Five Things That Could Happen This Spring
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, March 02, 2009
1. Kenny Miles Could Become The No. 1 Running Back: Based on his lack of experience, Miles will start spring practice as the No. 3 running back behind Eric Baker and Brian Maddox. But Miles is quite capable of turning the tables before the end of spring practice. Neither Baker nor Maddox have been the featured back either at the major college level, so it’s certainly possible Miles could come behind to claim the job. Of course, Baker and Maddox will get every opportunity to win the job, as well. But new running backs coach Jay Graham is starting with a clean slate and will have no premonitions going into the start of spring practice. He has no film of Miles, so what the redshirt freshman does on the practice field will be critical.
2. Reid McCollum Could Give Stephen Garcia All He Wants At Quarterback: Steve Spurrier raved about McCollum’s physical skills last fall while, at the same time, lamenting the fact a class conflict prevented the Summerville, S.C. native from participating in as many practices as he wanted. Now that appears to have been resolved. McCollum can make all the throws – as Spurrier likes to say – and could apply plenty of heat if Garcia doesn’t show the work ethic Spurrier or new quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus wants. It’s Garcia’s job to lose, but McCollum could pounce if the former leaves the door open. That doesn’t mean Aramis Hillary isn’t capable of doing the same thing. But at this point, I give McCollum a better chance of unseating Garcia.
3. The Team Psychology Could Improve: Mental toughness plays a huge role in the success or failure of a football team at the major college level. Typically, the tougher a team is mentally, the better it is because the players aren’t afraid to make mistakes and play confidently and aggressively. Frankly, the last thing I want to hear this spring is players complaining about the coaches yelling at them too much, as we did ad nauseum last December. You get outscored by a 118-30 margin, there are going to be some angry coaches. As I’ve said before, USC won’t turn into a elite SEC program until they develop a mental toughness across the entire team. Unfortunately, it appears last year’s team had a few too many players feeling sorry for themselves and it clearly affected their performance on the field. But I believe Spurrier and the new coaches will have a profound impact in this area.
4. Stephon Gilmore And DeVonte Holloman Could Change The Secondary’s Complexion: As Ellis Johnson told me recently, the secondary, especially the cornerbacks, are extremely thin. Gilmore wasn’t Mr. Football in South Carolina for nothing. Anyone who saw him play in high school, or the Shrine Bowl for that matter, knows the impact he could have. USC lost a ton of experience at cornerback with the losses of Munnerlyn, Thomas and Woodson. Akeem Auguste and Addison Williams have some experience but not the amount that should make them comfortable with their job security. Gilmore is capable of stealing a starting job with a solid spring. Meanwhile, Holloman faces an uphill battle to beat out either Chris Culliver (free) or Darian Stewart (strong) at safety, but he possesses the talent to exit spring practice as the No. 2 option at either position. Right now, his primary competition is Antonio Allen and Jarrett Burns.
5. Chaz Sutton And Devin Taylor Could Give Brad Lawing Something To Think About At Defensive End: When I spoke with Lawing recently, it was clear he loves Sutton and Taylor for a lot of reasons, and has very high expectations for both players. Right now, you can pencil in Cliff Matthews and Clifton Geathers as the starters at defensive end, but that pencil should have a good eraser on it. Sutton and Taylor are great athletes that have been preparing for their opportunity. Sutton was forced to spend a semester at Fork Union, while Taylor was redshirted. Sutton was good enough to play for Florida at one time before the Gators pulled their offer. Taylor is listed at 6-foot-6 and is an excellent all-around athlete. Just as important, he has a tremendous work ethic. Matthews and Geathers should play, but could see their number of snaps diminished if Sutton and Taylor emerge. As for who starts, it might get interesting.
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With the start of spring practice just one day away, here are five things I believe could happen over the course of the 15 practices. These are not predictions. I’m just saying don’t be surprised if these five things actually happened.
1. Kenny Miles Could Become The No. 1 Running Back: Based on his lack of experience, Miles will start spring practice as the No. 3 running back behind Eric Baker and Brian Maddox. But Miles is quite capable of turning the tables before the end of spring practice. Neither Baker nor Maddox have been the featured back either at the major college level, so it’s certainly possible Miles could come behind to claim the job. Of course, Baker and Maddox will get every opportunity to win the job, as well. But new running backs coach Jay Graham is starting with a clean slate and will have no premonitions going into the start of spring practice. He has no film of Miles, so what the redshirt freshman does on the practice field will be critical.
2. Reid McCollum Could Give Stephen Garcia All He Wants At Quarterback: Steve Spurrier raved about McCollum’s physical skills last fall while, at the same time, lamenting the fact a class conflict prevented the Summerville, S.C. native from participating in as many practices as he wanted. Now that appears to have been resolved. McCollum can make all the throws – as Spurrier likes to say – and could apply plenty of heat if Garcia doesn’t show the work ethic Spurrier or new quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus wants. It’s Garcia’s job to lose, but McCollum could pounce if the former leaves the door open. That doesn’t mean Aramis Hillary isn’t capable of doing the same thing. But at this point, I give McCollum a better chance of unseating Garcia.
3. The Team Psychology Could Improve: Mental toughness plays a huge role in the success or failure of a football team at the major college level. Typically, the tougher a team is mentally, the better it is because the players aren’t afraid to make mistakes and play confidently and aggressively. Frankly, the last thing I want to hear this spring is players complaining about the coaches yelling at them too much, as we did ad nauseum last December. You get outscored by a 118-30 margin, there are going to be some angry coaches. As I’ve said before, USC won’t turn into a elite SEC program until they develop a mental toughness across the entire team. Unfortunately, it appears last year’s team had a few too many players feeling sorry for themselves and it clearly affected their performance on the field. But I believe Spurrier and the new coaches will have a profound impact in this area.
4. Stephon Gilmore And DeVonte Holloman Could Change The Secondary’s Complexion: As Ellis Johnson told me recently, the secondary, especially the cornerbacks, are extremely thin. Gilmore wasn’t Mr. Football in South Carolina for nothing. Anyone who saw him play in high school, or the Shrine Bowl for that matter, knows the impact he could have. USC lost a ton of experience at cornerback with the losses of Munnerlyn, Thomas and Woodson. Akeem Auguste and Addison Williams have some experience but not the amount that should make them comfortable with their job security. Gilmore is capable of stealing a starting job with a solid spring. Meanwhile, Holloman faces an uphill battle to beat out either Chris Culliver (free) or Darian Stewart (strong) at safety, but he possesses the talent to exit spring practice as the No. 2 option at either position. Right now, his primary competition is Antonio Allen and Jarrett Burns.
5. Chaz Sutton And Devin Taylor Could Give Brad Lawing Something To Think About At Defensive End: When I spoke with Lawing recently, it was clear he loves Sutton and Taylor for a lot of reasons, and has very high expectations for both players. Right now, you can pencil in Cliff Matthews and Clifton Geathers as the starters at defensive end, but that pencil should have a good eraser on it. Sutton and Taylor are great athletes that have been preparing for their opportunity. Sutton was forced to spend a semester at Fork Union, while Taylor was redshirted. Sutton was good enough to play for Florida at one time before the Gators pulled their offer. Taylor is listed at 6-foot-6 and is an excellent all-around athlete. Just as important, he has a tremendous work ethic. Matthews and Geathers should play, but could see their number of snaps diminished if Sutton and Taylor emerge. As for who starts, it might get interesting.
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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 @.