Spurrier pleased with Saturday scrimmage

Sunny skies greeted the Gamecocks on Saturday morning at Williams-Brice, where they held their first full scrimmage of the spring this morning. Not only was the weather a treat for everyone in attendance, but fans were greeted by some quality play on the football field as well.

With Gamecock running back recruit Marcus Lattimore in attendance, current back Jarvis Giles decided to show his skills during the action, leading all rushers with 82 yards on 8 carries.

“Jarvis had some long runs, he hit some nice little cracks there,” said Coach Spurrier. “We ran the ball pretty decent a lot of the time today. These scrimmages you’re working on throwing, I thought pass protection was good most of the day. Most of the quarterbacks got the ball out of their hand better, still had too many sacks.”

With no wind and pretty much perfect conditions, it was a great opportunity for the quarterbacks to work on their timing and precision in the passing game. Both the #1 and #2 quarterbacks on the depth chart right now took advantage, with the young gun Connor Shaw really stepping up.

Current starter Stephen Garcia finished the day 6-15 for 88 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Shaw was 8-13 passing for 120 yards with a TD of his own.

“We still can’t the ball out to our guys when they’re open deep as well as we need to,” added Spurrier. “We’ve got to keep working on it. We’ve got guys that can go deep but we’ve got to learn how to throw a ball there.”

Spurrier also was complimentary of Connor Shaw, who may be fast establishing himself as a fan favorite with his combination of speed with his legs as well as a gifted arm. The Head Ball Coach also alluded to the fact that next year his team will have two quarterbacks ready to go, where as Garcia was considered the lone man at the top last season.

“Connor can throw and run, he can throw in the pocket, he’s a natural passer,” said Spurrier. “We will have two ready to play next year. That’s the first time in my coaching career for 28 years, I’ve only had one guy.”

Another scrimmage standout came in the form of walk-on DB Marty Markett, who had two of the Gamecocks three interceptions in the game.

“Markett, he’s a tough little guy, fast guy, he may be the fastest guy on the team. He’s got a wonderful chance to earn a scholarship, he’s got a chance to take one from one of the guys that earned one last year.”

Notes

- Spurrier said that WR Dion Lecorn is completely healthy and competing with Tori Gurley for playing time at the slot position in the spring. He said Lecorn was never healthy last year when recovering from a leg injury.

- The no-huddle may not be completely here to stay as the coaching staff continues to tinker with the offense. Spurrier said the idea was offensive line coach Shawn Elliot’s idea as he brought some of his offensive strategies from Appalachian State.