Marvin Sapp Will Fill Large Brinkley Shoes
posted by Scott Hood on Thursday, September 27, 2007
It’s finally time for Marvin Sapp to shine.
I’m hoping that by the time Saturday afternoon’s key SEC game against Mississippi State is concluded, all South Carolina fans will fully appreciate one of the harsh realities of athletics.
No one is irreplaceable.
Yes, that includes Mr. Brinkley.
I’m not saying Sapp is capable of doing it all by himself. He may need help from freshman Melvin Ingram and, later, from Dustin Lindsey when he returns from his own severe knee injury.
Okay, it might takes three players to replace Jasper Brinkley. But, I assure you, it will happen.
The player I’m happiest for is Sapp, who has been eager to crack the starting lineup again since the early portion of last season when he lost his starting outside linebacker job to true freshman Rodney Paulk.
Now we get to see Sapp and Paulk on the field at the same time.
That’s a good thing.
Both Sapp (5-11, 228 pounds) and Paulk (6-0, 220 pounds) may be a bit undersized when compared to some other SEC linebackers, but both are fearless when it comes to tackling and taking on much larger blockers.
Here’s something else you need to know about Sapp: he has possibly the biggest “guns” I have ever seen on a football players. The kid is incredibly strong.
We all know Jasper Brinkley led USC in tackles last season with 107. Do you know who was second? That’s right, Sapp. He had 51 tackles in 2006, despite starting only three games.
I was a bit disheartened by Steve Spurrier’s comment during his weekly press conference Tuesday that Sapp “pouted” for a brief period of time when he was beaten out by Paulk last season.
But, to his credit, he overcame his initial bitterness and rebounded from his losing battle with Paulk to have an excellent season.
Pound for pound, Marvin Sapp is one of the best football players on the Gamecocks.
He’s also one of my favorite players.
Look up the term ‘warrior’ in the dictionary and odds are you’ll find Sapp’s photo there.
When Sapp went down with the severe ankle injury during the Garnet and Black game in April, there were probably many Gamecock fans that thought Sapp would never see the field in 2007.
But he fought back with an arduous rehabilitation program and finally reached full health towards the end of fall camp. He’s played every linebacker position since the start of practice.
He’s how far Sapp has come in less than a month. He wasn’t even listed on the two-deep depth chart prior to the Sept. 1 season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.
The following week, as he continued to round in form, Sapp was listed alongside true freshman Melvin Ingram as one of two backups to Jasper Brinkley at MLB.
He was finally listed as the sole backup to Brinkley on the depth chart heading into the South Carolina State game. But he was rotated to OLB behind Paulk for the LSU game.
Now, hopefully, with Brinkley out until next spring, at the earliest, Sapp is back to the place – middle linebacker – where he should become a vocal leader of the defense.
Sapp said Monday he’s looking forward to playing the role of “quarterback of the defense.” He’s got plenty of talent around him, so there’s no need to think he has to do it all by himself.”
While it’s possible down the road he might end up splitting snaps with the talented Melvin Ingram, the game Saturday is Sapp’s one chance to make a lasting impression on the USC coaches.
I believe he’ll take full advantage of the opportunity.
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Jasper Brinkley’s season-ending knee injury means one thing.
It’s finally time for Marvin Sapp to shine.
I’m hoping that by the time Saturday afternoon’s key SEC game against Mississippi State is concluded, all South Carolina fans will fully appreciate one of the harsh realities of athletics.
No one is irreplaceable.
Yes, that includes Mr. Brinkley.
I’m not saying Sapp is capable of doing it all by himself. He may need help from freshman Melvin Ingram and, later, from Dustin Lindsey when he returns from his own severe knee injury.
Okay, it might takes three players to replace Jasper Brinkley. But, I assure you, it will happen.
The player I’m happiest for is Sapp, who has been eager to crack the starting lineup again since the early portion of last season when he lost his starting outside linebacker job to true freshman Rodney Paulk.
Now we get to see Sapp and Paulk on the field at the same time.
That’s a good thing.
Both Sapp (5-11, 228 pounds) and Paulk (6-0, 220 pounds) may be a bit undersized when compared to some other SEC linebackers, but both are fearless when it comes to tackling and taking on much larger blockers.
Here’s something else you need to know about Sapp: he has possibly the biggest “guns” I have ever seen on a football players. The kid is incredibly strong.
We all know Jasper Brinkley led USC in tackles last season with 107. Do you know who was second? That’s right, Sapp. He had 51 tackles in 2006, despite starting only three games.
I was a bit disheartened by Steve Spurrier’s comment during his weekly press conference Tuesday that Sapp “pouted” for a brief period of time when he was beaten out by Paulk last season.
But, to his credit, he overcame his initial bitterness and rebounded from his losing battle with Paulk to have an excellent season.
Pound for pound, Marvin Sapp is one of the best football players on the Gamecocks.
He’s also one of my favorite players.
Look up the term ‘warrior’ in the dictionary and odds are you’ll find Sapp’s photo there.
When Sapp went down with the severe ankle injury during the Garnet and Black game in April, there were probably many Gamecock fans that thought Sapp would never see the field in 2007.
But he fought back with an arduous rehabilitation program and finally reached full health towards the end of fall camp. He’s played every linebacker position since the start of practice.
He’s how far Sapp has come in less than a month. He wasn’t even listed on the two-deep depth chart prior to the Sept. 1 season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.
The following week, as he continued to round in form, Sapp was listed alongside true freshman Melvin Ingram as one of two backups to Jasper Brinkley at MLB.
He was finally listed as the sole backup to Brinkley on the depth chart heading into the South Carolina State game. But he was rotated to OLB behind Paulk for the LSU game.
Now, hopefully, with Brinkley out until next spring, at the earliest, Sapp is back to the place – middle linebacker – where he should become a vocal leader of the defense.
Sapp said Monday he’s looking forward to playing the role of “quarterback of the defense.” He’s got plenty of talent around him, so there’s no need to think he has to do it all by himself.”
While it’s possible down the road he might end up splitting snaps with the talented Melvin Ingram, the game Saturday is Sapp’s one chance to make a lasting impression on the USC coaches.
I believe he’ll take full advantage of the opportunity.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.