B
Brian Shoemaker
Guest
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DID YOU KNOW? You can receive this report (Gamecock Nation Today) early each morning in your email inbox. Just go to this link to enter your email address. Please contact me if you need assistance. – Brian Shoemaker, shoe@gamecockcentral.com
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Gamecock Nation Today
Helping You Be The Ultimate Gamecock Fan
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019
Pictured: Frank Martin. Credit: Chris Gillespie
Good morning.
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Pictured: Dakereon Joyner. Credit: Chris Gillespie
1. Five returners who should step up this spring
It’s hard to believe it’s here already, but South Carolina’s spring football practice kicks off in just a week. Many key players return on offense under second-year coordinator Bryan McClendon, but USC will also be breaking in some new faces and have others stepping into more significant roles than in the past. In this space, we take a closer look at five returning players the GamecockCentral.com staff will keep an eye on throughout spring football who should take a step forward.
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Pictured: Rodricus Fitten. Credit: Rivals.com
2. South Carolina's defensive line class ranked among nation's best
Readers of Gamecock Central have surely noticed that we've raved about South Carolina's incoming class of talented defensive linemen for some time now. It's a position that Will Muschamp and staff have had to rebuild in their time in Columbia and it now appears to potentially be a strength of the team, both in terms of returning players and in the newbies.
Rivals.com has taken notice as well and recently ranked Carolina's haul as the fifth-best defensive line class in the country.
The class: Five-star Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna defensive end Zacch Pickens, four-star Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland defensive end Joseph Anderson, four-star Winter Park (Fla.) defensive tackle Jaquaze Sorrells, three-star Georgia Military College (JUCO) defensive end Devontae Davis, and three-star Atlanta (Ga.) Washington three-star BUCK Rodricus Fitten.
The others: Rivals ranks the other top defensive line classes in this order: Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Oregon
Worth noting: South Carolina has one defensive line verbal commitment who has not signed in Highland CC (JUCO) four-star defensive tackle Jahkeem Green, who has not yet qualified. Should Green qualify, then he'll also enroll for the 2019 season and count in this group. He's currently not counted in the numbers below.
DL class by the numbers:
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Pictured: Chris Silva. Credit: Chris Gillespie
3. From Tuesday
Men's Basketball. Gamecocks pull away from Rebels. South Carolina had squandered an 11-point lead and Ole Miss had clawed back to tie the game at 61 with 6:15 to play. On the verge of letting a crucial conference game slip away, South Carolina got back to what it does best, playing defense and getting running the offense through its seniors. (link)
Kermit Davis: Gamecocks 'look like an NCAA Tournament team.' Kermit Davis has spent two of the last three years coaching an NCAA Tournament team and his Ole Miss team now looks destined for postseason play, so he knows what a tournament team looks like. At this point in the year, he says South Carolina fits the mold. (link)
Baseball. Gamecocks storm back to beat Winthrop. Early on, it didn't look like South Carolina's day. Battling frigid temperatures, the Gamecocks fell behind by six runs early on, but heated up late. The Gamecocks scored eight unanswered runs to take the lead over Winthrop Tuesday night and, thanks to some good back-of-the-bullpen pitching, held on for an 8-6 win. (link)
Ulric Jones. The Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football signed former South Carolina defensive lineman Ulric Jones.
Football. Gamecocks announce spring schedule, pro day. The Gamecocks may be just two months removed from the season, but they're getting ready to start back up soon. South Carolina released it's spring football schedule for this season, which starts in less than a week. (link)
Football Recruiting. Jordan Burch tabbed as five-star. Columbia (S.C.) Hammond School defensive lineman Jordan Burch has now reached five-star status. The 6-foot-6, 255-pounder debuted in the 2020 Rivals100 as the nation's 13th-best prospect regardless of position. (link)
More on Jordan Burch's recruitment. Burch has been the subject of an intense recruiting battle between Clemson and South Carolina within the state. (subscription)
The Insider Report: Tuesday recruiting notes. An update on several football targets that South Carolina is recruiting, including offensive line commitment Issiah Walker, who took a visit over the weekend to Miami. (subscription)
Basketball Recruiting. More on Clifford Omoruyi's visit. On Monday, Frank Martin and the Gamecocks hosted four-star center Cliff Omoruyi on an unofficial visit. Here is some information we were able to gather about the visit and Omoruyi as a player. (subscription)
Five Takeaways: Opening Weekend. It's still hard to make sweeping conclusions after one weekend of baseball, the ultimate sample size sport, but there are things to take away after a season-opening series win. (link)
Women's Golf. Finishes tied for fourth. The No. 16 women's golf team finished in a tie for fourth at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship at English Turn Golf and Country Club to open the spring season. Junior Lois Kaye Go shot a final-round 70 (-2) to finish tied for third place.
Randrianasolo named SEC Field Athlete of the Week. Senior Yann Randrianasolo was named SEC Track & Field Men's Athlete of the Week. It's the first-career conference honor for the Toulouse, France, native. Randrianasolo won the long jump last Saturday at the USC Indoor Open, posting a mark of 7.94m (26-0 ) to claim the victory. It was the fourth-best indoor effort in Carolina history.
Men's Golf. Final round canceled. Due to heavy rain throughout the day in the Houston area, the final round of the 2019 All-American Intercollegiate was has been canceled. The Gamecocks finished tied for fourth with a final 36-hole tally of 582 (+6). Senior Will Miles, senior Ryan Stachler and junior Jamie Wilson all finished in top 15.
Swimming & Diving. Records Fall on Day One. South Carolina saw three program records fall on Tuesday, the first of five days at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Gamecocks set a pair of relay records in addition to an individual school record from Caleb Tosh to open the meet.
Swimming & Diving. Wade and Smith earn honors. Seniors Allison Wade and Jackson Smith were each named to the 2019 SEC Community Service Team. They were recognized for their exemplary volunteer work in the Columbia area as the two combined for over 150 total hours of service in the community.
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Pictured: Jacob Olson. Credit: Katie Dugan
4. Plan your schedule accordingly
Wednesday, Feb. 20
5. Signee of the Day - Jaquaze Sorrells
With South Carolina's 2019 recruiting class completely signed and locked up, Gamecock Central is spotlighting one prospect each business day for 23 days.
Today's signee of the day is Winter Park (Fla.) four-star DT Jaquaze Sorrells who committed to South Carolina on the traditional National Signing Day over finalists Penn State and Alabama.
Other offers: Alabama, Penn State, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Oregon, among others.
Coach's corner: "Explosive, can run. One of his greatest attributes, I would say are his feet, his ability to run and then his explosiveness coming off the ball. He's one of those guys that you see in the SEC every year whether it's at South Carolina, Alabama, Ole Miss - interior guys who just can create havoc and can change the game ala Donald from the Rams - he's one of those explosive, leveraged, strong kids and he's only going to get better." - Winter Park (Fla.) High head coach Tim Shifflet
– Wes Mitchell, wes@gamecockcentral.com
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6. This Date in Gamecock History
February 20, 1971. The last ever regular-season ACC game versus North Carolina would be a wild one. UNC coach Dean Smith was kicked out of the game after receiving two technicals, one of which came when he intervened after USC's John Ribock kicked UNC's George Karl in the stomach. Ribock would later receive his own technical after throwing an elbow into the head of the Tar Heels' Kim Hubbard. The game saw a record number of personal fouls (57) and free-throw attempts (66) for a Carolina Coliseum game. The USC 72-66 win, led by 32 points from John Roche, snapped a six-game winning streak by UNC. Tom Owens added 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. USC shot 53 percent in the win.
– John Parker, gamecockarchives.com
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7. Key Dates (Countdown)
Feb. 27: Spring football practice begins (7 days)
March 6: SEC WBB Tourney begins (14)
March 13: SEC MBB Tourney begins (21)
March 22: Muschamp Coaches Clinic (30)
April 6: Spring football game (45)
April 25: NFL Draft begins (64)
July 15: SEC Media Days begins (145)
Aug. 31: Football: Gamecocks vs UNC (192) ***
*** I previously had the game listed as Sept. 1. That, of course, was wrong. The good news is we're one day closer to Gamecock football.
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Pictured: Clarke Schmidt. Credit: Chris Gillespie
8. Gamecock Nation Birthdays
Gamecock Central members (from Tuesday):
Clarke Schmidt (pitcher, 2015-17). The younger brother of Clemson pitcher Clate Schmidt, Clarke made 10 starts as a freshman, finishing with a 2-2 record and 4.81 ERA. His highlight that year (2015) was a 6 2/3-inning start against Kentucky, when he struck out seven and gave up just two runs while picking up the win. Schmidt improved to 9-5 with a 3.40 ERA as a sophomore and was second-team All-SEC and third-team All-America. He had eight shutout innings in a win over Clemson and struck out 10 in a complete game win over Georgia. Schmidt got off to a dominant start in 2017, picking up four wins with a 1.34 ERA before an injury ended his season. He was drafted in the first round by the Yankees and had a 3.09 ERA in their organization last season.
Mark Bridges (cornerback, 1977-80)
Kurt Frederick (QB/WR, 1990-94)
T.J. Gurley (safety, 2012-15)
Sean Hardwick (pitcher, 1990-92)
Jessica Josker (softball, 2005-08)
Dru Mims (offensive tackle, 1983-85)
Jake Stone (safety, 1970-71)
– John Parker, gamecockarchives.com
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9. Around Gamecock Nation
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We have breaking news alerts and more newsletters: customize preferences
Spread the word about the Gamecocks and this newsletter! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to a friend or two. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up here to start receiving your own copy.
DID YOU KNOW? You can receive this report (Gamecock Nation Today) early each morning in your email inbox. Just go to this link to enter your email address. Please contact me if you need assistance. – Brian Shoemaker, shoe@gamecockcentral.com
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Gamecock Nation Today
Helping You Be The Ultimate Gamecock Fan
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019
Pictured: Frank Martin. Credit: Chris Gillespie
Good morning.
- What a great night for the baseball and men's basketball teams. Baseball rallied from a 6-0 deficit to win 8-6. Men's Basketball trailed by 11 points and won by 15 to take sole possession of fourth place in the SEC.
- Congrats to Gamecock Central member bloody spur for winning the USC-Ole Miss prediction contest that was mentioned in Tuesday's newsletter. You can't win if you don't enter (and it was free and painless to enter).
- Please tell your crazy uncle about this newsletter (sign up here).
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Pictured: Dakereon Joyner. Credit: Chris Gillespie
1. Five returners who should step up this spring
It’s hard to believe it’s here already, but South Carolina’s spring football practice kicks off in just a week. Many key players return on offense under second-year coordinator Bryan McClendon, but USC will also be breaking in some new faces and have others stepping into more significant roles than in the past. In this space, we take a closer look at five returning players the GamecockCentral.com staff will keep an eye on throughout spring football who should take a step forward.
- RB Deshaun Fenwick – South Carolina returns three seniors (if A.J. Turner sticks at the position) at running back, but the race is widely seen as wide open under new running backs coach Thomas Brown. Could Fenwick have a say? He played in two games during the 2018 season, rushing for 112 yards in his first collegiate action against Chattanooga.
The more experienced backs figure to have a leg up in the competition, but Fenwick will have every opportunity to make an impression during the practice sessions. To an extent, he’s still learning but does bring some natural ability to the backfield.
- WR Josh Vann – No more Deebo Samuel on the Gamecocks’ roster, and it’s nearly impossible to ask anyone to replace what he could do on the field. USC does return its other top two options in Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith, but the staff will be looking to those already on the roster or some newcomers in 2019 to step forward as a reliable option.
The talented Vann could be the best candidate. He saw the field as a true freshman, even after not enrolling until the summer and missing a significant portion of the offseason program with an injury. Vann was a bit up and down in his freshman campaign, but was a highly regarded prospect for a reason. Here’s believing he shows off some of his talent during spring ball.
- OL Jovaughn Gwyn – In the season opener against Coastal Carolina, Gwyn got some run late in the game as an offensive guard. He ended up shelved for the remainder of the season with a foot injury. Gwyn made an impression immediately upon arriving on campus last year for his natural strength, and he’s a guy that can get movement in the running game.
The Gamecocks will be replacing Dennis Daley at left tackle and Zack Bailey at guard, meaning there will be some shifting on the offensive line. That will create an opening at a guard spot – at least one – and Gwyn’s expected to get a heavy look. Expect him to get plenty of reps during the spring.
- TE Evan Hinson – Another position at which USC is going to be dealing with some attrition is at tight end, where K.C. Crosby and Jacob August exhausted their eligibilities after last season. Kiel Pollard and Kyle Markway figure to have the advantage in terms of starting roles; both played a good bit last season and Pollard in particular logged many snaps.
Hinson, though, has always been a player with an intriguing level of physical talent. Now that he’s fully focused on football and has hung up the basketball shoes, he could be poised to make a move given the opportunity available.
- QB Dakereon Joyner – The backup quarterback is almost always a hot topic of conversation at any program, and this season may be no different in Columbia. That battle figures to be wide open between Joyner, Jay Urich, and freshman Ryan Hilinski. The latter is not a returner, but will have plenty of eyes on him due to sheer intrigue.
Urich’s progress is certainly worth monitoring, but Joyner will have a better opportunity to show how much he’s grown with Michael Scarnecchia no longer on the roster as the number two. It’s hard to tell right now without a spring snap having been taken how the battle will ultimately play out, but odds are that Joyner can make some type of move behind Jake Bentley.
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Pictured: Rodricus Fitten. Credit: Rivals.com
2. South Carolina's defensive line class ranked among nation's best
Readers of Gamecock Central have surely noticed that we've raved about South Carolina's incoming class of talented defensive linemen for some time now. It's a position that Will Muschamp and staff have had to rebuild in their time in Columbia and it now appears to potentially be a strength of the team, both in terms of returning players and in the newbies.
Rivals.com has taken notice as well and recently ranked Carolina's haul as the fifth-best defensive line class in the country.
The class: Five-star Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna defensive end Zacch Pickens, four-star Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland defensive end Joseph Anderson, four-star Winter Park (Fla.) defensive tackle Jaquaze Sorrells, three-star Georgia Military College (JUCO) defensive end Devontae Davis, and three-star Atlanta (Ga.) Washington three-star BUCK Rodricus Fitten.
The others: Rivals ranks the other top defensive line classes in this order: Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Oregon
Worth noting: South Carolina has one defensive line verbal commitment who has not signed in Highland CC (JUCO) four-star defensive tackle Jahkeem Green, who has not yet qualified. Should Green qualify, then he'll also enroll for the 2019 season and count in this group. He's currently not counted in the numbers below.
DL class by the numbers:
- Total signees: Five
- Average star ranking: 3.8 stars
- Signees in the Rivals Top 250 players in the country: Three (Pickens, Anderson, Sorrells)
- Signees already on campus: Four (Pickens, Anderson, Davis, Fitten)
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Pictured: Chris Silva. Credit: Chris Gillespie
3. From Tuesday
Men's Basketball. Gamecocks pull away from Rebels. South Carolina had squandered an 11-point lead and Ole Miss had clawed back to tie the game at 61 with 6:15 to play. On the verge of letting a crucial conference game slip away, South Carolina got back to what it does best, playing defense and getting running the offense through its seniors. (link)
Kermit Davis: Gamecocks 'look like an NCAA Tournament team.' Kermit Davis has spent two of the last three years coaching an NCAA Tournament team and his Ole Miss team now looks destined for postseason play, so he knows what a tournament team looks like. At this point in the year, he says South Carolina fits the mold. (link)
Baseball. Gamecocks storm back to beat Winthrop. Early on, it didn't look like South Carolina's day. Battling frigid temperatures, the Gamecocks fell behind by six runs early on, but heated up late. The Gamecocks scored eight unanswered runs to take the lead over Winthrop Tuesday night and, thanks to some good back-of-the-bullpen pitching, held on for an 8-6 win. (link)
Ulric Jones. The Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football signed former South Carolina defensive lineman Ulric Jones.
Football. Gamecocks announce spring schedule, pro day. The Gamecocks may be just two months removed from the season, but they're getting ready to start back up soon. South Carolina released it's spring football schedule for this season, which starts in less than a week. (link)
Football Recruiting. Jordan Burch tabbed as five-star. Columbia (S.C.) Hammond School defensive lineman Jordan Burch has now reached five-star status. The 6-foot-6, 255-pounder debuted in the 2020 Rivals100 as the nation's 13th-best prospect regardless of position. (link)
More on Jordan Burch's recruitment. Burch has been the subject of an intense recruiting battle between Clemson and South Carolina within the state. (subscription)
The Insider Report: Tuesday recruiting notes. An update on several football targets that South Carolina is recruiting, including offensive line commitment Issiah Walker, who took a visit over the weekend to Miami. (subscription)
Basketball Recruiting. More on Clifford Omoruyi's visit. On Monday, Frank Martin and the Gamecocks hosted four-star center Cliff Omoruyi on an unofficial visit. Here is some information we were able to gather about the visit and Omoruyi as a player. (subscription)
Five Takeaways: Opening Weekend. It's still hard to make sweeping conclusions after one weekend of baseball, the ultimate sample size sport, but there are things to take away after a season-opening series win. (link)
Women's Golf. Finishes tied for fourth. The No. 16 women's golf team finished in a tie for fourth at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship at English Turn Golf and Country Club to open the spring season. Junior Lois Kaye Go shot a final-round 70 (-2) to finish tied for third place.
Randrianasolo named SEC Field Athlete of the Week. Senior Yann Randrianasolo was named SEC Track & Field Men's Athlete of the Week. It's the first-career conference honor for the Toulouse, France, native. Randrianasolo won the long jump last Saturday at the USC Indoor Open, posting a mark of 7.94m (26-0 ) to claim the victory. It was the fourth-best indoor effort in Carolina history.
Men's Golf. Final round canceled. Due to heavy rain throughout the day in the Houston area, the final round of the 2019 All-American Intercollegiate was has been canceled. The Gamecocks finished tied for fourth with a final 36-hole tally of 582 (+6). Senior Will Miles, senior Ryan Stachler and junior Jamie Wilson all finished in top 15.
Swimming & Diving. Records Fall on Day One. South Carolina saw three program records fall on Tuesday, the first of five days at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Gamecocks set a pair of relay records in addition to an individual school record from Caleb Tosh to open the meet.
Swimming & Diving. Wade and Smith earn honors. Seniors Allison Wade and Jackson Smith were each named to the 2019 SEC Community Service Team. They were recognized for their exemplary volunteer work in the Columbia area as the two combined for over 150 total hours of service in the community.
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Pictured: Jacob Olson. Credit: Katie Dugan
4. Plan your schedule accordingly
Wednesday, Feb. 20
- 10 am, Swimming & Diving, SEC Champ. Day 2, prelims
- 4 pm, Baseball, hosts Presbyterian, SECN+
- 6 pm, Swimming & Diving, SEC Champ. Day 2, finals
- 6 pm, Softball, hosts Charleston Southern
- 10 am, Swimming & Diving, SEC Champ. Day 3, prelims
- 6 pm, Swimming & Diving, SEC Champ. Day 3, finals
- 7 pm, Carolina Calls featuring Frank Martin
- 7 pm, Women's Basketball, hosts Kentucky, SECN
- All day, Track & Field, SEC Indoor Championships
- 10 am, Swimming & Diving, SEC Champ. Day 4, prelims
- 4 pm, Baseball, hosts Utah Valley, SECN+
- 6 pm, Swimming & Diving, SEC Champ. Day 4, finals
5. Signee of the Day - Jaquaze Sorrells
With South Carolina's 2019 recruiting class completely signed and locked up, Gamecock Central is spotlighting one prospect each business day for 23 days.
Today's signee of the day is Winter Park (Fla.) four-star DT Jaquaze Sorrells who committed to South Carolina on the traditional National Signing Day over finalists Penn State and Alabama.
Other offers: Alabama, Penn State, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Oregon, among others.
Coach's corner: "Explosive, can run. One of his greatest attributes, I would say are his feet, his ability to run and then his explosiveness coming off the ball. He's one of those guys that you see in the SEC every year whether it's at South Carolina, Alabama, Ole Miss - interior guys who just can create havoc and can change the game ala Donald from the Rams - he's one of those explosive, leveraged, strong kids and he's only going to get better." - Winter Park (Fla.) High head coach Tim Shifflet
– Wes Mitchell, wes@gamecockcentral.com
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6. This Date in Gamecock History
February 20, 1971. The last ever regular-season ACC game versus North Carolina would be a wild one. UNC coach Dean Smith was kicked out of the game after receiving two technicals, one of which came when he intervened after USC's John Ribock kicked UNC's George Karl in the stomach. Ribock would later receive his own technical after throwing an elbow into the head of the Tar Heels' Kim Hubbard. The game saw a record number of personal fouls (57) and free-throw attempts (66) for a Carolina Coliseum game. The USC 72-66 win, led by 32 points from John Roche, snapped a six-game winning streak by UNC. Tom Owens added 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. USC shot 53 percent in the win.
– John Parker, gamecockarchives.com
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7. Key Dates (Countdown)
Feb. 27: Spring football practice begins (7 days)
March 6: SEC WBB Tourney begins (14)
March 13: SEC MBB Tourney begins (21)
March 22: Muschamp Coaches Clinic (30)
April 6: Spring football game (45)
April 25: NFL Draft begins (64)
July 15: SEC Media Days begins (145)
Aug. 31: Football: Gamecocks vs UNC (192) ***
*** I previously had the game listed as Sept. 1. That, of course, was wrong. The good news is we're one day closer to Gamecock football.
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Pictured: Clarke Schmidt. Credit: Chris Gillespie
8. Gamecock Nation Birthdays
Gamecock Central members (from Tuesday):
- @Hoover Rooster (Member since 2000)
- @PawleyCock (2007)
- @Spur_Em_All (2016)
Clarke Schmidt (pitcher, 2015-17). The younger brother of Clemson pitcher Clate Schmidt, Clarke made 10 starts as a freshman, finishing with a 2-2 record and 4.81 ERA. His highlight that year (2015) was a 6 2/3-inning start against Kentucky, when he struck out seven and gave up just two runs while picking up the win. Schmidt improved to 9-5 with a 3.40 ERA as a sophomore and was second-team All-SEC and third-team All-America. He had eight shutout innings in a win over Clemson and struck out 10 in a complete game win over Georgia. Schmidt got off to a dominant start in 2017, picking up four wins with a 1.34 ERA before an injury ended his season. He was drafted in the first round by the Yankees and had a 3.09 ERA in their organization last season.
Mark Bridges (cornerback, 1977-80)
Kurt Frederick (QB/WR, 1990-94)
T.J. Gurley (safety, 2012-15)
Sean Hardwick (pitcher, 1990-92)
Jessica Josker (softball, 2005-08)
Dru Mims (offensive tackle, 1983-85)
Jake Stone (safety, 1970-71)
– John Parker, gamecockarchives.com
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9. Around Gamecock Nation
- Feb. 23 - Gamecocks at Mardi Gras Party, New Orleans (link)
- Feb. 24 - Charleston Gamecock Club Oyster Roast (link)
- Feb. 25 - Atlanta, Alumni Association President's Reception (link)
- March 9 - Charlotte Gamecock Club, Gamecock Yoga & Mimosas (link)
- March 27 - Greenville, Alumni Association President's Reception
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We have breaking news alerts and more newsletters: customize preferences
Spread the word about the Gamecocks and this newsletter! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to a friend or two. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up here to start receiving your own copy.
