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Collyn Taylor
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Hello all. Will Muschamp speaking with the media today in preparation for spring practice, which officially starts tomorrow.
Stick around for live updates. They will be in this post, so feel free to refresh.
--Team will start practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week with the first two in just helmets and Friday in pads. Team tweaked the practice schedule so the coaching staff can be at the funeral for Bryan McClendon's mother Saturday.
--Focusing on spring, Muschamp said the focus is on turnover margin saying the Gamecocks missed a lot of opportunities to get the ball off people and didn't protect the ball better than they did. Team was minus-6 in SEC games last year and won the turnover margin in six of the team's seven wins.
--Five critical things Muschamp says wins games: turnover margin, explosive plays, field position (especially on explosives and special positions), red zone efficiency, winning the fourth quarter. If the team wins three of those five, they usually win.
--Biggest focus on offensively: run the ball better against good teams. Said team considers screens behind the line of scrimmage so they need to be better. Defensively? Stop the run. Team was allowing six YPC against perimeter screens. Need to get better at that.
--Special teams: game breakers. Need to find a good player to replace Deebo Samuel. Bryan Edwards returned punts well but also need to get more blocks.
Personnel: MJ Webb will switch to offensive guard through the first five days. AJ Turner will play cornerback the first five days and switch back to running back on practice No. 6. Numbers-wise, Gamecocks are thin in the secondary. Said he wants to have guys ready to play in case injuries happen. Running back will be his prmiary position
Injuries: Out: TJ Brunson, Danny Fennell, Tyreek Johnson, Caleb Kinlaw, Javon Kinlaw, Caleb Jenerette, Tyreek Johnson and Caleb Kinlaw could be back at some point. May Iyama going through medical condition and team is figuring out. Rico Dowdle, Jovaughn Gwyn, J.T. Ibe, OrTre Smith, Jamyest Williams, Eldridge Thompson will partake in spring in some capacity but could be limited at first.
--Team needs to improve at all 11 positions in running the ball and said they need to be better defensively too. Had a few missed tackles at the second and third levels.
--Kick return candidates: Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith, Jam Williams, AJ Turner, Josh Vann.
--Enagbare will play at end right now in the spring but could bounce around to tackle some during pass rush situations.
--Team goes into in-depth cut ups of things during games, practices, etc. so they can fix and can do some different things schematically based off of.
--Other guys behind Jake Bentley will have plenty of time to rep this spring and all three (Hilinski, Urich, Joyner) have had really good offseason programs and now it's about doing it against other ends.
--Starting in practice one on the offensive line: Sadarius Hutcherson at left tackle, Donell Stanley at LG, Chandler Farrell/Hank Manos at center, Jordan Rhodes/Eric Douglas at right guard then Dylan Wonnum at right tackle. Eric Wolford will move guys in and out of the line at different spots this spring. Mentioned Hutcherson practiced a lot outside.
--Team has added two long snappers and Muschamp "hasn't talked to Josh" Belk. Also waiting for Eldridge Thompson's sixth year of eligibility but feel really good about.
--Mentioned all three backup quarterbacks will get a fair share of their snaps with the first team over the course spring. He'd hope to have a No. 2 quarterback by the end of spring but isn't going to put a time table of it.
--Jaycee Horn and Dylan Wonnum are "two of the most coachable guys" on the team. Said both guys really understand where they have to improve heading into their sophomore year after two really good freshmen seasons.
--John Scott Jr. and Mike Peterson will split what they're teaching. Muschamp said Scott will have primarily four-down responsibility and the team has a progression they go through. They teach four-down, three-down then co-mingle that after 10 practices.
--Linebackers have "a lot of areas for improvement." Ernest Jones had a good end of his season and strong offseason program. Damani Staley took some strides and the staff is pretty high on Derek Boykins as well.
--Muschamp wants to see the game continue to slow down for Bentley and said the biggest thing for him is to take care of the ball better. Said all of the interceptions aren't his fault, but that's too many turnovers from the quarterback position.
--OrTre Smith won't be cleared until after spring break and could be cleared for some non-contact stuff coming back from break.
--Muschamp feels the offense opened things up last season. Said he expects more RPOs, up-tempo, anything he can use to move the ball offensively.
--Israel Mukuamu and Jaycee Horn played at a "really high level" as freshmen. AJ Turner played corner and showed promise with his toughness and instincts. Jaylin Dickerson's done good things at the safety spot but the coaches need to keep them healthy. RJ Roderick came in and "did some really nice things" despite being put in some really difficult situations for a guy that had never played the position. Had to communicate in a way he had never had to before.
--Aaron Sterling is fine and has been cleared for everything. Coming off a serious knee injury he suffered against Ole Miss.
--Muschamp admits Evan Hinson's decision is hard for the basketball team since the team now has eight players. But Muschamp supports his decision and said he really appreciates how understanding Frank Martin's been through the entire process.
Stick around for live updates. They will be in this post, so feel free to refresh.
--Team will start practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week with the first two in just helmets and Friday in pads. Team tweaked the practice schedule so the coaching staff can be at the funeral for Bryan McClendon's mother Saturday.
--Focusing on spring, Muschamp said the focus is on turnover margin saying the Gamecocks missed a lot of opportunities to get the ball off people and didn't protect the ball better than they did. Team was minus-6 in SEC games last year and won the turnover margin in six of the team's seven wins.
--Five critical things Muschamp says wins games: turnover margin, explosive plays, field position (especially on explosives and special positions), red zone efficiency, winning the fourth quarter. If the team wins three of those five, they usually win.
--Biggest focus on offensively: run the ball better against good teams. Said team considers screens behind the line of scrimmage so they need to be better. Defensively? Stop the run. Team was allowing six YPC against perimeter screens. Need to get better at that.
--Special teams: game breakers. Need to find a good player to replace Deebo Samuel. Bryan Edwards returned punts well but also need to get more blocks.
Personnel: MJ Webb will switch to offensive guard through the first five days. AJ Turner will play cornerback the first five days and switch back to running back on practice No. 6. Numbers-wise, Gamecocks are thin in the secondary. Said he wants to have guys ready to play in case injuries happen. Running back will be his prmiary position
Injuries: Out: TJ Brunson, Danny Fennell, Tyreek Johnson, Caleb Kinlaw, Javon Kinlaw, Caleb Jenerette, Tyreek Johnson and Caleb Kinlaw could be back at some point. May Iyama going through medical condition and team is figuring out. Rico Dowdle, Jovaughn Gwyn, J.T. Ibe, OrTre Smith, Jamyest Williams, Eldridge Thompson will partake in spring in some capacity but could be limited at first.
--Team needs to improve at all 11 positions in running the ball and said they need to be better defensively too. Had a few missed tackles at the second and third levels.
--Kick return candidates: Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith, Jam Williams, AJ Turner, Josh Vann.
--Enagbare will play at end right now in the spring but could bounce around to tackle some during pass rush situations.
--Team goes into in-depth cut ups of things during games, practices, etc. so they can fix and can do some different things schematically based off of.
--Other guys behind Jake Bentley will have plenty of time to rep this spring and all three (Hilinski, Urich, Joyner) have had really good offseason programs and now it's about doing it against other ends.
--Starting in practice one on the offensive line: Sadarius Hutcherson at left tackle, Donell Stanley at LG, Chandler Farrell/Hank Manos at center, Jordan Rhodes/Eric Douglas at right guard then Dylan Wonnum at right tackle. Eric Wolford will move guys in and out of the line at different spots this spring. Mentioned Hutcherson practiced a lot outside.
--Team has added two long snappers and Muschamp "hasn't talked to Josh" Belk. Also waiting for Eldridge Thompson's sixth year of eligibility but feel really good about.
--Mentioned all three backup quarterbacks will get a fair share of their snaps with the first team over the course spring. He'd hope to have a No. 2 quarterback by the end of spring but isn't going to put a time table of it.
--Jaycee Horn and Dylan Wonnum are "two of the most coachable guys" on the team. Said both guys really understand where they have to improve heading into their sophomore year after two really good freshmen seasons.
--John Scott Jr. and Mike Peterson will split what they're teaching. Muschamp said Scott will have primarily four-down responsibility and the team has a progression they go through. They teach four-down, three-down then co-mingle that after 10 practices.
--Linebackers have "a lot of areas for improvement." Ernest Jones had a good end of his season and strong offseason program. Damani Staley took some strides and the staff is pretty high on Derek Boykins as well.
--Muschamp wants to see the game continue to slow down for Bentley and said the biggest thing for him is to take care of the ball better. Said all of the interceptions aren't his fault, but that's too many turnovers from the quarterback position.
--OrTre Smith won't be cleared until after spring break and could be cleared for some non-contact stuff coming back from break.
--Muschamp feels the offense opened things up last season. Said he expects more RPOs, up-tempo, anything he can use to move the ball offensively.
--Israel Mukuamu and Jaycee Horn played at a "really high level" as freshmen. AJ Turner played corner and showed promise with his toughness and instincts. Jaylin Dickerson's done good things at the safety spot but the coaches need to keep them healthy. RJ Roderick came in and "did some really nice things" despite being put in some really difficult situations for a guy that had never played the position. Had to communicate in a way he had never had to before.
--Aaron Sterling is fine and has been cleared for everything. Coming off a serious knee injury he suffered against Ole Miss.
--Muschamp admits Evan Hinson's decision is hard for the basketball team since the team now has eight players. But Muschamp supports his decision and said he really appreciates how understanding Frank Martin's been through the entire process.
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