B
Brian Shoemaker
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Gamecock Nation Today
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Good morning from Gamecock Central.
The baseball team beat Charleston Southern, 10-3. The Spurs Up Tour made a stop in Augusta (report below) and tonight's stop is in Columbia. The men's golf team opens play in the SEC Championship. The NCAA Women's Golf Selection Show will be aired on the Golf Channel at 5:30.
1. Spring review: LB rundown
South Carolina put a bow on spring football earlier this month with the Garnet & Black Game inside Williams-Brice Stadium. In this series, Gamecock Central takes a look at where things stand at each position now that spring ball is over. Today focuses on the linebackers.
• South Carolina's linebacking corps will no doubt be led by senior T.J. Brunson, who missed the spring while rehabbing a couple of different injuries, but will be back at 100 percent for fall camp. Brunson was the defense's leading tackler last season and has started every game for the last two seasons. Brunson has collected 206 career tackles including 15.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks.
• Now a junior, the staff will look for WILL linebacker Sherrod Greene to take a big step forward in 2019. Greene was highly coveted by the staff as a recruit, quickly becoming one of their top targets at the position out of high school, and has shown flashes, but will look to become more consistent this season.
• The absence of Brunson this spring allowed for sophomore Ernest Jones to get reps with the first team at middle linebacker, a position he admits requires a lot of him but that he's feeling more comfortable with now. Jones should be in line for a big step forward in his sophomore campaign and should help provide depth at a position that lacked it last season.
• Senior linebacker Eldridge Thompson has yet to officially be cleared by the NCAA for his sixth season of eligibility, but the coaching staff remains confident that he has a good case to get one. Thompson was limited to non-contact drills this spring, but should also be able to provide depth at both the WILL and SAM linebacker spots.
• Also returning from injury is senior Danny Fennell, who missed the spring after tearing his ACL late last season. Fennell has been one of the Gamecocks' most consistent under-the-radar players during his three seasons of contributions and should have the edge to start at the SAM position, which is on the field whenever Carolina is in its base 4-3 set.
• Look out for two true freshmen that the staff is high on in Derek Boykins and Jahmar Brown. Boykins, a heavy hitter who enrolled early and went through spring practice, is working at middle linebacker where he's already made his physicality known. Brown, who will enroll for the summer, is slated to play the WILL spot where he brings excellent coverage ability for a linebacker.
• Junior Damani Staley and redshirt freshman Rosendo Louis, who also missed the spring with a shoulder injury, should also provide depth at the position. Staley saw his playing time increase as last season progressed.
• If there's one word that linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler harped on for his group this spring it's "consistency." Hutzler didn't mince words when he met with the media this spring and talked about challenging his group.
"We've just got to be more consistent as a group, that's the bottom line," he said. "We were very inconsistent [last season], as a group, as linebackers, and we've got to do that. Sherrod and T.J., they made a handful of plays and did a lot of good things for us, but at the end of the day, we were not consistent enough in playing both the run and the pass. We've got to do that.
"That's been my challenge to them and our challenge to the group. We talk about that every day."
• Related: Gamecock Football Scholarship Chart
– Wes Mitchell
2. ⚾ Baseball: Gamecocks take down Charleston Southern
South Carolina's offense came alive in Tuesday's midweek game against Charleston Southern, cruising to an easy 10-3 victory.
The Gamecocks (24-17, 5-13 SEC) are now 19-4 in non-conference games and 9-2 in midweek games. They haven't lost one since March 26 against NC A&T, a stretch of four midweek games.
Seven of the team's nine position players picked up at least one hit with four—Noah Campbell, Luke Berryhill, Andrew Eyster and Brady Allen—each having multi-hit days.
Player of the game: After scuffling some last week, Noah Campbell went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. He also hit his first home run since March 29.
Key moment: After Lloyd left the game, Dylan Harley walked the bases loaded with two outs and Sawyer Bridges came in to clean up the mess. He did, getting a fly out to center to end the threat.
Up next: South Carolina hits the road for another road SEC series, the third in April. They’ll travel to Missouri to for a three-game series with the Tigers starting Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Also see: Game story, photo gallery and postgame video
Baseball Links: News | SEC Standings | Schedule | Statistics | Polls
– Collyn Taylor
3. This, that, and the other
Football: Muschamp updates Cam Smith's status, injuries post-spring - Will Muschamp updated the status of 2019 signee Cam Smith. The local product was expected to enroll at USC by the start of spring practice. (link)
Football: Gamecocks fill-in at local school for student-led conferences - South Carolina student-athletes from football, women's tennis and men's golf sat in for parents who were unable to attend their child's student-led conference at Meadowfield Elementary School in Columbia earlier this month. (link)
Football Recruiting: The Insider Report - The latest developments from the recruiting trail, including more on RB Tank Bigsby and other visit scoop. (subscription)
Football Recruiting: Electric back talks recent visit, planning future trip - Dalton, Ga., running back Jahmyr Gibbs was in Columbia last month for a USC practice and is planning a future official visit to the school, where he says the coaches have made him a big priority (subscription)
Baseball: What USC is getting in newest infielder commit - Gamecocks are getting a quality bat and defender in Shane Shifflett. (subscription)
Women's Golf: NCAA selection show is today - The NCAA Division I Women's Golf Selection Show is set for 5:30 p.m. The event, which will air on Golf Channel and stream live at GolfChannel.com, will reveal the 72 teams and 24 individuals selected to compete at one of four regional championship sites from May 6-8. (link)
Men's Golf: Gamecocks open play at SEC Championship - No. 13 South Carolina tees off at 7:30 a.m. with No. 16 Georgia and No. 22 Alabama in round one of the 2019 SEC Championship. For the third consecutive season, teams will play 54 holes of stroke play followed by eight-team match play to determine a conference champion. (link)
Softball: Heath earns SEC honor - For her efforts last week, Karly Heath was named SEC Freshman of the Week. (link)
Men's Tennis: Gamecocks up in team rankings - The men's tennis team climbed to a season-high ranking of No. 17 in this week's Oracle ITA Team Rankings following the Gamecocks' run to the SEC Tournament semifinals last week. (link)
Women's Tennis: Cline earns highest ranking - Senior Paige Cline earned the highest ranking of her career of No. 16 in the ITA's singles poll. (link)
– Jackson Fields
4. This Date in Gamecock History
April 24, 1993 – South Carolina swept Vanderbilt in a doubleheader behind the starting pitching of Matt Threehouse and Rich Pratt.
5. Birthdays and Celebrations!
Rickey Hagood – As a freshman in 1980, he worked as a backup middle guard, notching four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He took over as a starter in 1981 when Emanuel Weaver was injured and tied for third on the team in sacks. His brother Kent joined the team that season as well as a freshman running back. Hagood was third on the team in tackles in 1982 and among his standout games was a performance against N.C. State when he had seven tackles, one for a loss, and blocked an extra point. In 1983, he led the team in tackles for loss and was third in total tackles. Hagood played professionally with the Seattle Seahawks (1984) and Los Angeles Raiders (1985). His son Rickey played defensive tackle at Youngstown State.
• Dave Cope (football/defensive tackle, 1997-98)
• Drew Martin (baseball/first base, 2006-07)
• Wes Pringle (football/offensive guard, 1986-89)
• Matt Riddle (baseball/outfield, 2000-03)
• Simone Wark (women's soccer/forward, 2015-18)
• John Wunder (football/quarterback, 1988-91)
Gamecock Central birthdays
• @Golden Cock (member since 1998)
• @stillcocky (member since 2005)
If you have a Gamecock Central account, you can add your birthday here.
– John Parker, gamecockarchives.com
6. ⌚ Key Events (Countdown)
• April 25 – NFL Draft begins (1 day)
• May 8 – SEC Softball Tourney (14)
• May 21 – SEC Baseball Tourney (27)
• July 15 – SEC Media Days begins (82)
• July 20 – Ladies Football Clinic (87)
• Aug. 31 – Football: Gamecocks vs UNC (129)
More happenings
• April 24 – Midlands, Spurs Up Tour
• April 29 – Lancaster, Spurs Up Tour
• April 30 – Greenville, Spurs Up Tour
• May 2 – York, Spurs Up Tour
• May 4 – Baseball: Earl Bass jersey retirement
• May 7 – Sumter, Spurs Up Tour
• May 8 – Myrtle Beach, Spurs Up Tour
• May 8 – Marion Gamecock Club meeting
• May 9 – Atlanta, Spurs Up Tour
• May 14 – Charleston, Spurs Up Tour
• May 18 – SC Legends Baseball Camp
Will Muschamp is scheduled to appear at all of the Spurs Up Tour events. More information, including locations and ticket prices, can be found here.
DID YOU KNOW? You can receive this report (Gamecock Nation Today) early each morning in your email inbox. Sign up here.
------------------------
Gamecock Nation Today
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Good morning from Gamecock Central.
The baseball team beat Charleston Southern, 10-3. The Spurs Up Tour made a stop in Augusta (report below) and tonight's stop is in Columbia. The men's golf team opens play in the SEC Championship. The NCAA Women's Golf Selection Show will be aired on the Golf Channel at 5:30.
1. Spring review: LB rundown
South Carolina put a bow on spring football earlier this month with the Garnet & Black Game inside Williams-Brice Stadium. In this series, Gamecock Central takes a look at where things stand at each position now that spring ball is over. Today focuses on the linebackers.
• South Carolina's linebacking corps will no doubt be led by senior T.J. Brunson, who missed the spring while rehabbing a couple of different injuries, but will be back at 100 percent for fall camp. Brunson was the defense's leading tackler last season and has started every game for the last two seasons. Brunson has collected 206 career tackles including 15.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks.
• Now a junior, the staff will look for WILL linebacker Sherrod Greene to take a big step forward in 2019. Greene was highly coveted by the staff as a recruit, quickly becoming one of their top targets at the position out of high school, and has shown flashes, but will look to become more consistent this season.
• The absence of Brunson this spring allowed for sophomore Ernest Jones to get reps with the first team at middle linebacker, a position he admits requires a lot of him but that he's feeling more comfortable with now. Jones should be in line for a big step forward in his sophomore campaign and should help provide depth at a position that lacked it last season.
• Senior linebacker Eldridge Thompson has yet to officially be cleared by the NCAA for his sixth season of eligibility, but the coaching staff remains confident that he has a good case to get one. Thompson was limited to non-contact drills this spring, but should also be able to provide depth at both the WILL and SAM linebacker spots.
• Also returning from injury is senior Danny Fennell, who missed the spring after tearing his ACL late last season. Fennell has been one of the Gamecocks' most consistent under-the-radar players during his three seasons of contributions and should have the edge to start at the SAM position, which is on the field whenever Carolina is in its base 4-3 set.
• Look out for two true freshmen that the staff is high on in Derek Boykins and Jahmar Brown. Boykins, a heavy hitter who enrolled early and went through spring practice, is working at middle linebacker where he's already made his physicality known. Brown, who will enroll for the summer, is slated to play the WILL spot where he brings excellent coverage ability for a linebacker.
• Junior Damani Staley and redshirt freshman Rosendo Louis, who also missed the spring with a shoulder injury, should also provide depth at the position. Staley saw his playing time increase as last season progressed.
• If there's one word that linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler harped on for his group this spring it's "consistency." Hutzler didn't mince words when he met with the media this spring and talked about challenging his group.
"We've just got to be more consistent as a group, that's the bottom line," he said. "We were very inconsistent [last season], as a group, as linebackers, and we've got to do that. Sherrod and T.J., they made a handful of plays and did a lot of good things for us, but at the end of the day, we were not consistent enough in playing both the run and the pass. We've got to do that.
"That's been my challenge to them and our challenge to the group. We talk about that every day."
• Related: Gamecock Football Scholarship Chart
– Wes Mitchell
2. ⚾ Baseball: Gamecocks take down Charleston Southern
South Carolina's offense came alive in Tuesday's midweek game against Charleston Southern, cruising to an easy 10-3 victory.
The Gamecocks (24-17, 5-13 SEC) are now 19-4 in non-conference games and 9-2 in midweek games. They haven't lost one since March 26 against NC A&T, a stretch of four midweek games.
Seven of the team's nine position players picked up at least one hit with four—Noah Campbell, Luke Berryhill, Andrew Eyster and Brady Allen—each having multi-hit days.
Player of the game: After scuffling some last week, Noah Campbell went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. He also hit his first home run since March 29.
Key moment: After Lloyd left the game, Dylan Harley walked the bases loaded with two outs and Sawyer Bridges came in to clean up the mess. He did, getting a fly out to center to end the threat.
Up next: South Carolina hits the road for another road SEC series, the third in April. They’ll travel to Missouri to for a three-game series with the Tigers starting Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Also see: Game story, photo gallery and postgame video
Baseball Links: News | SEC Standings | Schedule | Statistics | Polls
– Collyn Taylor
3. This, that, and the other
Football: Muschamp updates Cam Smith's status, injuries post-spring - Will Muschamp updated the status of 2019 signee Cam Smith. The local product was expected to enroll at USC by the start of spring practice. (link)
Football: Gamecocks fill-in at local school for student-led conferences - South Carolina student-athletes from football, women's tennis and men's golf sat in for parents who were unable to attend their child's student-led conference at Meadowfield Elementary School in Columbia earlier this month. (link)
Football Recruiting: The Insider Report - The latest developments from the recruiting trail, including more on RB Tank Bigsby and other visit scoop. (subscription)
Football Recruiting: Electric back talks recent visit, planning future trip - Dalton, Ga., running back Jahmyr Gibbs was in Columbia last month for a USC practice and is planning a future official visit to the school, where he says the coaches have made him a big priority (subscription)
Baseball: What USC is getting in newest infielder commit - Gamecocks are getting a quality bat and defender in Shane Shifflett. (subscription)
Women's Golf: NCAA selection show is today - The NCAA Division I Women's Golf Selection Show is set for 5:30 p.m. The event, which will air on Golf Channel and stream live at GolfChannel.com, will reveal the 72 teams and 24 individuals selected to compete at one of four regional championship sites from May 6-8. (link)
Men's Golf: Gamecocks open play at SEC Championship - No. 13 South Carolina tees off at 7:30 a.m. with No. 16 Georgia and No. 22 Alabama in round one of the 2019 SEC Championship. For the third consecutive season, teams will play 54 holes of stroke play followed by eight-team match play to determine a conference champion. (link)
Softball: Heath earns SEC honor - For her efforts last week, Karly Heath was named SEC Freshman of the Week. (link)
Men's Tennis: Gamecocks up in team rankings - The men's tennis team climbed to a season-high ranking of No. 17 in this week's Oracle ITA Team Rankings following the Gamecocks' run to the SEC Tournament semifinals last week. (link)
Women's Tennis: Cline earns highest ranking - Senior Paige Cline earned the highest ranking of her career of No. 16 in the ITA's singles poll. (link)
– Jackson Fields
4. This Date in Gamecock History
April 24, 1993 – South Carolina swept Vanderbilt in a doubleheader behind the starting pitching of Matt Threehouse and Rich Pratt.
- Threehouse won the opener, allowing one run in six innings before turning it over to Scott Pace, who put up three scoreless innings of relief.
- Leadoff man Mark Gugino scored three times while centerfielder Mac White and third baseman Mike McGuire each drove in a pair of runs as Carolina scored one in the first, two in the third, one in the fifth and one in the eighth for a 6-1 win.
- Pratt was dominant in the second, a seven-inning game that USC won 4-0.
- Pratt scattered six hits, all singles, while striking out 11 and walking none.
- Shortstop Joe Biernat provided the fireworks on offense with a double, home run and all four runs batted in.
5. Birthdays and Celebrations!
Rickey Hagood – As a freshman in 1980, he worked as a backup middle guard, notching four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He took over as a starter in 1981 when Emanuel Weaver was injured and tied for third on the team in sacks. His brother Kent joined the team that season as well as a freshman running back. Hagood was third on the team in tackles in 1982 and among his standout games was a performance against N.C. State when he had seven tackles, one for a loss, and blocked an extra point. In 1983, he led the team in tackles for loss and was third in total tackles. Hagood played professionally with the Seattle Seahawks (1984) and Los Angeles Raiders (1985). His son Rickey played defensive tackle at Youngstown State.
• Dave Cope (football/defensive tackle, 1997-98)
• Drew Martin (baseball/first base, 2006-07)
• Wes Pringle (football/offensive guard, 1986-89)
• Matt Riddle (baseball/outfield, 2000-03)
• Simone Wark (women's soccer/forward, 2015-18)
• John Wunder (football/quarterback, 1988-91)
Gamecock Central birthdays
• @Golden Cock (member since 1998)
• @stillcocky (member since 2005)
If you have a Gamecock Central account, you can add your birthday here.
– John Parker, gamecockarchives.com
6. ⌚ Key Events (Countdown)
• April 25 – NFL Draft begins (1 day)
• May 8 – SEC Softball Tourney (14)
• May 21 – SEC Baseball Tourney (27)
• July 15 – SEC Media Days begins (82)
• July 20 – Ladies Football Clinic (87)
• Aug. 31 – Football: Gamecocks vs UNC (129)
More happenings
• April 24 – Midlands, Spurs Up Tour
• April 29 – Lancaster, Spurs Up Tour
• April 30 – Greenville, Spurs Up Tour
• May 2 – York, Spurs Up Tour
• May 4 – Baseball: Earl Bass jersey retirement
• May 7 – Sumter, Spurs Up Tour
• May 8 – Myrtle Beach, Spurs Up Tour
• May 8 – Marion Gamecock Club meeting
• May 9 – Atlanta, Spurs Up Tour
• May 14 – Charleston, Spurs Up Tour
• May 18 – SC Legends Baseball Camp
Will Muschamp is scheduled to appear at all of the Spurs Up Tour events. More information, including locations and ticket prices, can be found here.
