South Carolina Preseason Football Practice Report

Hurricane Charley, which ravaged through the state of Florida over the past 36 hours, may not have had the impact that forecasters had predicted in the Palmetto State, but it did have an impact on some members of the Gamecock football family. Head coach Lou Holtz moved the Saturday afternoon practice time up by two hours so he could travel to Orlando, Fla., immediately following the workout and be with his wife, Beth, who was at their home there when the storm came through on Friday ...

Mrs. Holtz was reported to be safe and sound, but was without electricity and there were some trees down in their yard. Assistant head coach Skip Holtz said that Coach Holtz was going to drive to Orlando right after practice, which ended around 3:40 p.m., and be back in time for the kicking game scrimmage late Sunday morning. "Coach wanted to make sure mom (Beth Holtz) was okay and see if she needed anything." said Skip. "I've got a brother (Kevin) who lives in the Daytona Beach area and we haven't been able to get in touch with him. My in-laws also live in that area. So, it's had a pretty big affect on our immediate family." Sophomore wide receiver Ike Crofoot also has family in the Orlando area, but he said everyone was okay. Freshman defensive back Stoney Woodson is from Tampa and he said that his family was safe and there had been so significant damage to their property.

Defensive coordinator Rick Minter opened his comments to the media by saying "that our thoughts and prayers go out to those families who have been hit hard by the hurricane." Minter went on to say, "Coach Holtz loves his family, and wanted to get to Orlando and check on his wife. He probably should have left earlier today, but he did not want to miss one minute of our afternoon practice." ... "We're looking forward to getting "in the big house" and scrimmaging tomorrow (Sunday)," continued Minter. "Defensively, we don't plan to hold back on anything. It should give us a good look at who can perform when the heat is on; who are playmakers are, and who we can count on. It also should allow us to identify some depth. "

Injury report - C Fran Person was withheld from contact while still recovering from a concussion; DT Eric Stroman is out with a foot sprain; DL Marque Hall is out with a knee sprain; Ol Gurminder Thind is limited with a pinched nerve in his neck ... Sophomore quarterback Syvelle Newton missed Friday's practices so he could attend the funeral of his aunt. He returned to Columbia midway through Saturday afternoon's workout.

The team will have a church service Sunday morning at Williams-Brice Stadium. That will be followed by a kicking scrimmage. The first scrimmage of preseason will be held in the afternoon at the stadium. It is a closed scrimmage.