Five Things I Want To See During Spring Practice
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, February 18, 2009
1. Stephen Garcia Develops Into A Leader: With Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher gone and the top three backups lacking in experience, the door is wide open for Garcia to take command of the quarterback position. Frankly, there are no more excuses. Garcia turned 21 years old three days ago, so he’s not a boy anymore. Your starting quarterback should always be one of the best and most dynamic leaders on the team. And I’m not just talking about the football field either. Heck, the Russell House too. One way Garcia can become an effective leader is by showing maturity and staying out of trouble, thereby realizing his team needs him on the field. But, of course, the best way to be a leader is performing on the field.
2. The Offensive Line Starts To Jell: We all know Eric Wolford has his work cut out for him trying to get the offensive line to fulfill its potential. Wolford has said nobody’s job is safe but he also needs to start creating some chemistry. So that means identifying the best five linemen as quickly as possible and get those guys to play together as much as possible. Wolford should rebuild the offensive line from the inside out, starting with Garrett Anderson at center. Beyond that, there should be a bunch of intriguing battles for starting jobs. As Wolford told me recently, the cream will rise to the top. I have a sense we’re going to find out who wants to play and who doesn’t on the offensive line by the time April 11 is over.
3. Eric Norwood Takes Ownership Of The Defense: This is why Norwood returned to the Gamecocks for one more season. With Jasper Brinkley trying out for the NFL this week at the Combine, it’s his defense now. Sure, there are other great players on defense like Ladi Ajiboye and Cliff Matthews, but there is no dispute who the leader will be once the pads start popping. And, I think, all the players know it too. Norwood has been developing into a leader for the last three years with his strong play on the field. He has three years of blood, sweat and tears invested in this defense and I know he wants this year to be his payoff. Moreover, with two Thursday night games on the schedule, he gets a couple of opportunities to be interviewed by ESPN’s Erin Andrews in the post-game celebration. Right, Eric?
4. The Players Prove They’re Really, Really Angry: Here are the three principal things I’ll be looking out for this spring: attitude, attitude, attitude. The longer I live and watch major college sports, the more convinced I've become that success in athletics is less about physical talent and more about what's between the ears and how players approach their responsibilities when there are no fans in the stands and the TV cameras are off. Everyday, I see teams with superior talent losing to teams with inferior talent. Why? Yes, coaching may have something to do with it, but most of the time it's attitude. If I was a ticket-buying Gamecock fan, I would insist on seeing signs the players are genuinely pissed off about how last season ended with the consecutive defeats/spankings/shellackings at the hands of Florida, Clemson and Iowa. Did the players have their pride hurt? I hope so. But we really won’t know the answer to that question until we see them practice a couple of times with pads. Hopefully, I’ll sense a little extra zip on both sides of the ball when the ball is snapped. Yeah, I want them to be angry. They should be.
5. The Young Players Push The Veterans: There are several positions where younger players should push guys who have been around a couple of years. Start at running back where Kenny Miles and Jarvis Giles should give Eric Baker and Brian Maddox all they want in the battle to become the top running back. Then there’s the secondary where former South Pointe teammates Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman should make an impact. I’ve felt for a while that one of the problems with USC was that some of the veterans didn’t fear losing their jobs. Many people I’ve talked with feel this has been the case with the offensive line. When players know those behind them on the depth chart aren’t capable of stepping up and taking their spot, there’s a natural tendency to ease up a bit. If the veterans are pushed a little more, everybody benefits. Legitimate competition is the best motivator to play well. Hopefully, that will produce more wins.
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Spring practice for South Carolina starts in less than two weeks. USC is scheduled to practice twice before spring break, then return to the Bluff Road fields around March 17. Since USC lost its final three games by wide margins, a lot of people – players and coaches alike - have something to prove. Here are the five things I want to see happen between March 3 and April 11.
1. Stephen Garcia Develops Into A Leader: With Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher gone and the top three backups lacking in experience, the door is wide open for Garcia to take command of the quarterback position. Frankly, there are no more excuses. Garcia turned 21 years old three days ago, so he’s not a boy anymore. Your starting quarterback should always be one of the best and most dynamic leaders on the team. And I’m not just talking about the football field either. Heck, the Russell House too. One way Garcia can become an effective leader is by showing maturity and staying out of trouble, thereby realizing his team needs him on the field. But, of course, the best way to be a leader is performing on the field.
2. The Offensive Line Starts To Jell: We all know Eric Wolford has his work cut out for him trying to get the offensive line to fulfill its potential. Wolford has said nobody’s job is safe but he also needs to start creating some chemistry. So that means identifying the best five linemen as quickly as possible and get those guys to play together as much as possible. Wolford should rebuild the offensive line from the inside out, starting with Garrett Anderson at center. Beyond that, there should be a bunch of intriguing battles for starting jobs. As Wolford told me recently, the cream will rise to the top. I have a sense we’re going to find out who wants to play and who doesn’t on the offensive line by the time April 11 is over.
3. Eric Norwood Takes Ownership Of The Defense: This is why Norwood returned to the Gamecocks for one more season. With Jasper Brinkley trying out for the NFL this week at the Combine, it’s his defense now. Sure, there are other great players on defense like Ladi Ajiboye and Cliff Matthews, but there is no dispute who the leader will be once the pads start popping. And, I think, all the players know it too. Norwood has been developing into a leader for the last three years with his strong play on the field. He has three years of blood, sweat and tears invested in this defense and I know he wants this year to be his payoff. Moreover, with two Thursday night games on the schedule, he gets a couple of opportunities to be interviewed by ESPN’s Erin Andrews in the post-game celebration. Right, Eric?
4. The Players Prove They’re Really, Really Angry: Here are the three principal things I’ll be looking out for this spring: attitude, attitude, attitude. The longer I live and watch major college sports, the more convinced I've become that success in athletics is less about physical talent and more about what's between the ears and how players approach their responsibilities when there are no fans in the stands and the TV cameras are off. Everyday, I see teams with superior talent losing to teams with inferior talent. Why? Yes, coaching may have something to do with it, but most of the time it's attitude. If I was a ticket-buying Gamecock fan, I would insist on seeing signs the players are genuinely pissed off about how last season ended with the consecutive defeats/spankings/shellackings at the hands of Florida, Clemson and Iowa. Did the players have their pride hurt? I hope so. But we really won’t know the answer to that question until we see them practice a couple of times with pads. Hopefully, I’ll sense a little extra zip on both sides of the ball when the ball is snapped. Yeah, I want them to be angry. They should be.
5. The Young Players Push The Veterans: There are several positions where younger players should push guys who have been around a couple of years. Start at running back where Kenny Miles and Jarvis Giles should give Eric Baker and Brian Maddox all they want in the battle to become the top running back. Then there’s the secondary where former South Pointe teammates Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman should make an impact. I’ve felt for a while that one of the problems with USC was that some of the veterans didn’t fear losing their jobs. Many people I’ve talked with feel this has been the case with the offensive line. When players know those behind them on the depth chart aren’t capable of stepping up and taking their spot, there’s a natural tendency to ease up a bit. If the veterans are pushed a little more, everybody benefits. Legitimate competition is the best motivator to play well. Hopefully, that will produce more wins.
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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 @.