Five Predictions For The Spring Game
posted by Scott Hood, Friday, April 10, 2009
1. Stephen Garcia and Reid McCollum Will Each Throw For Over 200 Yards: Since Steve Spurrier loves wide-open spring games featuring tons of points, both quarterbacks will get a chance to throw early and often in Saturday’s affair. Both will also get plenty of snaps considering they’re by far the two best QB’s on the roster right now. The result? Both quarterbacks will get every opportunity to compile big numbers in the last opportunity until the start of fall practice in early August. That’s exactly what Spurrier is looking for, since it should give them a confidence boost heading into summer workouts.
2. All Four Running Backs Will Have At least Five Carries: New running backs coach Jay Graham promised to offer Brian Maddox, Eric Baker, Kenny Miles and Jarvis Giles a full and fair opportunity to compete for the No. 1 job, and he has kept that pladge. Maddox and Giles have, by all accounts, surged ahead with impressive performances in the scrimmages. But the race remains close enough that all four – barring injuries of course - should get an adequate number of carries on Saturday.
3. Garcia and McCollum Will Combine For Less Than Four Interceptions: If they do, they will finish with less than one-half the number of interceptions Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher accumulated in last April’s spring game. No wonder Spurrier took a swipe at last year’s game earlier this week when he spoke with reporters after practice. Garcia and McCollum have stronger throwing arms than Smelley and Garcia, and a better and deeper receiving corps as targets with Jason Barnes, Moe Brown, Tori Gurley, D.L. Moore and Joe Hills emerging as the top guns. Moreover, the USC secondary is depleted of depth right now. The cornerback position is especially starving for talent. The departures of Captain Munnerlyn, Carlos Thomas and Stoney Woodson, along with the suspension of C.C. Whitlock, have left the position dangerously thin. Having said that. . .
4. Stephon Gilmore Will Collect At Least One Interception and One Pass Completion: Gilmore and Giles are neck-and-neck heading down the backstretch in the race to win the unofficial title of the most impressive true freshman of the spring. Of course, we had a hunch Gilmore was a pretty good player considering he won the Mr. Football Award last December. Still, coaches are always reluctant to put too much pressure on freshmen. But Gilmore has been outstanding since day one and appears on the verge of locking up a starting job in the secondary. But he was also an outstanding quarterback in high school and has been given a few opportunities in the Wild Cocky formation this spring.
5. Cliff Matthews Will Catch At Least One Pass From The Tight End Position: The experiment with Matthews at tight end started in mid-March and continued for the duration of the spring. He caught a pass late in an early scrimmage involving the younger players and rumbled for a touchdown. When he was asked about Matthews playing on offense, Spurrier’s response was blunt: he was going to put the 11 best players on the field, something that hasn’t always happened in the past. The position isn’t foreign to Matthews, who played tight end while helping Cheraw High School capture the state championship in 2006. However, don’t look for Matthews to switch positions. His main job will remain defensive end.
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There will be plenty of storylines when South Carolina holds its annual Garnet and Black game on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium, from quarterback Stephen Garcia to the running backs to the offensive line to the six new assistant coaches. Here are five predictions for the game:
1. Stephen Garcia and Reid McCollum Will Each Throw For Over 200 Yards: Since Steve Spurrier loves wide-open spring games featuring tons of points, both quarterbacks will get a chance to throw early and often in Saturday’s affair. Both will also get plenty of snaps considering they’re by far the two best QB’s on the roster right now. The result? Both quarterbacks will get every opportunity to compile big numbers in the last opportunity until the start of fall practice in early August. That’s exactly what Spurrier is looking for, since it should give them a confidence boost heading into summer workouts.
2. All Four Running Backs Will Have At least Five Carries: New running backs coach Jay Graham promised to offer Brian Maddox, Eric Baker, Kenny Miles and Jarvis Giles a full and fair opportunity to compete for the No. 1 job, and he has kept that pladge. Maddox and Giles have, by all accounts, surged ahead with impressive performances in the scrimmages. But the race remains close enough that all four – barring injuries of course - should get an adequate number of carries on Saturday.
3. Garcia and McCollum Will Combine For Less Than Four Interceptions: If they do, they will finish with less than one-half the number of interceptions Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher accumulated in last April’s spring game. No wonder Spurrier took a swipe at last year’s game earlier this week when he spoke with reporters after practice. Garcia and McCollum have stronger throwing arms than Smelley and Garcia, and a better and deeper receiving corps as targets with Jason Barnes, Moe Brown, Tori Gurley, D.L. Moore and Joe Hills emerging as the top guns. Moreover, the USC secondary is depleted of depth right now. The cornerback position is especially starving for talent. The departures of Captain Munnerlyn, Carlos Thomas and Stoney Woodson, along with the suspension of C.C. Whitlock, have left the position dangerously thin. Having said that. . .
4. Stephon Gilmore Will Collect At Least One Interception and One Pass Completion: Gilmore and Giles are neck-and-neck heading down the backstretch in the race to win the unofficial title of the most impressive true freshman of the spring. Of course, we had a hunch Gilmore was a pretty good player considering he won the Mr. Football Award last December. Still, coaches are always reluctant to put too much pressure on freshmen. But Gilmore has been outstanding since day one and appears on the verge of locking up a starting job in the secondary. But he was also an outstanding quarterback in high school and has been given a few opportunities in the Wild Cocky formation this spring.
5. Cliff Matthews Will Catch At Least One Pass From The Tight End Position: The experiment with Matthews at tight end started in mid-March and continued for the duration of the spring. He caught a pass late in an early scrimmage involving the younger players and rumbled for a touchdown. When he was asked about Matthews playing on offense, Spurrier’s response was blunt: he was going to put the 11 best players on the field, something that hasn’t always happened in the past. The position isn’t foreign to Matthews, who played tight end while helping Cheraw High School capture the state championship in 2006. However, don’t look for Matthews to switch positions. His main job will remain defensive end.
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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 @.