Ryan Succop Shines In Debut

Sophomore kicker Ryan Succop won the starting kickoff, punting, and place kicking duties for USC in fall camp, and Succop debuted on Thursday night against Mississippi State by kicking three field goals, averaging nearly 49 yards per punt, and even avoiding a potential blocked punt by rushing for 16 yards and a crucial 1st down. GamecockAnthem spoke with Succop about his impressive performance.

Interview performed by Rich Taylor

Question: What happened on the play when you scrambled for the first down?

Answer: We had a guy come through. I saw that he was going to block it if I kicked it, so I just felt it and ran. Fortunately enough we were able to pick up the first down.

Question: You looked pretty good even in the pre-game warm ups. Did you have a pretty good feeling about going out there?

Answer: Well I felt comfortable out there, and the Lord blessed me and allowed me to have a good game. That’s all there was to it.

Question: Coach Spurrier said that your performance tonight was the best he’s even seen from a punter and a kicker. How does that make you feel?

Answer: Coach (Spurrier) has coached a lot of games, and I feel very fortunate that he feels that way. I just feel very blessed. The Lord helped me to have a good game, so I just feel very blessed.

Question: Is there any chance you’ll be moving to tailback anytime soon?

Answer: (Laughs) No, I don’t see that happening. I mean it would be a lot of fun. I’d love to get back there, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think that’ll be happening anytime soon.

Question: What was going through your mind when you got in the open field on that play?

Answer: I was just really excited. At first I just wanted to make sure I picked up the first down, and then second I was just looking downfield and figured I might as well get as far as I could.

Question: How does it feel to have the special teams play such a big part in the victory?

Answer: I’m just thankful that we were able to go out and help the team in any way that we could. The team played great and everybody did their part, and we were just able to step in and do our part tonight.

Question: With this being your first career start as both a punter and kicker, did you feel a lot of pressure?

Answer: No, it’s kind of funny. It was my first game really going out there and kicking field goals, so I thought I’d be pretty nervous, but I actually felt pretty comfortable

Question: Do you prefer to handle both the kicking and the punting duties?

Answer: I’d like to do whatever helps this team the most. I would like to do it all. I like being in the game a lot, and it’s fun.