Day 4 From The SEC Meetings In Destin

We've reached the final day of the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla.

11:00 - The final day of the SEC spring meetings have arrived. We're back at the luxurious Hiltin at Sandestin hotel where Commissioner Mike Slive will conduct the last few meetings here. The Athletic Directors began meeting at 9 a.m. ET and will continue until 1 p.m. The Presidens are also meeting from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is a "General Business Session" from 1 to 2 p.m. After that, Mike Slive will meet with the media for a final press conference at approx. 2 p.m. That's when Slive should release the financial payout information. As I reported yesterday, USC should expect to receive about $12 million from the conference. That should be one of the largest payouts since they played two Thursday night games last season. Next season, the payouts will escalate to about $17 milion with the new TV deal.

11:30 - I just spoke with Tony Barnhart of the AJC/CBS and we went over the tentative CBS schedule for the 2009 season. CBS is scheduled to show a doubleheader on Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The prime time game should be Florida at LSU. What I found intersting was his comment about the 3:30 p.m. slot. He said right now CBS executives are looking at the Ole Miss-Alabama game with the hope both teams will be undefeated on that date. Of course, Ole Miss plays at USC on Thur. Sept. 24 so the Gamecocks will have a lot to say about whether the Rebels are unbeaten when Oct. 10 rolls around. By the way, USC hosts Kentucky on that date, which would appear to be a good candidate for the 12:30 ESPN syndicated game or ESPN/ESPN2. Of course, it will be on TV somewhere since all conference games will be shown on either CBS or one of the ESPN channels starting in 2009. The other DH is Sat. 11/14 and TB said Florida-USC should get consideration for either the 12 noon or 3:30 slots but that it was too early to say.

1:30 - The athletic directors have emerged from their morning meetings and we had an opportunity to speak with Eric Hyman. He said that the AD's support a cap on the number of football prospects a school could sign annually. The question is what will the final number be. Right now, it appears the number will be 30, which is still five more than the maximum number of players a school can bring in. Also, there appears to be little support for an early signing period. Most of the AD's are opposed since the proposed early date would fall somewhere in December when final exams are going on. It would also mean recruiting during the season would intensify and possibly distract the coaches from the games. Most the coaches seem to support an early signing date, but it looks like they'll lose on that issue. Also, there appears to be mixed feeling on increasing the number of GA's who can actually coach on the field from 2 to 4. In this era of cost containment, some ADS's are concerned about the proliferation of support personnel.

3:30 - We just finished with Commissioner Mike Slive's press conference marking the end of the SEC's spring meeting. A couple of things. First, the league reported a record distribution of $132.5 million to the 12 schools, an average of $11.1 million per school. That figure is expected to inflate considerably next season with the new TV contract with CBS and ESPN. The conference does not announce the payouts to individual schools, but considering USC received extra money for playing the two Thursday night games in 2008, that would push the Gamwecocks towards the $12 million figure. Also, in somewhat of a surprise, the league presidents approved limiting SEC football teams to no more than 28 signees annually. We had been told that the league and coaches would settle at 30, but the presidents felt the lower number was better. By the way, that rule is effective immediately, so it will impact the 2010 signing class.

That entry marks the end of my blogging for the SEC meetings. I will have an article on the site shortly getting into additional detail about the above topics.

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Day 3 From The SEC Meetings In Destin

It's Thursday, which means we're into the third day of the SEC meetings in Destin, Fla. Today promises to be a little more quiet than previous days.

11:00 a.m. - Day 3 of the SEC meetings in Destin. Fla. but the itinerary for today is fairly light compared to the first two days. The Presidents - the most powerful group in the SEC - will meet today starting at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Hilton. I spoke with Dr. Harris Pastides yesterday when he arrived and he was in a pretty good mood. They have a number of issues to consider, including whether to sponsor legislation limiting the number of prospects a school can sign each year to 28. There appears to be a movement to take some type of action after Ole Miss signed 37 players in February. Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt admitted he knew about 10 of the players wouldn't qualify but that he wanted to start building a relationship with the state's junior colleges. We'll see how it goes. After the Presidents meet, ther eis a reception and and dinner tonight at the hotel. The meetings will conclude early Friday afternoon.

3:00 p.m. - The biggest news here in Destin right now is the NCAA/Memphis situation. The Tigers MBK program has been charged with major violations. One of the most damaging accusations is that a former player (Derek Rose?) had someone else take the SAT for him. Of course, the question becomes, what did John Calipari know and when did he know it? I saw a statement from the UK President defending Calapari. He was here Tues. and Wed. before the news broke. He's heading to China to participate in a basketball exchange program. The Presidents are meeting this afternoon. We're hoping to get some comments from President Pastides when the meeting breaks up. By the way, last night when I was in the restaurant here finishing up my story, Steve and Jerri Spurrier walked in with Florida AD Jeremy Foley. Late yesterday, I spoke with a couple of national writers about Spurrier and the proispects for the 2009 season. I will have their comments in today's notebook. I took a long walk along the beach here in Destin this morning and it was beautiful. As I said before, this place is a smaller version of Myrtle Beach.

8:15 p.m. - Day 3 of the SEC meetings have ended. The Presidents broke up their meeting about an hour or so ago and everyone is headed towards a dinner celebration. Maybe they're going to toast the eight-figure checks the SEC will hand out tomorrow morning to all 12 league members. Life is good for the SEC right now and the gravy train won't end for a while with the new $3 billion TV deal kicking in this August. I had a chance to interview USC President Harris Pastides and AD Eric Hyman a little while ago. Both men are in a good mood as the end of the meetings approach. I will have an article about my conversation with Pastides later tonight. He is a very athletics-friendly President, a luxury that not all universities enjoy. He often refers to athletics as the "front porch" of the university. He's right. Plus, he used to be a professor at UMass, my alma mater. He was there when John Calipari was the head coach for the Minutemen. Pastides asked me about the Memphis situation and Billy Gillespie's suit v. UK that was filed within the last day or two.

9:30 - It looks like the SEC will co-sponsor some type of legislation regulating the number of players a school can sign each year. However, rather than 28, the number might end up being 30. The SEC might have thought they would put themselves at a disadvantage compared to the other BCS programs if they enacted something unilaterally. We'll see what Slive says tomorrow in his final press conference.

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Day 2 From The SEC Meetings In Destin

Day 2 of the SEC meetings in Destin, Fla. are underway and Gamecock Central is there to describe all the goings on. Administrators and coaches are scheduled to meet all day and, hopefully, take a few minutes to talk with the media.

9:30 a.m. - Welcome to Day 2 of the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla. It’s still fairly early in the morning here but the coaches and administrators have all arrived for day-long meetings. We spoke with Darrin Horn for a few minutes before he headed into his meeting. I also saw Bruce Pearl and Andy Kennedy in the lobby having a chat when I walked in about 8:15 a.m. When we were downstairs hanging out by the meeting rooms, I saw Les Miles, Houston Nutt, Les Miles and Bobby Petrino scurry by. Hopefully, we should be able to talk with a lot of these guys when they break for lunch at 12 noon or later in the day when the football coaches meet with the AD’s and Commissioner Slive at 3 p.m. ET.

Horn told us that it looks like Devan Downey and Dominique Archie will go down to the wire - June 15th is the deadline to withdraw their name - with regards to the NBA Draft. Both players have been working out for teams. Horn said: “Year Two is always challenging regardless of who stays or who goes or what happened your first year. Taking the next step is always something that’s tough. It’s always the last few steps you need to take to really turn your program around that are the hardest. Those things come in years two and three.” I’ll have more from Horn in the Notebook later today.

Right now, meetings are scheduled all day (9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET) for the AD’s and all the football and basketball coaches. The Faculty Representatives are scheduled to meet with the AD’s from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. In the afternoon, the football coaches meet with the AD’s at 3 p.m. followed by the men’s basketball coaches (4 p.m.) and WBK coaches (I haven’t seen Dawn Staley yet) at 5 p.m.

The league’s executive committee is scheduled to meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Unlike last night, there is no party planned for tonight. After all the meetings were completed yesterday, the conference threw a party on one the party decks here with plenty of food. I did go and grab some shrimp, chicken fingers and sandwiches. Hey, $3 billion from TV will buy you a lot of good food.

I did come dressed for success today with my black Rivals shirt and black jeans. The only thing missing was the Number 3 on the side of my car.

10:30 - The 2009 season marks the beginning of the SEC's landmark 15-year agreements with CBS and ESPN. Yesterday, CBS issued a press release announcing that their coverage will begin Sept. 19 with the much-anticipated Tennessee at Florida showdown game in Gainesville. Of course, it might not be a very competitive game. But the Lane Kiffin v. Urban Meyer storyline was too juicy to turn down. I spoke with a writer from Knoxville yesterday and he thinks the UT-UF game will be worse than the 59-20 trouncing a couple of years ago. Since UT-UF will be the first game shown by CBS this season, that means the USC-Georgia game in Athens on 9/12 will not be shown on the network. However, I expect it will be quickly gobbled up by one of the ESPN networks. It could be the prime time (7:45 p.m.) game on ESPN or the late afternoon game on ESPN2 like it was a couple of years ago when USC knocked off the Dawgs in Athens.

CBS will televise 15 SEC games in 2009. Right now, there are DH's planned for Oct. 10(3:30 and 8 p.m.) and Nov. 14 (12 Noon and 3:30). The only other specific SEC game CBS has targeted is Alabama at Auburn on Fri., Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. CBS will also show the Army-Navy game on Dec. 12. The main broadcast team will continue to be Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson, along with sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.

A few of the ESPN bigwigs are here at the meetings, so maybe we'll have an announcement about their early-season schedule before we depart here on Friday.

12:30 - It's nearing lunch time here in the Central Time zone. ESPN just made an hour-long presentation to the AD's and I'm told that the USC-Georgia game in Athens on Sept. 12 is the leading candidate for the 7:45 p.m. prime time slot on ESPN. If that happens, three of USC's first four games would be shown on national TV - NC State, UGA and Ole Miss (Thur. night). All 3 of those games should be on one of the ESPN platforms. I wonder how many other schools in the nation will have 3 of their first 4 games on national TV. Not many, I assure you.

The coaches should be taking their lunch break here fairly soon. Hopefully, we'll be able to talk with some of them.

3:00 - We just finished up a slew of interviews with football and basketball coaches as they emerged from their morning and early afternoon meetings. One of those coaches was Steve Spurrier, who held his first extended session with the media just a short time ago. Here is a summary of what he said. If you've read my Gamecock Club reports, there probably won't be much new, but here goes. As I'm writing this, the NFL Network is showing a story about Spurrier's final NFL season with the lowly Buccaneers in 1976:

1. Garcia is doing better buthe "needs to learn more about playing football." The spring was "helpful but he has a long ways to go." He needs a great two months during the summer. If he "invests his time wisely" he should improve. SOS continues to talk positively on Garcia's desire to get back into the good graces of the university by devoting 175 hours to community service and other things he was required to do. SOS said Garcia is in good academic standing with a GPA close to 3.0 in the spring semester.

2. Spurrier said he was surprised the Coaches Association voted to return to a secret ballot on the final ballot after all the bowl games have been played. "I think we ought to stay public. It keeps everybody honest."

3. Spurrier said he is not in favor of an early signing period. "I think we have football season that we should concentrate on. There's plenty of time."

4. He again advocated a playoff system to allow teams like Utah to compete for the national championship. But he added he likes the current bowl system but that a playoff would be "more fair" to everybody.

5. Has the USC job been harder than he expected? No. "We just haven't put it all together yet. That's all you can say. We haven't put the coaches and players together to have a big year." He's won 28 games in 4 years, which is four more than any other USC coach in their first four years, but "we haven't done quite as well as we hoped."

6. Spurrier is "excited" about the 2009 team. "I really believe we're going to have our best leaders." He anticipates the best participation rate of his first five summers. "Right now, everybody likes each other."

7. The key, of course, is the play of the QB and the O-Line. He expects the defense to be pretty good again.

8. He believes Tim Tebow will be a pretty good NFL QB.

9. The Liberty Bowl was the "most fun" USC has had in a bowl game. Ironically (or not), that's the only bowl game USC has won in Spurrier's tenure.

10. Trying to win at South Carolina still "intrigues" Spurrier. "That's the challenge, to have that big year at South Carolina. It hasn't happened. That's what intrigues me and gets me excited every day. I'd rather do it there than someplace that's already won a SEC. Winning that first SEC (title) would be something special. We still have hope we can do that."

11. Spurrier said he's back on the "four or five more years" train. He said he feels good, the same when he was 45.

12. He insisted he's not concerned about how he's remembered.

13. He said he didn't vote for Duke last year at the beginning of the season at the request of Grant Teaff, Exec. Director of the Coaches Assn. But he may vote for the Blue Devils this year after they won 4 games in 2008.

14. Florida is going to be a "huge favorite" in the SEC East, with Alabama or LSU likely in the West.

15. Nothing new on Whitlock or Axon.

4:15 - The football coaches have emerged from their meeting with the athletic directors and Commissioner Slive. By all accounts, Slive delivered a passioned plea for civility between the coaches. I'll have more about it in my Notebook later today. I also spoke with Houston Nutt about the importance of the Thursday night game in Columbia between USC and Ole Miss. The Rebels don't play very often on ESPN prime time, so that will be a showcase game for them. I also spoke with Les Miles about Ron Cooper and the signing of Sam Montgomery. Right now, the hoop coaches are meeting with the AD's and Slive. BTW, it looks like the SEC will approve teams allowing four grad assistant coaches on the sidelines during games, an increase of two per game.

7:00 - Day 2 here at the SEC meetings are pretty much over. We just met with conference commissioner Mike Slive at the end of the meetings. Besides talking about his passioned speech to the FB coaches about civility, one other interesting thing came up - there has been legislation proposed to limit the number of players a school can sign in any one recruiting cycle to 28. Apparently, the SEC might consider passing the rule even if the NCAA rejects it. I know the Big 10 commissioner has been outspoken on this topic. Support for the new rule increased after Ole Miss signed 37 players in February. Of course, they can only bring in 25. It has the perception of hording. The reaction is similar is what happened in the 1970's when schools started signing 50 and 60 players in a single class. Shortly thereafter, rules were passed to set maximums on signees, roster sizes and the total number of scholarships. I will have more about this in the notebook.

By the way, let me finish by saying I've been highly amused by the headlines screaming about the "confrontation" between Spurrier and Kiffin on Tuesday. Believe me, it wasn't a "confrontation". I was five feet from Spurrier and Kiffin when the incident happened. All Spurrier did was turn towards Kiffin and in a playful manner told him what he had actually said a few months ago. Anybody who claims it was a "confrontation" is blowing the incident way out of proportion.

I have posted my article from Spurrier's press conference today. I will have the notebook up shortly. We'll talk tomorrow.

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Live From The SEC Meetings In Destin, Fla.

Every year, the SEC athletic directors and other administrative personnel get together in Destin, Fla. to meet and talk about issues affecting the conference. The meetinsg are being held at the Hilton at Sandestin Beach.

9:05 a.m. - We're in the Central Time Zone, so we're an hour behind. Thus, it's still pretty early here (8:05). I walked the beach near the hotel last night and the Gulf of Mexico is beautiful. Most of the attendees for the meeting should have arrived by last night. I spoke with SID Steve Fink and they arrived on Sunday. We're heading over now to the hotel to check things out. Most of the major reporters covering the SEC should be here such as Tony Barnhart of the AJC. We'll report as soon as something breaks.

10:00 a.m. - I've arrived at the Hilton and basically waiting for everyone to arrive. I spoke with Tony Barnhart of the AJC and he was cordial as usual. Most of the action will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. That's when a bunch of the FB ooaches are supposed to meet with the media. Urban Meyer is scheduled for 11 a.m. and Lane Kiffin at 11:30 a.m. That should be interesting. Right now, Steve Spurrier is not scheduled to meet with the media at a predetermined time. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch up with him at some point.

12:00 - The meetings are about to begin. It's a fairly informal atmosphere. I just spoke with Lane Kiffin for a minute. He's meeting with the media soon. Spurrier just walked by with sunglasses and his hat on backwards. This should be an interesting few days in Destin. The AD's have been meeting since 9 a.m. I spoke with Eric Hyman briefly when they took a break. Hopefully, we'll get some good contest from the coaches.

1:15 - Well, Lane Kiffin has finally met the media. I asked him during a press conference about the status of Mark Smith and his responded, "Nothing has been done there." In short, he said Smith has NOT been fired but that, like all the coaches, he is being reviewed. So, as of right now, it appears Smith is still with UT. Of course, Kiffin fielded a lot of questions about his off-season statements he's made about other coaches. He made no apologies. In fact, he said he's still looking for an apology from Steve Spurrier about the NCAA test. He said UT needed a spark immediately after he arrived and that the plan was going "extremely well." In short, most of what has occurred in the off-season has been calculated, though he admitted he "didn't love everything I do." The SEC coaches will meet at 3 p.m. ET today and he hopes all the coaches will be "professional." He said he spoke briefly with Spurrier this morning. He did say something interesting about recruiting - he compared recruits in the South v. those in the West. He said players from the South tend to have more people around them making suggestions or even calling the shots in recruiting. The Florida contingent with Meyer and Donovan just arrived. I just walked past them as they came through.

3:45 - The last three hours have been a whirlwind of activity with a bunch of coaches talking with the media. So far, I have material from Lane Kiffin, Gene Chizik, Bobby Petrino, Nick Saban and Mark Richt on the football side, as well as new UK head coach John Calipari on the hoops side. Calipari loves to talk to the media. He held court on a couch for at least an hour. Unfortunately, Steve Spurrier has not spoken with the media at all. He's been avoiding the media all day. I have talked with a bunch of reporters and NO ONE has seen him. I spoke with Darrin Horn for a few minutes too. Hopefully, I should be able to talk with him as well. I asked Petrino about Lorenzo Ward since he coached on the Razorbacks staff last season. He smiled and said he "hated to lose him." Richt said something interesting. He was offered the Pitt job years ago when he was still at Florida State but turned it down. History might be different if he had taken the job with the Panthers. Petrino was asked a lot of questions about QB Ryan Mallett. I asked Saban if he had coached against Spurrier before. USC is scheduled to go to Tuscaloosa in Oct. He said he faced SOS once when he was at LSU and also coached under him for the East-Shrine Bowl game. The FB, MBK and WBK coaches are meeting until 7 p.m. today. Hopefully, I will be able to talk with all the coaches at that point.

7:45 - We've reached the end of Day 1 of the SEC Meetings in Destin. After a slow start this morning waiting for everybody to arrive, the pace was fast and furious in the afternoon. All the coaches met until 7:15 or so. I've posted the Day 1 notebook. The funniest moment of Day 1 came late when SOS was asked about Lane Kiffen's comment to the effect that he was still waiting for an apology from SOS re: that NCAA recruiting test. SOS turned away with that classic look he gets on his face and turned towards Kiffin, who standing nearby. Spurrier pointed to Kiffin and said "I never accused you of cheating. I just asked if it was permissible to contact recruits before you took the test." Kiffin was rendered speechless, and just smiled. Kiffin and SOS got on the elevator together and rode up to the second level. As soon as the doors closed, we started cracking up. SOS said the investigations surroiunding C.C. Whitlock and Ben Axon were ongoing and that an announcement might be forthcoming in a day or two regarding their status. There is a big reception tonight on the beach deck at the hotel and the media is invited!! I will have an article up shortly re: Spurrier.

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Three More Pieces Added To The Puzzle

I’m not prepared to say the 2009 South Carolina football team will be a runaway juggernaut, but the pieces appear to be falling in place for a nice season.

Of course, the Gamecocks must maneuver through the typically tough SEC schedule to accomplish that with road games at Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas.

With the start of the summer conditioning program a week away, this past week was crucial for USC’s hopes. Don’t underestimate the importance of the recent reinstatements of DT Ladi Ajiboye, OL Heath Batchelor and DB C.C. Whitlock back to the team.

Although all three players missed spring practice, nonetheless they should play significant roles in the fall.

Ajiboye has been USC’s top interior defensive lineman for two years. Without him, Kenny Davis and Melvin Ingram received a lot of valuable experience in the spring, but neither one is ready to take on a heavy role against SEC quality offensive linemen at this point in their careers.

If Ajiboye returns to form (Freshman All-America in 2007 before being constantly double teamed in 2008, which resulted in a drop in production), I believe USC will have one of the top defensive tackle rotations in the SEC with Nathan Pepper and Travian Robertson ready to go as well.

Throw defensive ends Cliff Matthews and Clifton Geathers into the mix and USC has the recipe for an outstanding defensive line.

The primary weakness there is a lack of experienced depth, but there’s no question players like Devin Taylor and Chaz Sutton are talented enough to play in the SEC.

New offensive line coach Eric Wolford hasn’t had the chance to coach up Batchelor yet. The key question surrounding Batchelor is his physical and mental condition. He has spent the last several months at home in Haleyville, Ala. Hopefully, he’s been working out routinely or the transition back could be a difficult one.

Batchelor redshirted in 2006, so that option is not available. With the offensive line still a work in progress under Wolford’s guidance, Batchelor could prove to be a valuable member of the Gamecocks in 2009 with his experience.

If Batchelor finds his groove, he could be one of three offensive linemen who end up starting for the Gamecocks that didn’t participate in spring practice.

Steven Singleton and Rokevious Watkins weren‘t signed out of Georgia Military College to sit on the bench, so they will be given, along with Batchelor, every opportunity to win a job.

Right now, the center (Garrett Anderson), left tackle (Jarriel King) and right guard (T.J. Johnson) appear stable, but the other two starting spots at left guard and right tackle are wide open.

And there are plenty of candidates for both.

Wolford’s philosophy differs from predecessor John Hunt in that Wolford likes to utilize a rotation of eight players, while Hunt preferred to play the same five guys for the entire game.

As Wolford told me a couple of weeks ago, his goal in pre-season camp will be to find eight linemen who “know how to play the game.”

As we know, that’s been a challenge the last two years, to say the least.

Whitlock, meanwhile, might have the furthest to go before returning to the field. Since arriving on campus, a number of distractions have conspired to prevent Whitlock from fulfilling his enormous promise on the football field.

Granted, Whitlock has dug his own hole to a large degree, but it’s widely known that a tumultuous family situation has contributed to his difficulties.

Hopefully, he can suppress the demons that have haunted him and regain his focus on football. No one is rooting for him harder than Ellis Johnson and Lorenzo Ward. As the spring showed, the depth at cornerback is shockingly thin.

Whitlock should earn the No. 3 cornerback job behind Akeem Auguste and Stephon Gilmore if he finds his way back onto the field Johnson and Ward would rather not rely on a true freshman and the diminutive Addison Williams struggled in the spring.

As Ajiboye, Batchelor and Whitlock prepare to rejoin the program, the following question has arisen: what should USC do about running back signee Ben Axon?

Axon, as most USC fans know by now, was arrested a couple of days ago in Bradenton, Fla. on the charge of possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

Should Spurrier cut Axon loose? No. First, we don’t know yet if Axon will qualify. That’s been an important issue USC signed him. Secondly, no decision of that magnitude will be taken until the legal process has run its course.

Remember, women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is dealing with a similar situation. One of her signees was recently arrested for robbery in Savannah. Staley hasn’t wavered in her continuing support and has given no indication she intends to release the player from her scholarship.

And Staley is as tough-minded as they come. Obviously, she realizes this player made a horrendous mistake, and believes wholeheartedly this is not time to cut ties.

I believe Spurrier will take the same approach with Axon.

If Axon has a clean record, I suspect he’d probably cut a deal with the prosecutor and enter some type of P.T.I. program with Florida authorities.

A key component of this case might be getting Axon away from the bad apples in Bradenton that are clouding his perspective.

If he qualifies, I expect to see Axon in pre-season camp. If he makes it, don’t be surprised if he redshirts in 2009 while he gets “acclimated” to college life.

At this point, unless he turns out to be the 21st century version of George Rogers, I would be stunned if Axon plays a single down in 2009.

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Thankfully, A Milestone Passes Quietly

Maybe you’ve heard it. Maybe you haven’t.

The South Carolina baseball team’s sweep over SEC East rival Georgia last week marked a milestone for the USC athletic department.

By beating the Bulldogs three straight times, USC finished 17-13 in the SEC. Considering USC started slowly with a 2-4 mark in their first two series, that’s a pretty good record.

But we’re talking big picture here.

As a result of USC’s late season surge, the Gamecocks finished .500 or above in the SEC in the three major men’s sports – football, basketball and baseball – in the same academic year for the first time since USC joined the conference in 1992.

In other words, ever.

Surprised? I was.

But should I have been?

Thankfully, I didn't see or hear much celebrating among Gamecock fans over the milestone, and that's the way it should be. Winning, even in the SEC, must be expected if not demanded.

But getting to that point has been arduous, to say the least.

Without question, building a successful athletics program where the three major sports are consistently competitive in the most brutal conference in the nation has proven to be much more difficult than many USC administrators and fans imagined 17 years ago.

As Eric Hyman likes to say, the good news is USC is in the SEC and the bad news is USC is in the SEC.

So, while the milestone signifies a step forward for the Gamecocks, there is a long way to go before USC can finally say they’ve ‘arrived’ in the SEC.

Of course, it will take more than just one year of success within the SEC to convince me the tables have finally turned. The key is to do it again next year and the year after that and the year after that. And on and on.

Hopefully, five years from now, we can look back and say the 2008-2009 year represented the turning point in improving USC’s middle-of-the road standing within the SEC.

USC is on the right course, in my opinion, towards achieving that goal. The tens of millions of dollars being invested in facility improvements will help, no doubt, but so will the ‘no excuses’ mindset Hyman and some of the coaches like Steve Spurrier, Darrin Horn and Dawn Staley have brought to the department.

The process has been excruciatingly slow – too slow for many fans – and will remain incredibly expensive. That’s why the YES program and parking fees and higher ticket prices are here to stay.

For sure, two hundred million dollars – the amount it’s supposed to cost to bring Hyman’s vision of an Athletics Village to life – will buy a lot of steele and brick and mortar.

But it won’t come with any guarantee of victory.

That’s because building a consistent winner across the board in the SEC takes a lot more than running down to Lowe’s and purchasing some building supplies and throwing them together like they’re Lincoln Logs.

As I’ve often said before, success in the SEC requires athletes and coaches that are mentally tough and refuse to crack under the enormous pressure that comes with being a member of this conference.

If I’m right – and I think I am – this past weekend was encouraging on many fronts. For the first time in a while, multiple USC teams wearing the garnet and black excelled when the tension was at its highest.

The baseball team entered the Georgia series knowing it probably had to win at least two games to assure itself of a NCAA Tournament bid. The Gamecocks didn’t just beat the Bulldogs, they trounced them. The pitching – long a sore spot for some fans - was superb.

The men’s golf team entered the final day of the NCAA Southeast Regional tied for fifth place, the cut line for qualifying for the NCAA Championship.

What did USC do? They ripped through the course, turning in one of the best rounds in school history and finishing in a second place tie with Georgia and Arizona, securing a trip to Toledo along with 30 other schools.

Then we have the women’s tennis team, which first had to beat nationally ranked Tennessee on the Vols’ home court to make the national Round of 16 in College Station, Texas.

There, they beat Washington to advance to the quarterfinals and a clash with Georgia. In an epic battle against the heavily favored Bulldogs, USC fell, 4-3, on Sunday.

I know baseball, men’s golf and women’s tennis don’t capture the fancy of some USC fans, but all these teams hopefully paved the way this past weekend towards establishing USC as a force in the SEC.

How often have we seen any USC team playing its best at the end of the season? Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened enough. Maybe this weekend showed that will become a thing of the past.

I thought women’s tennis coach Arlo Elkins captured the significance of the weekend with this insightful quote on USC’s website following Sunday’s excruciating and heartbreaking loss to Georgia:

“This is what I told this team: I wanted them to set the standard not for this team here but for years to come and getting to the quarters was one and getting to the Final Four would have been it also. But, the reason they really set the standard is not for their wins and losses; they set the standard because of the attitude that they had. You know, we used to be satisfied with winning a round in the regional tournament and now they're really mad that they lost in the quarters, so that's a step forward and now we just have to take it from here."

Of course, he was talking specifically about his team, but that quote, with limited exceptions, applies universally to the USC athletic program.

Are you listening Gamecock football team?

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5 Reasons Spurrier Is Optimistic About The 2009 Season

During his most recent stop on the Gamecock Club tour in Aiken, Steve Spurrier used words like “excited” and “we're looking forward to it” to describe his anticipation for the 2009 college football season.

If you listen to him closely when he speaks to the media and the crowds, Spurrier has offered five reasons for feeling that way. Here they are:

1. Garcia Is Starting To Get It: Spurrier has told the crowds on every stop of the tour that he spent a month coaching up Garcia for the Outback Bowl. Obviously, he didn’t get the result he was looking for. But spring practice showed the light bulb is starting to come on for the redshirt sophomore. His work ethic is better and he appears to be much more mature than he was two years ago when his celebrity status got the better of him. He also appears willing to become a leader on offense. The summer holds the key, though. Will Garcia show the commitment to "learn how to play the game" over the next three months? If so, he'll finally have a chance to fulfill his vast potential. As Spurrier has said, he's "nowhere close" to reaching that point.

2. Eric Norwood Is Back: Spurrier has pointed to Norwood as an example of a guy who WANTS to play for the Gamecocks, hoping the message gets through to the younger players when they have to decide whether to stay or leave early for the NFL Draft. With players like Norwood, Cliff Matthews, Moe Brown and Patrick DiMarco, Spurrier believes the 2009 edition of the Gamecocks will have better leadership. Of course, Norwood is a monster on defense, as well. He should be a Pre-Season All-America and a First-Team All SEC Player.

3. Six New Assistant Coaches: After the Clemson debacle, Spurrier sensed he had to make changes. He fired O-Line coach John Hunt within 24 hours after that game. He didn’t weep when David Reaves and Mark Smith left for Tennessee and Robert Gillespie for Oklahoma State. While no one has said this publicly, Spurrier has dropped hints he asked Ron Cooper to leave. Probably the only assistant coach Spurrier hated to see leave was Ray Rychleski, who went to the Indianapolis Colts. In their places, Spurrier has hired six coaches he feels are upgrades. He’s lauded new O-Line coach Eric Wolford and strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald on every stop. Without question, Spurrier sounds rejuvenated by the new hirings. He said in February that this might be the best staff he’s assembled in a long time and spring practice may have proved him correct.

4. Renewed Emphasis On The Running Game: While the perception throughout college football is that Spurrier wants to throw the ball every down, that’s wrong. Spurrier has been around long enough to know that a solid running game is a staple of most great teams. With Brian Maddox, Eric Baker, Kenny Miles and Jarvis Giles, the depth at the running back position appears to be the deepest in several seasons. New running game coordinator Eric Wolford brought some new ideas with him from Illinois and they had some promising early returns in spring practice. Obviously, it’s going to take a more stronger and aggressive offensive line, and that’s a question mark right now.

5. Improved Team Attitude: This is, by far, the most important summer of Spurrier’s tenure, and he knows it. That’s why he pushing 100 percent participation in the summer conditioning program. Spurrier views this summer as sort of a litmus test of whether the team’s attitude has improved enough to jump into the top half of the SEC because the workouts are ‘voluntary.’ No coaches can be present. However, the players know they must be there if they want to play in the fall. Spurrier hopes the workouts are better structured, as well, with strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald. If USC reaches a 100 percent participation rate, Spurrier will interpret that as evidence the players are willing to get better and compete in the SEC.

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The Making Of Three Gamecock Superstars

Stephon Gilmore and Jackie Bradley, Jr. don’t know it but they share a common destiny.

Ignoring for a moment that this is a presumptively pre-mature prognostication, I believe both freshman will leave USC remembered within their respective programs among the greatest players ever to wear the garnet and black.

A bit unfair at this stage of their careers? Probably. But considering how each has started their respective careers, I say let the hype begin.

While they play different sports, Gilmore and Bradley share common traits - they’re exceptionally talented, work hard on and off the field, listen to their coaches and, most importantly, are incredibly mature for their ages. As a result, little seems to faze them.

They are also fearless, a trait difficult to find in older players.

Let’s start with Gilmore. The fact he was able to win a starting job in the secondary by the time the second week of spring practice was over was, in the words of defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, ‘amazing.’

It’s not often a coach will say the presence of a first-year player was a “blessing” for the football team or that same player has Top 10 NFL Draft potential before he’s played in a single college football game.

Yet, Ward has said both things about Gilmore.

But playing cornerback is just one of the roles Gilmore expects to fill this season. Spurrier used him as a change-of-pace shotgun quarterback in the spring and has said Gilmore might take as many as six to eight snaps at quarterbacks in games this season.

But it’s also possible he’ll return kicks, and play some wide receiver as well.

In short, he’s going to be one of the most versatile athletes Gamecock fans have seen in a while. Syvelle Newton departed USC as one of only four players in college football history to rush, pass and receive over 600 yards in a career, a remarkable accomplishment.

In my opinion, Gilmore has a chance to duplicate that feat.

Of course, Gilmore hasn’t played any games yet, so it’s all conjecture. But I would describe it as a fairly safe bet Gilmore will become a star.

Bradley Jr. already is a star on the Gamecock baseball scene in case you haven’t noticed. After this past weekend’s sweep of Vanderbilt, he is second on the USC in hits (67) with an on-base percentage of nearly 41.0 percent, and is batting .338 with eight homers and 33 RBI.

Bradley Jr. was phenomenal against the Commodores, going 9-for-15 in the three-game series. What makes Bradley Jr. so valuable is his immense skills (he’s a 5-tool player) and, like Gilmore, his versatility.

How many players, let alone freshman, can say they’ve batted both leadoff and cleanup this season. Bradley Jr. has led off 21 times and batted fourth eight times. In 42 of his 46 starts, Bradley Jr. has batted in one of the top four spots in the order.

I predict by the time Bradley Jr. leaves USC, he will become the eighth different player in USC history to collect at least 100 hits in a single season. Even the school record of 120 hits by Drew Meyer in 2002 is in jeopardy as long as Bradley Jr. is wearing the garnet and black.

Oh, and he plays pretty good defense too. He’s committed just two errors in 98 chances this season. Many base runners have declined to try to take an extra base, fearful they’ll fall victim to Bradley Jr.’s powerful throwing arm.

Indeed, the futures are very bright for Gilmore and Bradley Jr. But there’s a third young USC athlete as well with the potential to become a superstar.

You may not be familiar with Wesley Bryan, but you should be. As a freshman, he’s probably the top performer on the USC men’s golf team. He led the Gamecocks at the SEC Championships two weeks ago with a three-round total of 215 and finished tied for 10th on the individual ladder.

Not surprisingly, Bryan earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team.

The NCAA Regionals start May 14, so it’s go time for Bryan and the rest of the USC men’s golf team.

We’re going to be hearing a lot about Gilmore, Bradley Jr. and Bryan over the next three or four years, so strap in for the ride.

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NFL Draft Gives Spurrier A Teaching Opportunity

If he’s willing, last weekend’s NFL Draft should provide a potentially valuable teaching opportunity for Steve Spurrier.

Hopefully, what happened to Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook will serve as a warning to future players that there are no guarantees when it comes to pro football, no matter what agents or family members or anyone else tells them.

Clearly, Spurrier’s biggest challenge with regards to the NFL Draft is eliminating the “three years and I’m gone” mentality that permeates throughout the program.

It started with Troy Williamson in 2005, continued with Ko Simpson and Johnathan Joseph in 2006 and extended into the following year with Sidney Rice. This year, three players left early, and only one (Jared Cook) was picked anywhere close to where he thought he would land.

Obviously, every player’s life situation is unique, and each has their own reasons for leaving school early. But there are also immense benefits to staying, as well.

I’m sure Munnerlyn and Cook wish they could jump into a time machine and change their decisions. But they can’t. Once they signed with an agent there was no turning back. It was sink or swim at that point, and let’s just say I hope they were wearing a life preserver.

I agree with Spurrier that the players are “misled” by agents and other regarding their draft status. What boggles my mind is they ignored the advice of their coaches and chose to believe people who are simply chasing their wallets.

By all accounts, Munnerlyn, and possibly Cook too, decided before the 2008 season started that it would be his final season. He proceeded to go out and register the grand total of zero interceptions as a cornerback. Yet, he still thought he would be a high-round draft pick based on his 40 time.

Right now, the best thing for USC is for Eric Norwood to enjoy a sensational senior season, collect all the All-SEC honors he can carry on his back, and then be picked in the upper half of the first round next April.

If that scenario unfolds, I believe more players would be convinced of the personal and financial incentives for staying that one additional year in college. Norwood is possibly the most respected player on the team, and his decision to return to school won’t go unnoticed by future players.

In short, if you’re a Gamecock fan, more players will follow Norwood’s lead when they have to sit down and decide whether to go pro early. That's important because USC will have a number of juniors next season that must decide when the appropriate time comes to stay or go, including Chris Culliver, Clifton Geathers, Cliff Matthews and Weslye Saunders.

Compare USC’s plight with, well, the “other” USC, better known as Southern California.

The Trojans had 11 players drafted by NFL clubs this past weekend, more than any other school by a comfortable margin. Eight of the 11 players were picked in the first four rounds, a testament to the recruiting and coaching ability of Pete Carroll and his staff.

But there’s something else about those 11 drafted players you should know – 10 of them were seniors. The only Trojan who left with eligibility remaining was quarterback Mark Sanchez and he was a redshirt junior, meaning he was part of the Southern Cal program for four years. And he graduated.

Clearly, these Southern Cal players felt a sense of loyalty – and possibly a sense of duty – to their school to postpone lucrative pro careers.

So, how does Spurrier eradicate the “three and out” mentality from the USC program? Winning more games would help, of course. Making the college experience more enjoyable. Recruiting quality kids who appear to be team-first players.

Of course, I understand you can’t compare the traditions of USC and Southern Cal, and that everything can work the other way as well.

Do you think James Davis, Cullen Harper and Aaron Kelly of Clemson are happy they returned for their senior seasons? Had they come out last year, all three of them would have likely been picked. This year, only Davis was selected, and that was in the sixth round.

Hindsight, indeed, is 20-20.

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Winners and Losers From A Hectic Weekend

This past weekend was a buzz of activity with the NFL Draft, the South Carolina baseball team playing a key three-game series at Florida and assorted other happenings. Here is my list of the weekend’s top winners and losers:

WINNERS:

1. Kenny McKinley: For all he gave to the Gamecock football program over the last four years, I was hoping he would get a chance to make a NFL club. His fifth-round selection by the Denver Broncos was right on target with what the draft analysts had predicted he would land. McKinley fought the perception for his entire college career that he was too small or too slow to play major college football, but he went out and excelled, becoming one of only a handful of receivers in SEC history to collect more than 200 career receptions. I think he will have a solid NFL career as a second or third receiver.

2. Ryan Succop: Being ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ has its rewards. Like a free one-week vacation in late June to Huntington Beach, CA where he’ll be wined and dined for being the last player selected in the NFL Draft. But, more importantly, Succop was also picked by a team that he has a great chance to win a job. By all accounts, Succop has a much stronger leg than the current Chiefs kicker. If Gamecock Nation is any indication, I have a feeling that shirt sales among female Chiefs fans is about to go way up.

3. USC Men’s Golf Team: Next stop, the NCAA Tournament. USC registered its fourth team tournament win of the season this past weekend at the Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va. It was the final tournament until the NCAA Tournament kicks off May 14 at various Regional sites throughout the United States. USC finished tied for fourth at the SEC Championships two weekend ago and head coach Bill McDonald was slightly disappointed at the showing when I spoke with him last week before the Gamecock Gala. USC has an outstanding team this year led by the Bryan brothers (Georga and Wesley) and is very capable of making a lot of noise in the NCAA’s. The Gamecocks have been motivated all season by the poor showing in last year’s NCAA Regional and they intend to get back to the form they showed two years ago when they captured the NCAA West Regional in stunning fashion.

Honorable mention: Stoney Woodson.

LOSERS:

1. Emanuel Cook: The last few months have not gone well for Cook. First, he was declared academically ineligible for the Outback Bowl. Then he performed, well, not so great at the NFL Combin and USC’s Pro Days. The result? Cook went undrafted this past weekend and will now try to earn a living as a pro football player the hard way: as a free agent. Obviously, whoever convinced Cook to leave school one year early gave him pathetically poor advice and should be chastised for it. But it was ultimately Cook’s decision and now he must live with the consequences. Let’s hope he finds a way to earn a spot with a NFL club. I’m sure if he could rewind the tape Cook would have stayed academically eligible for the bowl game and returned to school for his senior season. But it’s too late.

2. Jamon Meredith: When Meredith was interviewed last week on 107.5 FM The Game, he suggested poor word-of-mouth from USC coaches (he didn’t name names) had hurt his draft stock. Still, he believed he would be a first day pick. It didn’t happen. Meredith fell all the way into the fifth round, about two or three rounds later than most draft analysts had predicted. As a result, his signing bonus will be substantially less than what it would have been had he been a second rounder. The consolation Prize for being a little lighter in the wallet is he gets to play for one of the proudest franchises in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers.

3. The USC Baseball Team: Being swept at Florida was not what Ray Tanner had in mind on the heels of an embarrassing 12-2 loss to Clemson last Wednesday night at home. Little went right for the Gamecocks in Gainesville in any area - pitching, hitting or defense. USC is now 9-12 in the league and holds down the No. 8 spot in the race to qualify for the SEC Tournament. In that regard, they appear to be in good shape. However, for purposes of the NCAA Tournament, USC must win at least six of their final nine SEC games and finish 15-15 in the league to have a legitimate shot of making the 64-team field. USC must win five of six games against Vanderbilt and Tennessee over the next two weekends to avoid having to beat powerful Georgia two out of three to make it.

Honorable mention: Captain Munnerlyn.

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NFL Draft Blog - Sun. April 26

Will South Carolina make its presence felt on Day 2 of the NFL Draft? The Gamecocks could after being shut out in the first two rounds. TE Jared Cook and OT Jamon Meredith could go quickly when Round 3 begins at 10 a.m.

9:55 - We're awaiting the start of Round 3 of the 2009 NFL Draft. Listening to some of the national shows this morning, most people think Jared Cook won't last very long today. He should go early in Round 3. Jamon Meredith should go fairly quickly as well.

10:05 - The Detroit Lions will pick first in the 3rd round. They need receivers for Stafford. Will they take Cook? Here are the first 10 selections in Rd. 3:

1. Lions
2. Rams
3. Chiefs
4. Bears
5. Cowboys
6. Bengals
7. Raiders
8. Jaguars
9. patriots
10. 49ers

Wait. The NFL Commissioner has announced the Lions have traded the top pick in the 3rd round to the NY Jets. Will Cook be catching passes from new QB Mark Sanchez? Hopefully, we'll have the answer soon.

10:15 - The NY Jets take Iowa RB Shonn Greene with the top pick in the 3rd rd. USC fans are familiar with him, unfortunately.

10:20 - Rams take Iowa DB Bradley Fletcher with the second pick of the 3rd round. Cook and Meredith are still waiting. 2 Hawkeyes with the first two selections in the 3rd round. KC Chiefs are next. Jon Gruden said on the NFL Network that KC needs a pass-catching TE. Is this the time for Cook. He mentioned 4 names that would fit. Cook was the second name he mentioned.

10:25 - No go for Cook. KC took Alex McGee, a DE from Purdue. That's 3 straight Big 10 players to start the third round.

10:30 - Bears take DE Jarron Gilbert from San Jose State. He was a youtube sensation for jumping out of the pool onto the cement. So, he's pretty strong in the lower body. Cowboys are next. They just took LB Jason Williams of West. Illinois. That's 4straight defensive players.

10:35 - Bengals picked Ga. Tech DE Michael Johnson with the sixth pick of the 3rd round. Five straight defensive players. Oakland takes another DE, Matt Shaughnessy of Wisconsin. Cook and Meredith are still waiting as teams make a run on defensive players.

10:45 - Another defensive player is taken. Jaguars select a DE from Temple. Seven straight defensive players here in the 3rd round. Jaguars move into the 9th spot and take a DB Derek Cox, continuing the run on defenive players. 8 in a row.

10:50 - The run of defensive players is over. 49ers take Alabama RB Glen Coffee with the 10th pick of the 3rd round. Will Cook or Meredith be the next offensive player taken? We'll see.

10:55 - Nope. Cowboys take OL Robert Brewster from Ball State. Is this guy better than Meredith? I don't know. But JM is still waiting. It must be a little bit frustrating for him to see all these OTs being picked.

11:00 - Houston goes for an O-Lineman but it's not JM. They take Alabama OG Antoine Caldwell. Another OL prospect is off the board but still no JM.

11:05 - Chargers follow by taking OG Louis Vasquez of Texas Tech. He did 39 reps at 225 pounds at the NFL Combine, so he's very strong. Gil Brandt of NFL.com is pushing Meredith on his blog, so we'll see how long before JM is taken.

11:10 - The O-Linemen are being plucked quickly but no JM yet. Pittsburgh takes OG Kraig Urbik of Wisconsin. Listening to the experts on NFL.com, he's limited physically. So, it's tough for me to believe this guy is better than JM. I wonder if questions about JM moving from OT to OG are costing him here. He acknowledged there were some bad rumors going around. 4 O-Linemen have been taken so far in the 3rd round. We're approaching the midway point of the 3rd round.

11:15 - Three more selections and still no JC or JM. We've reached the No. 19 pick in the 3rd round. WR Derrick Williams of Penn State was just taken by the Lions. They need pass catchers for Stafford.

11:20 - Pats are next. They like to get value in picks. I wouldn't be surprised if they take JC here. Nope. They pick WR Brandon Tate from UNC. Two straight WR's go in the draft. Another WR - the third in a row - was just taken by the Steelers - Mike Wallace of Ole Miss.

11:25 - NY Giants take the fourth straight WR in the 3rd round, Ramses Barden from Cal Poly.

11:30 - Vikings take the fourth SEC player in the 3rd round - CB Asher Allen of Georgia. He's the 4th Bulldog to be taken after Stafford, Moreno and Massaquoi.

11:40 - WE're approaching the No. 90 overall selection and still no JM or JC. Southern Cal WR Patrick Turner (Dolphins) and CB Lardarius Webb (Nicholls St.) are the latest players taken. Is this latter guy better than Munnerlyn?

11:45 - THERE IT IS! JARED COOK IS PICKED BY THE TENNESSEE TITANS WITH THE NO. 89 OVERALL SELECTION.

12:00 - Five players have been taken since Cook was selected 89th and still no Jamon Meredith. We're six picks away from the end of the third round.

12:05 - Since Cook was taken, there has been a run on defensive backs as we head towards the end of the third round. Three CB's and 1 S have been selected, including Jerraud Powers of Auburn and Rashad Johnson from Alabama. We're one pick away from the end of the third round.

12:15 - The third round is complete, The NY Giants took TE Travis Beckum of Wisconsin with the final selection of the 3rd round. Four Wisconsin players were taken in the third round. Still no Meredith. His stock has definitely fallen here for a guy whom many draft analysts thought would go in the second round or the third, at the latest. Now we're approaching the middle rounds.

12:20 - The fourth round has started. QB Stephen McGee from Texas A&M goes to the Cowboys with the first choice of the third round. CB Donald Washington of Ohio State goes second.

12:25 - Clemson just had their first player talken - DT Dorell Scott - by the St. Louis Rams with the third pick of the 4th round (103rd overall).

12:35 - We're six picks into the fourth round and still no JM. Arkansas C Jonathan Luigs was just taken by the Bengals with the No. 106 overall pick.

12:45 - Another OT is off the board and it's not JM. Green Bay took Eastern Michigan's T.J. Lang with the No. 109 overall pick and the ninth pick of the 4th round. Was this guy rated ahead of Meredith? I doubt it.

12:50 - The Panthers are up next with the No. 111 overall pick. Will they take Meredith to join former Gamecock Travelle Wharton on the Carolina O-Line? Nope. They take RB Mike Goodson from Texas A&M.

1:00 - San Diego took a DT from Ontario with the 13th pick of the 4th round. JM is still waiting. By this point, any number of Gamecocks could be selected. including Meredith, Kenny McKinley, E. Cook and Jasper Brinkley.

1:05 - The Lions just took a DT from Stillman College. Ouch. We're 15 picks into the fourth round. Just 1 USC player - TE Jared Cook - has been selected up to this point. Wake Forest S Chip Vaughn goes to the Saints with the 16th pick of the 4th round.

1:10 - Southern Cal has another player selected with the 17th pick in the 4th round. He's DE Kyle Moore. The Trojans have another bushel full of players taken in the NFL Draft. Their dominance of West Coast football should continue for the foreseeable future.

1:20 - D.J. Moore of Spartanburg, S.C. and Vanderbilt is finally taken by the Bears with the 19th pick of the 4th round. He was another guy some people thought might go in the second round.

1:25 - We're officially past the halfway point of the 4th round and we're still waiting for the second Gamecock player to be taken in the 2009 NFL Draft. The Bills took TE Shawn Nelson from So. Miss.

1:30 - The Patriots have traded into the No. 123 spot, the No. 23 pick in the 4th round. Will they take Meredith? They had their O-Line coach fly down to take a look at Meredith on Pro Day. Nope. The Pats take an O-Lineman but it's Rich Ohrnberger from Penn State. What's going on with Meredith? The Raiders just took WR Louis Murphy from Florida. If I recall, he had a big game v. USC.

1:40 - Panthers are up with the No. 28 pick in the 4th round. Is it time for Meredith? No. Carolina takes FB Tony Fiammetta of Syracuse. There's a guy who has lost a bunch of FB games in the last two seasons. The Orange FB program is a mess right now.

1:45 - Giants take N.C. State RB Andre Brown with the 29th pick of the 4th round. There are 7 selections left in the 4th round. Will one of those be a Gamecock?

1:50 - Another O-Lineman is taken with the 32nd pick of the 4th round and it's Seth Olsen of Iowa. We're now into the compensatory selections of the 4th round. There are 4 of those. DT Tyronne Green of Auburn is taken No. 133 overall by SD.

1:55 - Chargers take RB Gartrell Johnson from Colorado State with the No. 134 pick. Two more selections left in the 4th round and JM is still waiting. Titans and Colts have the final 2 choices. The Titans have already taken Cook. Will they take another Gamecock?

2:00 - Titans take a OT but it's Troy Kropog of Tulane. Do you think Meredith is seething by this point watching all this OTs being taken? One more pick left in the 4th round. Colts take DT Terrance Taylor from Michigan. The 4th round is over.

2:10 - Atlanta just took Furman CB William Middleton with the second pick of the 5th round.

2:15 - Chiefs take T Colin Brown with the third pick of the 5th round, so another tackle is taken before Meredith. That's 11 OT by my count taken so far in the draft.

2:20 - Another Gamecock is taken and it's WR Kenny McKinley, who is picked by Denver with the fifth selection of the 5th round and the No. 141 overall pick. Congrats to Kenny, who gets to pursue his well-deserved NFL dream.

2:40 - I just spoke with McKinley. He's very excited, obviously. He'll be flying out to Denver sometime this upcoming week. Right now, we're 12 picks into the fifth round and still no Meredith.

2:55 - Jasper Brinkley has been taken with the No. 150 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings, so USC has now had three players taken in the 2009 NFL Draft. Brinkley was chosen with the 14th pick of the fifth round, nine picks behind McKinley. Hard to believe Meredith hasn't been picked yet.

3:10 - We're now into the back half of the fith round. Right now, 22 selections have been made with 15 to go. Two more OT were taken in the 5th round but Meredith is still waiting.

3:15 - Another OT has been taken - Fenuki Tupou of Oregon - but Meredith remains on the board.

3:25 - Jamon Meredith's wait is finally over! The Simpsonville, S.C. native was taken by the Green Bay Packers with the 26th pick of the 5th round (No. 162 overall). The 5th round has certainly been kind to the Gamecocks. McKinley, Brinkley and Meredith have all been selected in the 5th round.

3:45 - We're nearing the end of the 5th round. Two Clemson players - Chris Clemons and Michasel Hamlin - were selected on consecutive picks (No. 165-166) a few minutes ago. Right now, the only USC players left that I expect to be taken are Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook.

3:55 - We've reached the end of the 5th round. The sixth round started moments ago. Will we see Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook taken in this round? Most scouts had them pegged for the later rounds.

4:20 - We're seven picks into the sixth round and E. Cook and Munnerlyn are still on the board.

5:30 - We're nearing the end of the 6th round and no Gamecocks have been selected thus far. I saw that Clemson RB James Davis was picked 195th overall. It looks like staying in school another year didn't help me, if anything it hurt his pro chances.

5:35 - The 6th round is over. 47 selections to go, including compensatory selections, in the 2009 NFL Draft.

5:55 - Captain Munnerlyn has been selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 7th round of the NFL Draft. Pick No. 216 overall.

6:15 - The 7th round is moving along here. Right now, 14 of the 47 picks have been made, so the teams are nearly 1/3 of the way through the final round. LSU WR Demetrius Byrd was just taken by San Diego despite the fact he was severaly injured in an auto accident last week in Florida. Classy move by the Chargers.

6:35 - Three safeties have been taken in the 7th round, but one is not named Emanuel Cook. He's still waiting for his name to be called. It's looking more and more likely like Carlos Thomas, Justin Sorensen, Stoney Woodson, etrc. will have to go the free agent route.

6:40 - We've reached the halfway mark of the 7th round. 24 picks down, 23 to go. Time is running out for E. Cook.

7:00 - Surprise! CB Stoney Woodson is drafted in the 7th round, No. 238 overall by the NY Giants. Meanwhile, E. Cook is still waiting. Good for Stoney. I figured he would sign a FA contract anyways, so he'll get a shot to make a NFL roster.

7:40 - Ryan Succop is Mr. Irrelevant!! The former kicker for the Gamecocks was the 256th and final pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The Draft is over and Emanuel Cook wa snot picked. USC has 7 players drafted, the most since 1954.

USC SELECTIONS IN NFL DRAFT:
TE Jared Cook - Tennessee Titans - 3rd Round (No. 89 overall)
WR Kenny McKinley - Denver Broncos - 5th Round (No. 141 overall)
LB Jasper Brinkley - Minnesota Vikings - 5th Round (No. 150 overall)
OL Jamon Meredith - Green Bay Packers - 5th Round (No. 162 overall)
CB Captain Munnerlyn - Carolina Panthers - 7th Round (No. 216 overall)
CB Stoney Woodson - NY Giants - 7th Round (No. 238 overall)
K Ryan Succop - Kansas City - 7th Round (No. 256 overall)

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NFL Draft Blog - Sat. April 25

With six former Gamecocks expected to be selected in this weekend's NFL Draft, we'll be providing frequent updates of what's going on at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

TE Jared Cook and OT Jamon Meredith should be off the board by the end of the second round. The first two rounds are expected to be completed by the time the proceedings are completed tonight.

4:10 - As expected, Detroit took Georgia QB Matthew Stafford with the top pick. He got a ton of money. It will be interesting to see how the decisions of Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno to leave school early will affect the USC-UGA game this Sept. It looks like Joe Cox will be the new QB. It should be his second career start for the Dawgs. But Garcia is fairly inexperienced as well. Two young QB's will be dueling that day.

4:17 - The St. Louis Rams take T Jason Smith from Baylor with the No. 2 pick. That's good news for Meredith because the quicker the tackles ahead of him come off the board, the higher he will be picked. Left tackles are very valuable in the NFL since they protect the QB's blind-side.

4:25 - The KC Chiefs take LSU DE Tyson Jackson with the No. 3 pick. He's the second SEC player taken.

4:35 - Seattle takes Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry with the No. 4 pick. USC LB Eric Norwood cited Curry as an inspiration in deciding to return to USC for his senior season. Prior to last season, Curry was probably a middle round pick. But he had a great senior season and ends up as the fourth player taken. I think the same thing can happen to Norwood if he also has a great senior season, and I think he will.

4:45 - The NY Jets traded with the Cleveland Browns to move up to the No. 5 overall pick and they took Southern Cal QB Mark Sanchez. I was just looking at the Sporting News and their NFL Draft writer Russ Lande has Jared Cook going to the Eagles with the No. 21 overall pick. Also, he has Emanuel Cook going in the third round to the Houston Texans. If that happens, Houston would have three former Gamecocks in the secondary, joining Fred Bennett and Dunta Robinson. What's interesting is he has Cook going before Jamon Meredith, which I don't seeing happening. Linde predicts Meredith will be taken with the No. 83 overall pick to Green Bay.

4:55 - Cincinnati has picked Alabama OT Andre Smith with the No. 6 pick. Another OT is off the board. As I said, the quicker tackles are taken, the earlier Meredith will be picked. I still believe Meredith will be taken in the second round despite what TSN has written. With Smith going pro, USC won't face him when the Gamecocks go to Tuscaloosa in Oct.

5:00 - Oakland has taken Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bay with the No. 7 pick, a little bit of a surprise. He ran the fastest 40 time of all the WR's at the NFL Combine.

5:10 - The tackles are continuing to fall off the board. Jacksonville has selected Virginia's Eugene Monroe with the No. 8 overall pick. In my opinion, that moves Meredith a little bit closer to being picked. At this rate, he won't last beyond the middle of the second round. Six of the first eight picks are from the SEC and ACC. One player from the Big 12 and Pac 10, and none from the Big 10 or Big East.

5:20 - Green Bay takes Boston College DT B.J. Raji with the No. 9 pick. He's 6-2, 337 pounds. Ladi Ajiboye and Nathan Pepper have to feel good seeing a player with that size going early. Both are about the same height but a little less weight. Both players will be available next year.

5:25 - San Francisco has taken Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree with the No. 10 pick. He's the second player from the Big 12. Most draft analysts had him as the top WR available.

5:30 - Buffalo takes DE Aaron Maybin from Penn State. He's the first Big 10 player selected in the Draft.

5:35 - Denver took Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno with the No. 12 pick, while Washington quickly takes Brian Orakpo of Texas with the No. 13 choice. Moreno joins Stafford in being selected. He's the 4th SEC player taken. The Georgia backfield will certainly look different when the Gamecocks go to Athens on Sept. 12.

5:45 - New Orleans picks Ohio State DB Malcolm Jenkins with the No. 14 pick.

5:55 - Another Southern Cal player, LB Brian Cushing, goes to Houston, while DE Larry English is taken by San Diego. The draft has definitely taken a turn towards defense with 6 of the last 8 players being on that side of the ball.

6:05 - Tampa Bay traded up to the No. 17 spot and took Kansas State QB Josh Freeman.

6:10 - Marlboro County native Robert Ayers, a DE from Tennessee, has just been taken by Denver with the No. 18 overall pick. However, he's listed as a LB in the NFL.com database.Some people have described him as a "one year wonder" with the Vols.

6:15 - The Eagles have taken WR Jeremy Maclin from Missouri. I wonder if he played against USC in the 2005 Independence Bowl.

6:25 - OK, the first TE is off the board. Oklahoma State's Brandon Pettigrew has been selected by Detroit with the No. 20 overall pick. He was considered the top TE prospect by most NFL Draft analysts. Will Jared Cook be the second TE taken?

6:30 - Cleveland (finally!) took a center from California with the No. 21 pick. John Clayton of ESPN is blasting the pick, wondering why the Browns kept trading down and end up with a center.

6:35 - WR Percy Harvin fron Florida is finally off the board, and the Gamecocks are glad to see him go after his performance against USC in Nov. Harvin, of course, had some off-the-field issues and it looks like they caused him to drop a bit inthe draft.

6:40 - One of the feel good stories of the draft was OT Michael Oher from Ole Miss and he's taken No. 23 by Baltimore. So, USC won't see him when the Rebels come to Columbia on Thur., Sept. 24.

6:45 - Another Ole Miss player, DE Peria Jerry, was just taken No. 24 by the Atlanta Falcons. So, that's 2 first-round picks the Gamecocks won't have to face next season. But the Rebels are still a very good football team, and I've always been a Houston Nutt fan.

6:50 - The Dolphins take DB Vontae Davis from Illinois with the No. 25 pick. I'm sure OL coach Eric Wolford knows him well.

6:55 - The Packers trade up to No. 26 and take Southern Cal LB Clay Matthews, a consummate 3-4 linebacker. He was a walk-on at So. Cal. He is the third former Trojan taken in the first round.

7:05 - The Colts select UConn RB Donald Brown at No. 27. Buffalo follows by taking a center from Louisville. Only 4 more selections left in the 1st round.

7:10 - The NY Giants take WR Hakeem Nicks from UNC with the No. 29 pick. First ACC player taken since the No. 9 selection.

7:20 - WR Kenny Britt from Rutgers is selected by Tennessee with the No. 30 pick in the first round. 2 more picks left in the first round.

7:30 - RB Chris "Beanie" Wells from Ohio State has finally been taken at No. 31 by Arizona. Good pick-up from them. 2nd former player for the Buckeyes taken inthe first round.

7:35 - Pittsburgh selects Missouri DT Evander Hood with the final pick of the 1st round. From this point on, Cook or Meredith could be selected at any point.

7:40 - The Second Round has started. Teams have 5 mins between picks, as opposed to 10 mins in the first round.

7:45 - Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis is taken No. 35 by St. Louis. Teammate WR Brian Robiskie goes to Cleveland at No. 37.

7:55 - Wake Forest just had their second player taken in the draft - WR Alphonso Smith. While the Deacons have had 2 players selected, Florida State, Miami, Clemson and Virginia Tech have zero. Who saw that coming?

8:00 - Southern Cal just had their third LB taken in the draft - Ray Maualuga. No. 38 to Cincinnati. That's deep. And you wonder why the Trojans have dominated West Coast football over the last several years with no end in sight.

8:05 - Another OT has just been taken with the No. 39 overall pick - Arizona's Eben Britton. How close is Meredith?

8:10 - Patriots have traded into the No. 40 spot. They took a close look at Meredith, flying their OL coach down to Columbia to work him out. Pats have 2 straight picks here in the 2nd round. Is this it for Meredith?

8:15 - No. Pats took a DT from Boston College with the No. 40 pick. But they also pick at No. 41. They just took Darius Butler, DB from UConn. No Meredith yet.

8:25 - The Carolina Panthers have traded up to No. 43. This could be a possibility for Cook or Meredith. Nope. They take DE Everette Brown from Fla. State. He's the first Seminole taken. Now you why FSU has slipped in recent years.

8:30 - Miami took West Virginia QB Pat White with the No. 44 pick overall. Good pick for the Dolphins. White is an exciting player.

8:35 - The question concerning who would be the second TE taken in the draft has been answered. Unfortunately, it's not Jared Cook. Univ. of Cincinnati TE Connor Barwin is taken by the Texans at No. 46 overall.

8:45 - Still waiting for something to break for Cook and Meredith. We're approaching the No. 50 pick. Seattle is next at No. 49.

8:50 - Another OT is off the board but Meredith is still waiting. Seattle selected Oregon OT Max Unger with the No. 49 pick. We're officially at No. 50.

8:55 - Georgia just had their 3rd player taken in the draft when WR Mohamed Massaquoi was chosen by Cleveland with the No. 50 pick.

9:05 - Buffalo traded into the No. 51 spot and picked OL Andy Levitre of Oregon State. So, another O-Lineman is off the board. The Browns just took a DE from Hawaii.
They're are 12 selections left in the 2nd round. At this point, either Cook or Meredith might not go. I'm still looking for at least one to get selected by the end of the day.

9:15 - Another OT is taken, Phil Ludholt of Oklahoma, with the No. 54 pick. Meredith must be getting closer. The Falcons just took a DB from Missouri with the No. 55 pick. Nine selections left in the 2nd round.

9:20 - The Colts took Southern Cal DT Fili Moala with the No. 56 pick. He's the fifth Trojan to be selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft. I saw that the nation's Top TE committed to Southern Cal, so the rich get richer.€

9:25 - Baltimore takes Utah DE Paul Kruger at No. 57. We're down to the final seven selections of Day 1. The third round will begin Sun. at 10 a.m.

9:28 - The Patriots took OL Sebastian Vollmer from Houston with the No. 58 pick. Another OL is off the board. When will Meredith go?

9:35 - The Panthers are up next at No. 59. Will they stay local and pick either Cook or Meredith? No. They take CB Sherrod Martin from Troy. Five picks left in the 2nd round.

9:40 - Another OT is off the board and his name isn't Jamon Meredith. The NY Giants took William Beatty of UConn with the No. 60 pick. Four picks left on Day 1. Connecticut has had three players selected in the first two rounds. That's some good recruiting ammo for a mid-level Big East program.

9:45 - Miami takes DB Sean Smith from Utah with the No. 61 pick. Three picks left in the 2nd round.

9:50 - Titans take Auburn DT Sen'Derrick Marks with the No. 62 pick. Two picks left in the 2nd round.

9:52 - UConn has its fourth player taken in the first 2 rounds - DB Cody Brown. We're down to the final pick of the 2nd round by Pittsburgh.

9:55 - Well, a tight end went on the final pick of the 2nd round but it wasn't Jared Cook. Denver traded into the spot and picked Richard Quinn of North Carolina. So, neither Cook or Meredith, or any other USC player for that matter, was selected on the first day of the NFL Draft. I'm sure both Meredith and Cook are disappointed. In fact, Meredith said earlier this week that he would definitely be disappointed if he wasn't taken on the first day. We'll be back here at 10 a.m. on Sunday for Round 3.

NFL DRAFT FIRST ROUND SELECTIONS:
1. Detroit - QB Matthew Stafford (Georgia)
2. St. Louis - OT Jason Smith (Baylor)
3. Kansas City - DE Tyson Jackson (LSU)
4. Seattle - LB Aaron Curry (Wake Forest)
5. N.Y. Jets (From Cleve) - QB Mark Sanchez (Southern Cal)
6. Cincinnati - OT Andre Smith (Alabama)
7. Oakland - WR Darrius Heyward-Bay (Maryland)
8. Jacksonville - OT Eugene Monroe (Virginia)
9. Green Bay - DT B.J. Raji (Boston College)
10. San Francisco - WR Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech)
11. Buffalo - DE Aaron Maybin (Penn State)
12. Denver - RB Knowshon Moreno (Georgia)
13. Washington - DE Brian Orakpo (Texas)
14. New Orleans - DB Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio State)
15. Houston - LB Brian Cushing (Southern Cal)
16. San Diego - DE Larry English (No. Illinois)
17. Tampa Bay (From Cleve) - QB Justin Freeman (Kansas State)
18. Denver - DE Robert Ayers (Tennessee)
19. Philadelphia - WR Jeremy Maclin (Missouri)
20. Detroit - TE Brandon Pettigrew (Oklahoma State)
21. Cleveland - C Alex Mack (California)
22. Minnesota - WR Percy Harvin (Florida)
23. Baltimore (From New England) - OT Michael Oher (Ole Miss)
24. Atlanta - DT Peria Jerry (Ole Miss)
25. Miami - DB Vontae Davis (Illinois)
26. Green Bay - LB Clay Matthews (Southern Cal)
27. Indianapolis - RB Donald Brown (UConn)
28. Buffalo - C Eric Wood (Louisville)
29. NY Giants - WR Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina)
30. Tennessee - WR Kenny Britt (Rutgers)
31. Arizona - RB Chris "Beanie" Wells (Ohio State)
32. Pittsburgh - DT Evander Hood (Missouri)

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