23.

“There are over 1,000 men and women that participate in this halftime ceremony … this is my favorite halftime and I think it’s everybody’s favorite halftime,” Marketing Director Josh Waters said. “I think this is one where people are happy, most people shed a tear or two and they’re just so thankful for what these men and women do for our nation.

“In the state of South Carolina the military is so important to us and we are the University of South Carolina, so what better place to showcase them than at our halftime,” Waters said.

The Military Appreciation Game has become a tradition and Saturday’s ceremony was another special one that included South Carolina being named the first Purple Heart university in the state. There were six special honorees represent-ing all of the military veterans and those pres-ently serving in the military.

The first of six honorees during the ceremony was the Columbia chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. A special proclamation signed by University of South Carolina President Dr. Harris Pastides and Athletics Director Ray Tanner designating South Carolina as a Purple Heart university was presented to former Com-mand Sergeant Major Carl Lopez and other local chapter members.

“Basically what it means is that the citizens of Columbia and the state of South Carolina have not forgotten about current soldiers and veterans who have served in the armed forces who have been injured in combat overseas someplace,” Lopez said. “It shows us as an organization that America is still remembering some of the hardships that those servicemen and women go through … it’s just a good remembrance. It makes all the organizations and all those service members know that all their sacrifices, the inju-ries and suffering that they’ve gone through to recover from those has not gone in vain.”

The Columbia chapter has been involved in the community and with South Carolina so much so that they were once known as the Gamecock chapter, but have recently changed the name to honor a Medal of Honor recipient from the chap-ter who passed away. The organization supports veteran nursing homes, contributes to volunteer services at the VA hospital and does much more work for veterans and armed forces members in the community.

There are approximately 900 members registered in the organization and 13 chapters throughout South Carolina. Membership in the organization is limited by law to “…persons who have received the Purple Heart during combat” and there is a proud history of the award. The

local Charles Murray chapter is the largest in the state with 245 members, three of whom are also 30-plus year members of the Gamecock Club. These men are Andy McMahon, a World War II veteran, Tom McAndrews and Billy Tippins.

All three separately said they appreciated the recognition and support for the Military Order of the Purple Heart from the University and South Carolina’s support of the current members of the military as well.

“Any time they recognize the veterans and anything to do with the military gets a lot of sup-port from the fans in the stands. South Carolina is a very patriotic state and it is certainly appreci-ated by the veterans,” Tippins said.

The second honoree was Colonel Joseph Han-cock, a 1985 graduate of South Carolina and an air defense artillery officer who has served in the active Army National Guard for 27 years including tours in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Some of his awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, Iraq campaign medals and Air As-sault wings.

Next honored was Command Sergeant Major Michael S. McCoy who had numbers assign-ment in almost 30 years of service. He has been deployed to Egypt, Baghdad and Northern Iraq among other places and has received the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters

and the Meritorious Service medal. McCoy is currently the Commandant of the US Army’s Drill Sergeants School.

The fourth honoree was First Sergeant Tom Burns who has served a wide variety of assign-ments in 24 years including deployment to Iraq. He has been awarded a Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Burns now owns a cigar store where he offers his own line of cigars named after each one of his friends who were killed in Iraq.

The next honoree was Alex Miller who was wounded in action in Vietnam while trying to save the lives of his troops. Miller has received the Silver Star, Bronze Star with valor, the Pur-ple Heart and the Air and Army Commendation Medal.

“I am honored and flattered as you would expect … it’s just a very special moment for my family and I’m thrilled to have been chosen,” Miller commented. “I’m thrilled to death to be chosen to represent many service men and women who went through the same things that I have.

“The military appreciation halftimes at Wil-liams-Brice Stadium are so special and I cannot recall ever seeing one of those halftime events where I didn’t get both goosebumps and tears in my eyes. They do a fabulous job and I don’t

know any school that can even come close to comparing with what they do,” Miller continued.

Miller is also a 44-year member of the Game-cock Club and his father was a professor at South Carolina. Miller has been a member of the Gamecock family his whole life and his wife, Anne-Courtney, has two degrees from South Carolina. He also went to graduate school and was Tommy Suggs’ roommate. He attended the Elvis concert with Suggs when he got the idea for the football team to enter to “2001” after watching Elvis’ entrance. While Miller was in an army hospital in Japan he got to watch a Gamecock basketball game broadcast during the Frank McGuire era.

“I was absolutely astounded at the level the basketball program had gotten to at that point and I was one excited young lieutenant in a hospital ward watching my favorite team play in front of a national audience. They were near the top of the nation at that point and I can’t express how proud I was as a wounded warrior telling everyone within earshot in the ward, ‘hey, that’s my team.’ That was really special,” Miller recalled.

The final honoree was Marine Corporal Kyle Carpenter. Carpenter was selected to be a nominee for the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat in Afghanistan as he threw himself in front of a grenade to protect a fellow Marine. Both were severely wounded and after three years in Walter Reed Hospital and 40 surgeries, Carpenter is now currently a freshman at the University of South Carolina.

After the six honorees, the band played tributes to all the branches of the armed forces with each branch’s song. Also on the field were members who have lost loved ones while serving America and representing all who have ever given their life for the US. The ceremony was closed with a 21-Gun Salute, “Taps” and “Amazing Grace” followed by a prayer. The final aspects were a reading of a quote from Abraham Lincoln, the singing of “God Bless America” and unveiling of giant flags, balloons and fireworks.

Gamecocks honor armed forces in annual Salute to the Military

photo by allen sharpe

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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

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 17

Clemson TigersFootball Roster

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/Previous School1 Martavis Bryant WR 6-5 200 Jr. Calhoun Falls, SC (T.L. Hanna HS)1 Ebenezer Ogundeko DE 6-2 255 Fr. Brooklyn, NY (Thomas Jefferson HS)2 Mackensie Alexander CB 5-11 185 Fr. Immokalee, FL (Immokalee HS)2 Sammy Watkins WR 6-1 205 Jr. Fort Myers, FL (South Fort Myers HS)3 Vic Beasley DE 6-2 235 RJr. Adairsville, GA (Adairsville HS)3 Nick Schuessler QB 6-3 195 RFr. Grayson, GA (Grayson HS)5 Germone Hopper WR 6-0 180 RFr. Charlotte, NC (Berry Academy of Technology)6 Dorian O’Daniel LB 6-2 210 Fr. Olney, MD (Our Lady of Good Counsel HS)7 Tony Steward LB 6-1 230 Jr. Hastings, FL (Pedro Menendez HS)7 Mike Williams WR 6-3 205 Fr. Vance, SC (Lake Marion HS)8 Darius Robinson CB 5-10 175 Sr. College Park, GA (Westlake HS)9 Tavaris Barnes DT 6-3 270 RJr. Jacksonville, FL (First Coast HS)9 Wayne Gallman RB 6-1 200 Fr. Loganville, GA (Grayson HS)10 Ben Boulware LB 5-11 230 Fr. Anderson, SC (T.L. Hanna HS)10 Tajh Boyd QB 6-1 225 RSr. Hampton, VA (Phoebus HS)11 Travis Blanks S 6-0 200 So. Tallahassee, FL (North Florida Christian)11 Chad Kelly QB 6-1 210 RFr. Niagara Falls, NY (St. Joseph’s Collegiate Inst.)12 Korrin Wiggins S 5-11 190 Fr. Durham, NC (Hillside HS)13 Adam Humphries WR 5-11 190 Jr. Spartanburg, SC (Dorman HS)14 Martin Jenkins DB 5-9 185 RJr. Roswell, GA (Centennial HS)14 Donny McElveen QB 6-2 205 Gr. Summerville, SC (Summerville HS)15 Ronald Geohaghan DB 6-0 190 RFr. Orangeburg, SC (Allendale-Fairfax HS)16 Jordan Leggett TE 6-5 240 Fr. Navarre, FL (Navarre HS)17 Bashaud Breeland DB 6-0 185 RJr. Allendale, SC (Allendale-Fairfax HS)17 Austin McCaskill QB 6-1 190 RSo. Easley, SC (Wren HS)18 Jadar Johnson S 6-1 195 Fr. Orangeburg, SC (Orangeburg-Wilkinson HS)18 Cole Stoudt QB 6-4 210 Jr. Dublin, OH (Dublin Coffman HS)19 Charone Peake WR 6-2 205 Jr. Moore, SC (Dorman HS)20 Jayron Kearse S 6-4 205 Fr. Fort Myers, FL (South Fort Myers HS)21 Adrian Baker CB 5-11 165 Fr. Hallandale, FL (Chaminade-Madonna College)22 D.J. Howard RB 6-0 195 RJr. Lincoln, AL (Lincoln HS)23 Tyshon Dye RB 5-11 215 Fr. Elberton, GA (Elbert County Comprehensive HS)24 Zac Brooks RB 6-1 190 So. Jonesboro, AR (Jonesboro Senior HS)25 Roderick McDowell RB 5-10 200 Gr. Sumter, SC (Sumter HS)25 Cordrea Tankersley DB 6-0 195 Fr. Beech Island, SC (Silver Bluff HS)26 Garry Peters CB 6-0 185 RJr. Conyers, GA (Heritage HS)27 Robert Smith S 5-10 210 Jr. St. George, SC (Woodland HS)29 Marcus Edmond CB 5-11 170 Fr. Hopkins, SC (Lower Richland HS)30 Taylor Watson S 5-10 210 RJr. Simpsonville, SC (Woodmont HS)31 Ryan Carter CB 5-9 175 Fr. Grayson, GA (Grayson HS)32 C.J. Davidson DB/RB 5-10 190 RSo. Clemson, SC (Daniel HS)32 Corbin Jenkins P/PK 5-10 175 RJr. Conway, SC (Conway HS)33 Spencer Shuey LB 6-3 240 Gr. Charlotte, NC (South Mecklenburg HS)34 Quandon Christian LB 6-2 230 RSr. Lake View, SC (Lake View HS)35 Adrien Dunn WR 5-7 170 Fr. Clemson, SC (Daniel HS)35 Quintin Hall LB 6-0 225 RFr. Piedmont, SC (Wren HS)36 Ammon Lakip PK/P 5-10 200 RSo. Johns Creek, GA (Chattahoochee HS)36 Jerrodd Williams S 6-0 195 RSr. Central, SC (Daniel HS)37 Ross Sparks RB 5-7 155 RFr. Winnsboro, SC (Fairfield Central HS)38 C.J. Jones CB 6-0 180 RSr. Lincolnton, GA (Lincoln County HS)38 Julian Patton WR 6-0 190 RSr. Rock Hill, SC (Northwestern HS)39 Chandler Catanzaro PK 6-3 200 Gr. Greenville, SC (Christ Church Episcopal)39 Haamid Williams RB 6-0 175 RFr. York, SC (Providence Day (NC) School)40 Darrell Smith FB/TE 6-1 240 Gr. Gadsden, AL (Gadsden City HS)41 T.J. Burrell LB 5-11 215 RFr. Goose Creek, SC (Goose Creek HS)42 Stephone Anthony LB 6-2 245 Jr. Polkton, NC (Anson HS)43 D.J. Greenlee TE 6-1 220 Fr. Clemson, SC (Daniel HS)44 B.J. Goodson LB 6-1 235 RSo. Lamar, SC (Lamar HS)45 Alex Burdette WR 5-10 180 RSo. Pawleys Island, SC (Waccamaw HS)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/Previous School45 Zach Riggs TE 6-4 240 Fr. Greer, SC (J.L. Mann HS)46 Collins Mauldin TE 6-1 230 RSo. Rock Hill, SC (Northwestern HS)46 Chad Richardson LB 5-10 220 RFr. Sumter, SC (Lakewood HS)47 Marcus Bullard LB 6-2 205 RSo. Columbia, SC (Spring Valley HS)48 D.J. Reader DT 6-2 325 So. Greensboro, NC (Grimsley HS)49 Beau Brown S 6-0 195 RSo. Beaufort, SC (Beaufort HS)50 Grady Jarrett DT 6-1 295 Jr. Conyers, GA (Rockdale County HS)51 Jim Brown LS 6-4 235 RSo. Walterboro, SC (Pinewood Prep School)51 Harrison Tucker OL 6-3 300 RSo. Ninety Six, SC (Ninety Six HS)52 Phillip Fajgenbaum LS 6-1 225 Gr. Raleigh, NC (Ravenscroft School)52 Kellen Jones LB 6-1 225 RSo. Houston, TX (St. Pius X HS)53 Martin Aiken DE 6-2 230 RFr. Smoaks, SC (Bamberg-Ehrhardt HS)54 Zach Fulmer LB 6-0 225 RSr. Saluda, SC (Saluda HS)55 Roderick Byers DE 6-3 290 RSo. Rock Hill, SC (Northwestern HS)55 Tyrone Crowder Jr. OG 6-2 345 Fr. Marston, NC (Richmond Senior HS)56 Scott Pagano DT 6-2 290 Fr. Honolulu, HI (Moanalua HS)57 Jay Guillermo C 6-3 315 RFr. Maryville, TN (Maryville HS)58 Ryan Norton C 6-3 280 RSo. Simpsonville, SC (Mauldin HS)59 Justin Miller C 6-0 260 Fr. Six Mile, SC (Daniel HS)60 Cody Thurlow C 6-4 260 Sr. Central, SC (Daniel HS)62 Tyler Shatley OG 6-3 300 Gr. Icard, NC (East Burke HS)63 Brandon Thomas OT 6-3 315 Gr. Spartanburg, SC (Dorman HS)64 Darrell Brevard OG 6-1 270 RSr. Rock Hill, SC (Northwestern HS)65 Oliver Jones OL 6-5 325 RFr. Ninety Six, SC (Ninety Six HS)67 Kalon Davis OG 6-5 340 RJr. Chester, SC (Chester Senior HS)68 David Beasley OG 6-4 320 RJr. Columbus, GA (G.W. Carver HS)69 Maverick Morris OT 6-4 300 Fr. Broxton, GA (Coffee HS)70 Gifford Timothy OT 6-6 315 RJr. Middletown, DE (Middletown HS)71 Patrick DeStefano OL 6-5 285 RFr. Spartanburg, SC (Dorman HS)72 Jerome Maybank OG 6-4 345 RSo. Pawleys Island, SC (Waccamaw HS)73 Joe Gore OT 6-5 300 RSo. Lake Waccamaw, NC (East Columbus HS)74 Spencer Region OG 6-4 350 RSo. Cullman, AL (Cullman HS)75 Michael Sobeski LS 6-2 220 RJr. Roebuck, SC (Dorman HS)75 Daniel Stone DE 6-3 245 RFr. Simpsonville, SC (Southside Christian School)76 Shaq Anthony OT 6-4 280 RSo. Williamston, SC (Wren HS)77 Reid Webster OT 6-3 300 RJr. Woodstock, GA (Etowah HS)78 Eric Mac Lain OL 6-4 295 RSo. Hope Mills, NC (Jack Britt HS)79 Isaiah Battle OT 6-7 275 So. Brooklyn, NY (Blue Ridge (VA) School)81 Stanton Seckinger TE 6-4 230 RSo. Isle of Palms, SC (Porter-Gaud School)82 T.J. Green WR 6-3 195 Fr. Sylacauga, AL (Sylacauga HS)82 Andrew Maass WR 6-4 190 RJr. Ridgeway, SC (Richard Winn Academy)83 Daniel Rodriguez WR 5-8 175 RSo. Stafford, VA (Brooke Pointe HS)84 Wes Forbush WR 6-2 190 Sr. Johnson City, TN (Science Hill HS)85 Dane Rogers DE 6-3 270 Fr. Shelby, NC (Crest HS)85 Seth Ryan WR 5-11 160 Fr. Summit, NJ (Summit HS)86 Sam Cooper TE 6-6 250 RJr. Brentwood, TN (The Ensworth School)87 Matt Porter WR 5-11 200 RJr. Charleston, SC (James Island School)88 Sean Mac Lain TE 6-3 200 Fr. Hope Mills, SC (Jack Britt HS)89 Jay Jay McCullough TE 6-3 235 RFr. Fort Mill, SC (Nation Ford HS)90 Shaq Lawson DE 6-3 270 Fr. Central, SC (Daniel HS)91 Josh Watson DT 6-4 290 RJr. Wilmington, DE (John Dickinson HS)92 Bradley Pinion P/PK 6-5 230 So. Concord, NC (Northwest Cabarrus HS)93 Corey Crawford DE 6-5 270 Jr. Columbus, GA (G.W. Carver HS)94 Carlos Watkins DT 6-3 295 So. Mooresboro, NC (Chase HS)95 Andy Teasdall P 5-11 185 RFr. Winston-Salem, NC (R.J. Reynolds HS)96 Fesser Bell DE 6-5 240 RSo. Radford, VA (Radford HS)97 William Cockerill TE 6-6 245 RFr. Sumter, SC (Sumter HS)98 Kevin Dodd DT 6-5 275 So. Taylors, SC (Riverside HS)99 DeShawn Williams DT 6-1 295 Jr. Central, SC (Daniel HS)

Coaches

Dabo Swinney - Head CoachDan Brooks - Associate Head Coach/Defensive TacklesDanny Pearman - Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator & Tight EndsChad Morris - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Brent Venables - Defensive Coordinator/LinebackersMarion Hobby - Co-Defensive Coordinator (Running Game)/Defensive EndsJeff Scott - Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator/Wide ReceiversRobbie Caldwell - Assistant Coach/Offensive LinemenTony Elliott - Assistant Coach/Running BacksMike Reed - Assistant Coach/Defensive Backs

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18 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

Depth Charts for November 30, 7 p.m.

OFFENSE:LT: 63 Brandon Thomas 6-3, 315, Gr. Spartanburg, S.C. 70 Gifford Timothy 6-3, 315, Jr. Middletown, Del. LG: 68 David Beasley 6-4, 320, Sr. Columbus, Ga. 67 Kalon Davis 6-5, 340, Jr. Chester, S.C. C: 58 Ryan Norton 6-3, 280, So. Simpsonville, S.C. 57 Jay Guillermo 6-3, 315, Fr. Maryville, Tenn. RG: 62 Tyler Shatley 6-3, 300, Gr. Icard, N.C. 77 Reid Webster 6-3, 300, Jr. Woodstock, Ga. RT: 79 Isaiah Battle 6-7, 275, So. Brookyln, N.Y. 76 Shaq Anthony 6-4, 280, So. Williamston, S.C. TE: 81 Stanton Seckinger 6-4, 230, So. Isle of Palms, S.C. 86 Sam Cooper 6-6, 250, Jr. Brentwood, Tenn. -OR- 40 Darell Smith 6-1, 240, Gr. Gadsden, Ala. 16 Jordan Leggett 6-5, 240, Fr. Navarre, Fla. WR: 2 Sammy Watkins 6-1, 205, Jr. Fort Myers, Fla. 82 T.J. Green 6-3, 195, Fr. Sylacauga, Ala. QB: 10 Tajh Boyd 6-1, 225, Sr. Hampton, Va. 18 Cole Stoudt 6-4, 210, Jr. Dublin, OhioRB: 25 Roderick McDowell 5-10, 200, Gr. Sumter, S.C. 22 D.J. Howard 6-0, 195, Jr. Lincoln, Ala. 24 Zac Brooks 6-1, 190, So. Jonesboro, Ark. WR: 13 Adam Humphries 5-11, 190, Jr. Spartanburg, S.C. 5 Germone Hopper 6-0, 180, Fr. Charlotte, N.C.WR: 1 Martavis Bryant 6-5, 200, Jr. Calhoun Falls, S.C. 7 Mike Williams 6-3, 205, Fr. Vance, S.C.

DEFENSE:DE: 93 Corey Crawford 6-5, 270, Jr. Columbus, Ga. 9 Tavaris Barnes 6-4, 275, Jr. Jacksonville, Fla.DT: 50 Grady Jarrett 6-1, 295, Jr. Conyers, Ga. 48 D.J. Reader 6-2, 325, So. Greensboro, N.C.DT: 99 DeShawn Williams 6-1, 295, Jr. Central, S.C.-OR- 48 D.J. Reader 6-2, 325, So. Greensboro, N.C.-OR- 91 Josh Watson 6-4, 290, Jr. Wilmington, Del. DE: 3 Vic Beasley 6-2, 235, Jr. Adairsville, Ga. 90 Shaq Lawson 6-3, 270, Fr. Central, S.C. SLB: 34 Quandon Christian 6-2, 230, Sr. Lake View, S.C. 41 T.J. Burrell 5-11, 215, Fr. Goose Creek, S.C. MLB: 42 Stephone Anthony 6-2, 245, Jr. Polkton, N.C. 44 B.J. Goodson 6-1, 235, So. Lamar, S.C. WLB: 33 Spencer Shuey 6-3, 240, Gr. Charlotte, N.C. 7 Tony Steward 6-1, 230, Jr. Hastings, Fla.CB: 17 Bashaud Breeland 6-0, 185, Jr. Allendale, S.C. 14 Martin Jenkins 5-9, 185, Jr. Roswell, Ga.S: 11 Travis Blanks 6-0, 200, So. Tallahassee, Fla. 20 Jayron Kearse 6-4, 205, Fr. Fort Myers, Fla. S: 27 Robert Smith 5-11, 210, Jr. St. George, S.C. 12 Korrin Wiggins 5-11, 190, Fr. Durham, N.C. 18 Jadar Johnson 6-1, 195, Fr. Orangeburg, S.C. CB: 8 Darius Robinson 5-10, 175, Sr. College Park, Ga. 26 Gary Peters 6-0, 185, Jr. Conyers, Ga.

South CarolinaOFFENSE:WR: 4 Shaq Roland 6-1, 190, So. Lexington, S.C. 8 Shamier Jeffery 6-1, 207, So. St. Matthews, S.C. 85 Kane Whitehurst 5-11, 179, So. Duluth, Ga.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: 1 Damiere Byrd 5-9, 166, Jr. Sicklerville, N.J. 3 Nick Jones 5-7, 174, Jr. Moore, S.C. 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. 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.-OR- 22 Brandon Wilds 6-2, 223, So. Blythewood, S.C.

DEFENSE:DE: 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: 8 Kaiwan Lewis 6-0, 221, So. Mays Landing, N.J. 11 T.J. Holloman 6-2, 228, RFr. Stone Mountain, Ga. 28 Jonathan Walton 6-0, 234, Fr. Daphne, Ala.WLB: 10 Skai Moore 6-2, 205, Fr. Cooper City, Fla. 21 Marcquis Roberts 6-1, 225, So. Powder Springs, Ga. 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.

SPECIALISTS:KO: 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: 27 Victor Hampton 5-10, 202, Jr. Darlington, S.C. 11 Pharoh Cooper 5-11, 184, Fr. Havelock, N.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.

SPECIALISTS:PK: 39 Chandler Catanzaro 6-3, 200, Gr. Greenville, S.C. 36 Ammon Lakip 5-10, 200, So. Johns Creek, Ga.. P: 92 Bradley Pinion 6-6, 230, So. Concord, N.C. 36 Ammon Lakip 5-10, 200, So. Johns Creek, Ga. KO: 92 Bradley Pinion 6-6, 230, So. Concord, N.C. 39 Chandler Catanzaro 6-3, 200, Gr. Greenville, S.C.LS (K): 75 Michael Sobeski 6-2, 220, Jr. Roebuck, S.C. 52 Phillip Fajgenbaum 6-1, 225, Gr. Raleigh, N.C.LS (P): 52 Phillip Fajgenbaum 6-1, 225, Gr. Raleigh, N.C. 75 Michael Sobeski 6-2, 220, Jr. Roebuck, S.C.H: 32 Corbin Jenkins 5-10, 175, Jr. Conway, S.C. 92 Bradley Pinion 6-6, 230, So. Concord, N.C.PR: 13 Adam Humphries 5-11, 190, Jr. Spartanburg, S.C. 5 Germone Hopper 6-0, 180, Fr. Charlotte, N.C.KOR: 2 Sammy Watkins 6-1, 205, Jr. Fort Myers, Fla. & 82 T.J. Green 6-3, 195, Fr. Sylacauga, Ala. 5 Germone Hopper 6-0, 180, Fr. Charlotte, N.C.& 1 Martavis Bryant 6-5, 200, Jr. Calhoun Falls, S.C.

Clemson

*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.

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 19

south carolina athletics media relations

men’s BasketballTeMarcus Blanton • G • 6-5 • 185 • Locust

Grove, Ga. • Luella HSAveraged 14.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3

steals per game during junior high school sea-son … Helped Luella advance to its first-ever state tournament appearance last spring … Three-star recruit and the No. 8 prospect in the state of Georgia according to 247sports.com … Ranked as the No. 11 prospect in Georgia by ESPN.com … Labeled as a slasher in the half court with a good mid-range game and a three-star recruit according to ESPN.com.

Marcus Stroman • G • 6-2 • 170 • Columbia, S.C. • Keenan HS

Averaged 16.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 7.6 as-sists and 3.3 steals per game during junior high school season … A three-star prospect and the No. 2 recruit overall in the state of South Caroli-na according to ESPN.com … Also a there-star prospect according to 247sports.com and Scout.com … Part of Keenan’s 2009-10 and 2010-11 state championship teams … Labeled as a true point guard.

Women’s BasketballDoniyah Cliney • G • 6-0 • Newark, N. J. •

Malcolm X Shabazz HSRated as high as No. 13 guard in Class of 2014

by ProspectNation.com … Helped high school team to 33-1 record and the Group 2 State Championship as a junior … Averaged 10.3 points and 1.3 assist last season … Named hon-orable mention all-state … Solid defender.

Bianca Cuevas • G • 5-6 • Bronx, N.Y. • Nazareth Regional HS

Ranked No. 44 overall and No. 8 point guard in Class of 2014 by ESPN … Earned five-star status from ESPN … Played on back-to-back state championship teams … Earned all-state honors the last three season … Averaged 17.1 points, 2.0 assists and 3.8 steals as a junior.

Kaydra Duckett • G • 5-10 • Columbia, S.C. • Dreher HS

Ranked No. 32 overall and No. 6 guard in Class of 2014 by ESPN … Earned five-star sta-tus from ESPN … Named all-state the last two seasons … Named MVP at 2012 state tourna-ment (sophomore) after guiding team to 3A state title … Averaged 17.5 points, 2.3 assists and 3.4 steals as a junior.

Jatarie White • F • 6-4 • Charlotte, N.C. • Providence Day HS

Ranked No. 7 overall and No. 1 post player in Class of 2014 by ESPN … Earned five-star status from ESPN … Tabbed preseason All-America by The Sporting News … Named Ga-torade North Carolina Player of the Year in 2013 and is a three-time all-state selection … Part of

the last three of Providence Day’s four straight state championships … Averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals as a junior … Helped USA Basketball bring home the gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Champi-onships averaging 9.8 points and 6.8 rebound at the event … A former high school teammate of current Gamecock Tiffany Mitchell.

Men’s GolfAlex Handy • Aiken, S.C. • South Aiken HSKey member of 2013 4A State Championship

team … Three top-20 finishes at AJGA events … Fourth-place finish at the 2013 SC Junior … Member of the South Carolina team for the South Carolina-Georgia Junior Match … Finished runner-up in stroke play at 2012 South Carolina Junior Match Play with a round of 66; lost in round of 16 in match play … Made it to the quarterfinals at 2013 SC Junior Match Play … Qualified for the South Carolina State Ama-teur with a round of 68 … Played competitive tennis before taking up golf, ranking No. 5 in the state at one point.

Keenan Huskey • Greenville, S.C. • Green-ville HS Academy

Currently ranked in the top-50 Junior Boys by Golfweek/Sagarin … 2012 Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) Junior Player of the Year … 2012 Champion of: Carolinas Junior Boys Championship, Junior PGA Sectional, Cheraw Fall Challenge, HJGT Major Championship at Pebble Creek … Second at: Anderson Sunshine House Jr., HJGT Greenwood Jr. Challenge, Up-state Jr. Classic, 2013 Southern Cross … Fifth at Trusted Choice Big “I”National Championship … 2013 3A SC High School State Champion and State Player of the Year … 2013 US Junior Amateur Sectional Champion.

Women’s GolfNanna Madsen • Smørumnedre, Koben-

havn, DenmarkRanked 29th in the World Amateur Golf

Rankings and ninth in the European Amateur Rankings … Member of the Danish National Team … 2013 British Ladies Amateur Champi-onship Stroke Play Medalist with rounds of 69 and 72 … 2013 European Club Trophy Cham-pion, finished with a 17-under 197 … 2013 A6 Ladies Open Champion with a round of 66 in a professional event Madsen played as an amateur … 2013 Danish Women’s Stroke Play Cham-pion … Represented Denmark in the 2013 Eu-ropean Women’s Team Championship and 2012 European Girls Team Championship … 2012 Danish Women’s Match Play Champion.

Ainhoa Olarra • San Sebastián, Pais Vasco, Spain

Ranked 95th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and 25th in European Amateur Rank-ings … Member of the Spanish National Team

… 2013 Spanish Ladies Professional Champi-onship; Olarra won as an amateur … Claimed first place at the 2013 Spanish Ladies Amateur Championship … Third place at the 2013 European Club Championship with rounds of 66-69-71 … One of six to represent Spain at the European Girls’ Team Championship in 2011, 2012, 2013; team claimed third place at the 2013 UEFA European Under 18 … 2012 Grand Prix des Landes Champion with round of 69-72-69-69 … First place at the 2012 Spanish National Team Championship with rounds of 69-68-71.

Sand VolleyballChloe Cook • Marietta Ga. • Walton HS •

692 South Beach Club TeamChosen All-Area in 2010-11 … Earned Prep

Volleyball Top Freshman Honorable Mention recognition … Helped lead Walton High School to three straight Georgia High School Associa-tion state titles (2010-12).

Caroline Goerke • Marietta, Ga. • Walton HS • 692 South Beach Club Team

Began playing indoor at nationally renowned A5 Volleyball, leading team to several national qualifying berths … Helped guide Walton High School to three consecutive Georgia High School Association state titles (2010-12) … Won several regional beach tournaments last summer including The Rox Invitational and the Triple Crown Beach Championship … Played last summer on the USA Beach Junior Olympic Team at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

Julia Mannisto • Thousand Oaks, Calif. • Westlake HS • Los Angeles Volleyball Acad-emy (indoor)/Elite Beach Volleyball/ Ventura County Volleyball Club

Member of USA Volleyball Beach A1 Na-tional Training team … Earned fourth place in the 2013 USA High Performance Beach Cham-pionships … Medaled in the 2013 AAU Junior Olympic Games in beach volleyball … Califor-nia Beach Volleyball Association AAA rating … Top rated player on the California Beach Volleyball Association U18 tour … Named Westlake High School MVP as a sophomore and junior … First team All-County and All-Marmonte League selection in 2012 after set-ting school single season record for kills (485), also earned honors in 2011 … Served as team captain for club team and high school team in 2012 … Garnered MLK Speakeasy All-Tourna-ment Team honors in both 2011 and 2012.

SoftballJordyn Augustus • C/Utility • Orefield, Pa.

• Parkland HSTwice named a Lehigh Valley Conference

All-Star … Named to The Morning Call’s all-area team in 2012 … Served as team captain for three years and chosen as MVP and Of-

fensive Player of the Year in 2013 for Parkland … Played travel ball for Bill Conroy’s Beverly Bandits … A four-year member of the high honor roll.

Caroline Cash • OF • Spartanburg, S.C. • dorman hs

Twice honored by the High School Sports Re-port (HSSR) as a part of their 4A All-State team … Five-time team and offensive MVP winner … Played on the Atlanta Vipers travel team last summer helping them to win the ASA Girls’ Gold 18U Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. … Also played with Bryan Pack’s Carolina Elite … A Beta Club member and honor roll student.

Hayley Copeland • P • Yorba Linda, Calif. • Esperanza HS

Twice named all-stat by CalHiSports.com … Helped lead high school team to three consecu-tive league titles … Has been a member of two Premier Girls Fastpitch national championship teams with Bruce Richardson’s SoCal Athlet-ics travel team … Posted an 18-4 record with 1.11 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 144 innings as a junior … Played on the same travel team as cur-rent Gamecock freshman Kaylea Snaer.

Aubrey Rabun • C • Summerville, S.C. • Ashley Ridge HS

Three time member of the High School Sports Report and South Carolina Coaches Associa-tion for Women’s Sports (SC CAWS) All-State honoree … played her travel ball for Ken Bai-ley’s South Carolina Bandits.

Kamryn Watts • IF • Torrance, Calif. • Tor-rence hs

Twice named to the all-area team by the Daily Breeze … Earned 2013 All-California Inter-scholastic Federation Southern Section Coaches Association Division 3 first-team honors … Played for Nemesis Elite in travel ball, the same group that produced former Gamecock Easton All-American Samie Garcia.

Krystan White • IF • Chesterfield, S.C. • Chersterfield HS

Two-time SC CAWS All-State player who has helped the Golden Rams claim two state titles in 2010 and 2012 … Earned HSSR all-rookie (2012) and all-state (2013) honors … Plays travel ball for Tony Genovese’s Carolina Elite squad … member of the Beta Club and All-A honor roll.

Men’s TennisWood Benton • Spartanburg, S.C. • Dor-

man hsRated a five-star recruit by Tennis Recruiting

Network … Ranked third in South Carolina and in the top-50 nationally … Owns a 46-19 record in junior events, posting a 6-5 record against blue-chip recruits … Was a perfect 21-0 in sin-gles and 8-0 in doubles for Dorman last season en route to the 4A singles title and his team win-ning the 2013 state championship ... Earned all-

Gamecock Signees (during the November signing period; list includes reported official signings as of Nov. 24)

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20 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

SIGNINGS, cont. from page 19

region and all-state honors and was named Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year by the Spar-tanburg Herald Journal.

Gabriel Friedrich • BrazilRanked among the top-35 juniors in the

world, as high as No. 28 worldwide in his ju-niors career … Won a pair of singles victories at Roland Garros in the 2012 Junior French Championships … Wins also include a semifi-nals appearance in an international tournament in Santa Croce, Italy and finals appearances in ITF junior events in Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador and Brazil … Played in Futures events on the ITF circuit in 2013, reaching the quarterfinals of the Brazil F3 Futures event in August lifting his world ranking to as high as No. 1029.

Thomas Mayronne • Monroe, La. • Na-tional Connections Academy

Rated a blue-chip recruit and ranked 15th nationally according to Tennis Recruiting Network … Top player in Louisiana and the Gulf States region … Owns a 36-14 record in junior events including an 11-9 mark against other blue-chip players … 10-2 record against other five-star players … Fell to current Game-cock Andrew Schafer in the final of the USTA National Open in May 2013 … Reached the semifinals of three other events in the past 12 months, including the 2012 USTA National

Winter Championships. Harrison O’Keefe • Salem, Va. • Laurels

Springs SchoolRated a blue-chip, five-star recruit by Tennis

Recruiting Network … Ranked No. 22 cur-rently, as high as 17th previously, in the nation and third in the Middle Atlantic Region … Owns a 12-5 record against other five-star re-cruits sand a 41-16 overall record … Played his last two seasons at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, S.C. … Helped his high school team win the 2011 VHSL Group AA championship while dropping just one game in singles throughout the run to the title … Has two USTA titles in 2013 including the USTA Regional in Mobile, Ala. … Reached at least the quarterfinal of four other events this year as well.

Women’s TennisHadley Berg • Greenbrae, Calif.Has been ranked as high as No. 52 recruit in

the nation in 2013 by TennisRecruiting.net and is currently No. 81 … Ranked as the No. 13 prospect in California … Rated as a four-star recruit by TennisRecruiting.net … Owns an 11-3 record against other four-star prospects this year and has four victories against five-star prospects … Claimed numerous sportsman-ship awards in her career including the USTA National Bill Talbert Sportsmanship Award for 2012 and sportsmanship awards at the 2011

Girls’ 16s NorCal Sectional Championships and the 2012 Maze Cup.

Megen Cochran • Calhoun, Ga.Rated as a five-star recruit by TennisRecruit-

ing.net and stands as the No. 103 prospect in the country … Has been rated as high as No. 40 in the nation this year and was among the top-35 in the nation for 2011 and 2012 … Owns a 23-14 record in 2013, including going 9-4 against four-star recruits and 4-4 against five-star prospects … Finished third place in doubles at both USTA Girls’ 16s National Clay Court Championships and the Easter Bowl USTA Girls’ 162 National Spring Champion-ships in 2012.

VolleyballCourtney McKeag • 6-0 • MB/OH • San

Juan Capistrano, Calif. • San Juan Hills HS • Tstreet Volleyball Club

Played six years of club volleyball … Earned the 2010 Coaches Award for the Freshman/Sophomore team and Tesoro Tournament Freshman/Sophomore MVP … Made varsity team in 2011 … USA High Performance Vol-leyball - Southern California Region in sum-mers of 2011 and 2012 … Served as volunteer clinic coach at Laguna Beach Volleyball Club in 2012 … Named co-captain of 2013 San Juan Hills High School varsity team.

Taylr McNeil • 6-2 • OH • Eagan, Minn. • Eagan HS • M1 Mizuno Volleyball Club

Chosen as Minnesota High School All-Con-ference and All-State performer in 2010-13 … Selected as 2010 Player of the year by Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune, also honored as 2010 National Freshman Player of the Year … A Kare 11 Athlete of the Week in 2010, 2011 and 2013 … 2009 Prep Classic Tournament 14-1 Champions/ Outstanding Player Award … 2012 Fusion Showcase Tournament MVP … Eagan High School Offensive Player of the Year in 2011 and MVP in 2013 … 2010 and 2013 Minnesota State High Championship Team … Made All-Tournament team at Min-nesota State High Championships (2010, 2013), Fusion Showcase Tournament 18’s (2013) and 2012 Fusion Showcase Tournament 17’s (2012).

Allie Monserez • 5-9 • Setter • Winder-mere, Fla. • Bishop Moore HS • Orlando Volleyball Academy

Honored as a 2012 PrepVolleyball High School All-American, MaxPreps Medium High School and Junior High School All-American on the first team … Led teams to become 2012 MaxPreps High School National Champions and Florida High School 4A State Champions as team captain … 2011 PrepVol-leyball Sophomore 79 … Captain of 2009, 2010 and 2012 AAU National Champion teams … Captain of the Seven National Qualifier Championships Junior Olympics team … Sister, Madison, plays for the University of Florida.

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 21

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- Clemson television The game will be a 7 p.m. kickoff and it will be televised on ESPN2.

Gamecock Radio/Television Information2013-14 Radio Affiliates

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22 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

by MIKE [email protected]

If you have ever gone to a Gamecock sporting event and wondered who was sitting around you, where your friends were sitting or if you could buy tickets next to your friends, you are not alone.

TagSeats hopes to solve some of these issues and more for South Carolina games and in the future for many other events as well by answer-ing these questions for you. The company was created and founded by Jack Dietrich, a South Carolina graduate from who asked himself some of these same questions at the 2010 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

“It was the SEC Championship in 2010 when I was still in school … really trying to figure out who was going, who had extra tickets, if I bought tickets then who was I next to and making sure that I wasn’t in enemy territory,” Dietrich explained. “All that sort of led to finish-ing school and building up a team slowly, then finally getting to a launch point last week.”

Dietrich studied at South Carolina’s Moore School of Business earning his undergraduate degree in 2003 before spending four years in the Marine Corps. He returned to South Carolina to earn both a J.D. (2010) and an MBA (2011).

Dietrich said that he began forming his team

for TagSeats while he was still in graduate school as a part-time venture, but for the past year to year and a half it has been a full time project to get this company launched. He has recruited for some of the more specific tech-nological aspects, but has been able to use his business and law backgrounds as major benefits in this venture.

“Between law school and business school, it gave me a good idea of the landscape for starting a company … so that’s been helpful every day. It allows me to more quickly learn concepts to try to execute within our own com-pany,” Dietrich said.

TagSeats was rolled out live originally on a small scale for the Mississippi State game, but the Florida game was done on a larger scale of almost 200 people coming only from some lo-cal coverage and word-of-mouth. Dietrich said that this was a pretty good beginning without any marketing push, but he hopes for the site to grow because of its easy-to-use format and gameday assistance it provides.

“You can use your existing Facebook or Twit-ter profile to create your TagSeats fan account, or you can just use your email address if you would rather not connect those,” Dietrich said. “However it is more helpful if you use Facebook

because it can pull in your existing friends and connections so that you can just quickly follow them with one click. Then you can see what events your friends are going to.

“For us, our goal is to start with USC foot-ball. We have added a couple of NFL venues and we’re going to roll out a couple more NFL venues in the coming week. Then we want to make it a really good experience for Carolina fans year round, so we’re adding men’s and women’s basketball, baseball as well,” Dietrich continued.

The plan would be to roll out the product for all major sporting and concert events as quickly as they can get them going to give a variety of options to help learn what features they could add.

“That’s where Carolina fans have been really helpful in giving feedback on what they would like to see,” Dietrich said. “For now it’s more of a planning tool ahead of time so that you can actually have one place to see everyone who is going and be able to buy seats near friends.

“With a lot of technology start-ups, you really need to be the expert in the problem that you’re trying to solve. As a South Carolina fan and SEC football fan, there isn’t anybody in Silicon Valley or New York that is going to be more of an expert on the problems that I face as a football fan than we are as a fan base,” Dietrich

explained. “If I don’t see anything out there that’s solving the problems that I have, well then I’m going to build this because it’s a prime op-portunity to have … so I’m going to try to solve it myself.”

Dietrich said that he wants to have one place to coordinate all events with friends to eliminate the need to text, call or email everyone to see who is going to the next game, concert or other event. He said that TagSeats can be specifically effective for road trips, whether for regular sea-son games, bowl games or any other road event.

To get on TagSeats, visit www.TagSeats.com to create your profile using your social media profile or your email address. TagSeats is launching its web and mobile site, but will soon add native mobile applications for mobile de-vices, as well as additional functionality based on early-user feedback. Future features will include in-stadium group chat, tailgating maps with GPS functionality, and the ability to easily swap tickets with other fans so that you can sit next to your friends.

You can follow @TagSeats on Twitter or email [email protected] with any questions or feedback after using TagSeats to connect with your fellow Gamecock fans. Don’t forget to go to TagSeats.com to create your fan profile to find your friends at the Clemson game and other games.

Find fellow Gamecocks at every event

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November 27, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 23

by mike [email protected]

South Carolina’s women’s tennis team posted a strong showing this fall by earning experience and picking up some consistent, positive results from both the newcomers and experienced players.

Head coach Kevin Epley said that he was pleased with the way that the team competed and he is looking forward to a promising fu-ture based off the play this fall.

“I think we got a chance to see some of our younger players compete and earn some good results … they’re improving them-selves and getting some ranked wins. We’ve seen that we made the right choices with recruiting,” Epley said. “For sure throughout the fall, barring some injuries here and there, we’ve had some pretty good, consistent re-sults from not only our newcomers but our veterans as well.”

Epley said that the newcomers and veterans have blended well as a team during the fall. He noted that other than those few injuries, he feels that the team has been coming to-

gether extremely well.“The players that were here last year have

a better feel for what the expectations are for this program and there is a lot more buy-in. I think everybody is on the same page at this point,” Epley said.

Singles play is where the team has re-ally excelled during the fall portion of the schedule according to Epley. He added that the team is moving in the right direction from the singles perspective with the level of competition and the way some of the players performed this fall.

Freshmen Caroline Dailey and Brigit Fol-land each won eight singles matches during the fall and sophomore Ximena Siles Luna posted a 7-2 record. Junior Elixane Lechemia picked up six singles victories this fall as well.

The doubles pairings have been mixed throughout the fall schedule, which Epley said is something that he has not done before as a coach.

“We have mixed teams all year long; we haven’t set on any one team. Part of that is because there is a lot of parity in terms of

levels amongst the girls,” Epley explained. “It has really been an effort to see which per-sonalities are going to mesh and that is just done through trial and error.

“We’re still not sure what the doubles teams are going to be. That will probably continue to evolve through the beginning of the spring at least until we decide to settle on specific teams. It has just been a lot of experimenta-tion as far as doubles goes … but as far as teams being set, knowing their set plays and that sort of thing, we haven’t really been able to get that much accomplished,” Epley con-tinued.

Epley said that the first goal over the break for the team will be to get the players healthy, even if that means taking a little time off for some players. He said the student-athletes have worked very hard on their conditioning throughout the season and he hopes that will continue during the break.

“The idea would be to continue that mo-mentum through the break to come back not only as strong, but potentially stronger for the beginning of the spring … we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re in a competitive confer-

ence obviously, but I know this group has great potential,” Epley said.

The excitement level for Epley and the team is extremely high heading into the break in preparation for the spring semester.

Coach gets grip on fall season, setting baseline for springsouth carolina athletics media relations

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24 • Spurs & Feathers November 27, 2013

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

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 (No-vember 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 27

Volleyball at Texas A&M ..............................................................5 p.m.

z November 30

Football vs. Clemson ..................................................7 p.m.

z December 2

Women’s Basketball vs. North Carolina Central .....7 p.m.

Gamecock Club Upcoming Events

Gamecock Club Holiday Hours

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

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

subMiTTed phoTo

Pictured is Ed Martinson (owner of the New York City Mason Jar), Brendan Gardner (manager of the Mason Jar) and JR Buzzelli and Lou Antonelli of the New York City Gamecocks . The group all came down from New York City for the Florida game.

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south carolina athletics media relations

head coach Joe moglia

opening statement“I want to congratulate Steve Spurrier and

his staff and South Carolina for the season that they are having. They certainly played a great game today. I want to wish them luck next week against Clemson and then with what happens to them the rest of the season I wish them all the best. They beat us today and I think that we all understand what we needed to do to have a shot in the fourth quarter and we were not able to get that done and they played very well. I think once we realized that the game was out of hand we wanted our guys to continue to go after it, but it was important to give some other guys some work and I think that we were able to do that over the rest of the game. I haven’t heard any negative reports from our doctors so I am optimistic that we will be okay so we will know tomorrow but we lost and that’s it.”

on knowing when it would be a long game

“I probably knew about the third touch-down in the first quarter when it was 20-0 at the end of the first quarter we realized that these guys were better than Presbyterian (College).”

running Back lorenzo taliaferro

on the match up front“It was pretty tough. They just outplayed

us up front and I think that was the big dif-ference in the game. We got beat pretty bad up there.”

on matching up in the skill positions

“I think we matched up pretty well in the skill positions, I just think that the big differ-ence between FCS and FBS is the offensive and defensive lines.”

Quarterback alex ross

on what he takes away from playing south carolina

“It was a good environment to play in and it was fun. It was a chance to play against an elite FBS program. We have to learn from it and do better on offense. Going into the playoffs starting next week, we’re going to be facing some good defenses. We’re going to have to execute better and just move on from this game.”

on moving on from this game and get-ting ready for the playoffs

“South Carolina is a good team, and we knew that in order for us to have a chance, we would have to execute 100 percent. We knew we would some how have to create some turnovers on defense, but that didn’t happen today. We’re going to take what we can from this game, watch film and move on to get ready for the playoffs.”

Wide receiver matt hazel

on Gamecock cornerback Victor hamp-ton

“He’s one of the best corners that I’ve ever faced. He’s quick, strong, physical and just a great player.”

on south carolina head coach steve spurrier’s comments early in the week that he could play wide receiver in the sec

“It felt good, but I had to remain humble. I’m at Coastal though and I’ve really enjoyed my experience here.”

What Coastal had to sayphoto by allen sharpe

Pharoh Cooper picked up his first career touchdown in the win over Coastal Carolina.

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Below is a little insight in to what the Spurs & Feathers crew considers our favor-ite moments in the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry.

We would also like to know what you con-sider the top moment(s) in the rivalry.

You can either email Brian Hand at [email protected] or post your top memory on our Facebook wall (Spurs & Feathers). You only have 140 characters, but if you think you can keep it that short you can also tweet it our way at @SpursFeath-ers.

The Spurs & Feathers staff will then select the top entry. The best memory will win a signed Steve Spurrier football!

General Manager Tim O’Briant’s most memorable moment:

My greatest memory in this rivalry has to be one that I know a great deal of Game-cock fans also cherish. I was a senior in high school and although I was not at the game, I still remember how cool it was to see “2001” in its entirety on ESPN before the game started. As we talked about in the history of “2001” story in our preseason magazine, that was something that was un-heard of at the time.

Obviously the game was a top-15 matchup with the Gamecocks 12th and the Tigers eighth. To see South Carolina’s defense hold Danny Ford and the top-10 Tigers to just 166 total yards of offense in the 20-7 win was something I will never forget. Brad Ed-wards’ fourth quarter pick-6 to cement the Gamecock victory is something I know I will also never forget and always cherish.

Executive Editor Brian Hand’s most memorable moment:

When I was 12, South Carolina defeated Clemson, 24-13, and Steve Tanneyhill signed the paw much to all of our delight. Two years later, my hometown hero (I lived in Greer for most of my young life after

moving back from Dallas) Brandon Bennett and Tanneyhill just dominated Clemson, 33-7, in 1994 en route to the first bowl win in school history in the Carquest Bowl. In 1996 when I was a sophomore in high school, the Gamecocks won again, 34-31. I thought the recent back and forth was a sign of things to come in the rivalry, but as we all know the rest of my high school years and my first two years of college included losses to the Tigers. I still remember miser-ably sitting in the highest row available on a cold night at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium in 1998 thinking that despite being 1-9 entering the game that we would continue the streak of winning every other year and walk away with the victory.

All of this is why the 2001 victory over the Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium means so much to me. There was no way that the Gamecocks were going to lose the game in the 200th year of the school. I re-member everything about that uncommonly warm beautiful November day. I had just finished my junior season of playing soc-cer at North Greenville so it was the first game I was able to attend in person that year. I left at 5:30 a.m. that morning from Tigerville to attend the 12:37 p.m. kickoff with teammate and roommate Chris Stoner along with 85,000 of our closest Gamecock friends. The tailgating that day was amaz-ing per usual and the Gamecocks took care

of business in the game, winning 20-15. I will never forget the euphoria of running on the field with the faithful after winning the first game against the Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium since 1987.

Reporter Mike Kucharski’s most mem-orable moment:

I go back to the 2006 game in Clemson with the Gamecocks riding a four-game losing streak to the Tigers into the game. It looked like that streak was destined to continue after Clemson scored two straight touchdowns at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter to go up, 28-14. The Gamecocks did not give in and the previous Mike Davis made some big plays, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, one sparked by a Clemson fumble in its own territory.

The Gamecocks made a drive in the fourth quarter into Clemson territory but stalled, so Ryan Succop gave the Game-cocks their first lead of the game at 31-28 with just under eight minutes to go. I re-member watching Clemson take a long drive down the field eating up the clock and worrying that they were going to take the victory. The Gamecock defense stiffened in the red zone and got a huge sack on third down to force a field goal attempt from 39 yards. The Tiger kicker Jad Dean missed

left with only seconds left and I remember a feeling of relief that we had beaten Clemson for the first time since 2001, back when I was still in high school. It was great to have bragging rights over my Clemson acquain-tances and I took full advantage of them that year.

Contributing Editor Ed Girardeau’s most memorable moment:

I have shared in columns some of my past USC/Clemson memories and the wins are all cherished. 1975’s beatdown in Columbia stands out. I remember how excited my Dad was when Grantz threw the fourth down pass for a TD to put the final points on the board and make it 56-20. I went down to the sidelines and got freshman Steve Courson’s chin strap. I still have it with the score writ-ten on it.

But the most memorable game between the two is a bittersweet one two years later. My senior year in high school, Carolina trailed 24-0, before Spencer Clark went 77 yards for a touchdown and started a USC rally that was complete with a Ron Bass to Phillip Logan pass for touchdown that put the Gamecocks in front 27-24 with less than two minutes to play. The elation in the sta-dium was unprecedented as I can remember high fiving people I would never see again, probably 10 rows away. Unfortunately, less than two minutes was too much time and names like Steve Fuller, Dwight Clark and Jerry Butler are also etched into my mem-ory because of the result. We didn’t win it, but I could hold my head high at school the next week. I would get my revenge two years later in “Ed’s Magical Run Across the Field” in 1979 (see column two weeks ago).

What’s your top South Carolina-Clemson memory?

photo by allen sharpe

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by mike [email protected]

The Honorary Captain for the Gamecocks at the Florida game was Bruce Brumfield of Lancaster, S.C. who said the pre-game atmo-sphere was a fantastic, unique opportunity.

“Whenever the band comes out and they’re getting ready to run out on the field and everybody is getting hyped up it is great,” Brumfield said. “When they start ‘2001’ … you can feel that on the field with the cheer coming from the crowd. It’s just a neat, neat opportunity that you’ve got to suck it all in because you don’t get those opportunities that often.”

Brumfield serves as the President and CEO of Founders Federal Credit Union which has about two dozen offices in North and South Carolina. He also serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Lancaster County Commission for Higher Education, previous-ly served as the chairman for the United Way of Lancaster County and has been awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor in South Carolina.

Brumfield and his wife, Michelle, were both born and raised in Louisiana, but they moved to South Carolina in 1988. Brumfield said once they moved to the state and went to their first Gamecock game against North Carolina, they became South Carolina fans.

“It doesn’t take long to become a Gamecock fan; it’s just a special atmosphere. We’ve been supporters since then,” Brumfield com-mented.

The Brumfield’s daughter is currently at-tending South Carolina for physical therapy school and his son will be attending in the fall. Brumfield said there is no doubt that they are a South Carolina family.

Mr. and Mrs. Brumfield had the opportu-nity for another great experience last Friday evening while taking part of a progressive dinner through the Athletics Village.

“It started in the new softball stadium, then from softball we went to the new tennis facil-ity, then from tennis to the Dodie and finally

from the Dodie to the new Rice building,” Brumfield said. “What they’ve done with that new softball facility is great; it’s beautiful. There’s nobody that is going to have a bet-ter softball facility than Carolina. At tennis you’ve got the courts and now they’re going to go and put locker rooms and all that in, it’s wonderful. It just makes you proud; it makes you very, very proud.”

Brumfield credits the leadership of Athlet-ics Director Ray Tanner and said that he feels Tanner is one of the greatest assets to South Carolina Athletics.

“He really understands what it takes to compete not only with other teams in the SEC, but with teams across the country. Hav-ing that coach’s mentality, he’s going to have those coaches backs in making sure they have the resources and facilities necessary to compete for championships. I just think that is an advantage that we have over a lot of other schools that don’t have that understand-ing and mindset.

Brumfield also said that he enjoys all sports and it is hard to pick out a favorite of all the Gamecock teams.

“I think football gets a lot of the attention, but if you get a chance to know coach (Frank) Martin and coach (Chad) Holbrook, they’re as passionate about their sports as people are about football. I think the attendance at baseball speaks for itself and I think after Coach Martin has a few years here, we’re go-ing to see that same enthusiastic turnout from our fans to basketball as we have at the other sports as well.”

Brumfield credits the staff of South Caro-lina Athletics, from Tanner to other admin-istration to the Gamecock Club staff to the coaches and all others for creating an excite-ment level around the Gamecocks’ programs.

“I’m just really excited not only about our sports teams, but I’m excited about the sup-port system that’s in place to make sure that this isn’t just a flash in the pan, but they’re building a long-term plan to ensure long-term success. That’s what is great about it,” Brum-field concluded.

Honorary Captain gets unique Gamecock experiencephoto by allen sharpe

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Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Notre Dame, Louisville, Ole Miss, Ohio State and Cal.

WR Jerad Washington of Jacksonville has offers from USC and North Carolina. He has been committed to USC since July and was in for the Florida game. Wash-ington has not taken any other visits. “Right now, it’s just South Carolina,” he said. He is hearing from Duke, Indiana, Wisconsin, Miami, Florida State and Florida International but is calling the Gamecocks his leader.

Basketball News:USC has signed both of its early com-

mitments. 6-2 Marcus Stroman of Keenan is regarded as the top senior pros-pect in the state. He has been committed to the Gamecocks since July of 2012. At that time Clemson was his other and he was also getting interest from Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Auburn. And 6-5 TeMarcus Blanton of Locust Grove, GA committed to the Gamecocks in Septem-ber over Florida State, George Mason, Arkansas and Auburn.

The Gamecocks missed on 6-7 Dante Buford of Jacksonville, FL when he com-mitted to Oklahoma.

The USC women signed three play-ers. 5-10 Kaydra Duckett of Dreher is ranked 32nd in the nation and sixth at her position in the 2014 class, according to ESPN. The five-star recruit is a two-time all-state selection (2011, 2012). She earned MVP honors at the 2012 state tournament as a sophomore, helping her team to the 3A championship. In 2012-13, Duckett averaged 17.5 points, 2.3 assists and 3.4 steals. 6-0 Doniyah Cliney of Newardk, NJ helped her high school team to a 33-1 record and the Group 2 State Championship last season, averaging 10.3 points and 1.9 assists en route to all-state honorable mention status. Cliney is rated as high as the No. 13 guard in the Class of 2014 by ProspectNation.com. And 6-4 Jatarie White of Charlotte is ranked seventh in the nation overall and the top center in the country after averaging 19 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals as a junior. White is a three-time all-state selection who captured Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year honors in 2013, following former and future teammate Tiffany Mitchell’s award in 2012.

Baseball News:USC picked up a commitment for 2015

last week from catcher Christopher Cullen (6-4 190) of Cumming, GA. Per-fectGame.com named Cullen a 2nd team underclass All American last season.

roundup,continued from page 10

Earlier in the season, coach Spurrier allud-ed to the fact that you want to have a game against a team such as Austin Peay where everyone can play. It gives players who might not get as many reps as others a chance to show what they can do and keeps the troops happy. Going into Saturday’s first-ever matchup with Coastal Car-olina, you had to wonder if that would be the case. They are a much smaller school, an FCS institution and the Game-cocks were favored by 35 points, but the memory of last year’s Wofford game danced in my head, not to mention the 10-1 record of the Chanticleers coming into the game (as an aside, did you know that a Chanticleer is a rooster? A Gamecock of sorts? I did not know that. On the sideline, it appeared to be blue. Unlike any rooster I had ever seen. But I digress).

Carolina wasted very little time and got off to a commanding lead of 42-0 in the first half, thus, allowing for playing time for many players and, perhaps more importantly, rest for players who needed it. Connor Shaw led the Gamecocks to a 21-0 lead before tak-ing the rest of the day off. Clowney, Quarles, Davis and Brison Williams all took the day off to rest injuries and will be ready for next week’s regular-season wrap up. It was an overcast day but not too rainy or too cold. All-in-all a very enjoyable relaxed game. The calm before the storm so to speak.

South Carolina now stands 9-2 on the

season. It was not that long ago that I would have given my eye teeth to have nine wins. We have come a long way, haven’t we? Two 11-2 seasons will do that to you. But the record is pretty satisfying. After the UCF game, a good friend emailed me and said we would finish 6-6 (7-5 at best). You will be glad to know I emailed him back and told him he was crazy as … well, he was crazy.

So I was right on this one, thank goodness and we find ourselves in a situation that has never happened before: South Carolina and Clemson both ranked in the top-10 for the finale. I know that it is sacrilege to consider anything that the Tigers do well as a good thing. I personally do not worry a whole lot about what Clemson does, right or wrong. As a kid, I used to think how great it would be if South Carolina/Clemson was just like Oklahoma/Nebraska (in the 70s, these two were often 1/2). It’s not #1 vs #2, but a top-10 matchup, you have to admit, is pretty excit-ing.

What a week its going to be! Our General Manager Tim O’Briant asked me earlier in the week which would I prefer, beating Clemson or beating Alabama in the SEC Championship (much less Auburn)? I admit, I froze for a moment, rattling the two around in my mind. Honestly, I consider it two dif-ferent things entirely. No way do I have any circumstance where I don’t want to beat Clemson. Of course, I want to win the SEC Championship and how sweet would it be if it were over #1 Alabama? But there will be time to worry about that and be excited about that … next week. For this week: BEAT CLEMSON!!! Five in a row? It’s never been

done. The last time we went for five in a row against Clemson was 1955. I was not even born. The #7 team in the nation? And it’s Clemson?

It promises to be a special day in Columbia this Saturday! To all the Gamecock Family, Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful to be part of this great University and family. And after a “big” Thursday, we will see you at Williams-Brice Stadium. Go Cocks!!

Free throws

We are excited to have a new advertiser in Spurs & Feathers this week. My good friends from Unique Expressions join in the page next door to this column. They are the exclusive carriers of Kameleon USC Pop outs in Aiken! These are great as rings, bracelets and necklaces and will make great Christmas presents. UE is offering free ship-ping and they have a post office right there in store with them, so give them a call and they will get them right to you. They also carry so much USC stuff, it would be impos-sible to describe it all, so check them out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Unique-Expressions/176644155721282).

Also, if you have not been to DiPrato’s at 342 Pickens Street in Columbia on a Wednesday and had their special which is fish tacos, you do not know what you are missing. I’m sure that everything is good on any day there and Diane is one of the nicest ladies you will ever meet, but you owe it to yourself to go by on Wednesday for lunch, get there before two and have the special. You will not be sorry!

It promises to be a special day in Columbia

Ed GirardeauContributing

Editor

photo by allEn sharpEBrandon Wilds returned to action for the first time since UCF. He rushed for 62 yards on seven carries. Wilds scored two touchdowns.

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