Scrimmage Impressions

Just back in from the first fall scrimmage and the annual Letterman's Association dinner. It was a great day to be a Gamecock. The scrimmage was excellent, and mother nature pitched in by keeping the rain away from Williams-Brice stadium.

I think this may have been the best first scrimmage I have ever seen at USC. Both offense and defense had their shining moments. I am really impressed with the speed that has been added to the defense since the spring. Casper Brinkley, Eric Norwood, Captain Munnerlyn, and Darian Stewart will all play major roles on defense.

Offensively Chris Smelley stole the show today. The true freshman from Tuscaloosa, AL was 10-17 for 173 yards and 3 TD's. The rivlas.com 4 star prospect showed great command of the offense, and stays cool under pressure in the pocket. Smelley is unfazed by the pass rush and concentrates on his target. Cockfather Illustrated projects Smelley to play this fall, and will be no worse than the second team quarterback this season.

It is amazing to think that Syvelle Newton could recover from an achilles tendon injury to be able to go out and make the type of run that he made tonight from the quarterback position. Newton looked like he had never been injured, as he was able to make several quick change of direction moves and show the same burst of speed that Gamecock fans have seen thoughout his career. I have a feeling that Newton is going to do some special things this season.

OJ Murdock also had an excellent day, and is emerging as one of Smelley's favorite targets. For the day, the red-shirt freshman from Tampa, FL had 3 receptions for 69 yards and 1 TD.

All-American WR Sidney Rice was also impressive, with 2 receptions for 27 yards and one touchdown, in a limited role.

While Cory Boyd's stas aren't eye-popping, the red-shirt junior was showed big play ability, with 3 catches for 35 yards. Boyd will benefit greatly from USC's passing game, which will set up the draw play. Boyd appears to be in the best shape of his career, and has shown break away speed throughout fall camp.

RB Taylor Rank displayed surprising speed on his 46 yard TD reception, as he caught a short pass and ran away from LB Dakoda Walker in route to the endzone.

Bobby Wallace continues to show the elusiveness and burst he displayed in last season's regular season finale against Clemson. The Conway sophomore will be a good change of pace and situational back this year.

Jared Cook, Mike West, and Moe Brown each had nice grabs on the day, and are more weapons that USC did not have available last year.

It appears that James Thompson is beginning to step up and take control of the right guard position. Kevin Young has all the physical attributes, but is still a little bit behind mentally.

I have never seen a better looking freshman offensive lineman than OT Heath Batchelor. The 6'7 311 pound Haleyville, AL product looks like a college junior. The 3 star prospect has very little body fat, and is strong as an ox.

One aspect of the game that was especially encouraging was the field goal kickers. Ryan Succop was 2 for 3, including a 50 yarder, and also connecting from 37 yards out. Charlie Carpenter also hit a 47 yarder.

Defensively, several players showed up big today. Where would USC be without the addition of Jasper and Casper Brinkley. Jasper made several bigtime plays today plugging up the running lanes. Casper also showed up big at defensive end, and made, perhaps, the biggest hit of the day when he slanted down the line and crushed Cory Boyd at the line of scrimmage.

USC's linebacker corps continues to impress. In addition to Jasper Brinkley, Marvin Sapp, Rodney Paulk, and Dakoda Walker all made plays, and showed the athleticism needed to play in the SEC. I also thought that Curtis Rice was solid as the reserve MLB.

Rodney Paulk in particular, is a pleasant surprise because he is only 17 years old, and it was expected that he would red-shirt. As it stands now, Paulk is the second team Stinger behind Marvin Sapp, and is also being used when USC goes to it's nickle package. Paulk made the play of the defensive play of the scrimmage as he blitzed through the left side and knocked the ball out of Cade Thompson's hand, scooped it up and raced 21 yards into the endzone for a touchdown.

While there were 5 touchdown passes on the day, I am still impressed with USC's secondary, especially when you consider the fact that 3 of the 4 safeties are true freshmen, and 3 of the 4 corners have very little to no playing experience. Darian Stewart, Emmanuel Cook, and Nick Prochak have all shown good ability and excellent potential.

The best thing to happen to Carlos Thomas this fall has been Captain Munnerlyn. Munnerlyn has forced Thomas to compete and give 100 percent effort. Both players have outstanding ability. With Stoney Woodson and All-American candidate Fred Bennett, USC has 4 legitimate corners that can play significant snaps this fall.

DE Eric Norwood continues to impress. The 6'2 260 pound freshman has a quick first step and is becoming USC's best pass rusher. Norwood is also a very personable young man, and from all reports wants to be a great player, as he puts in extra time after practice to work on his techniques.

DE Terrance Campbell is also an impressive looking 6'4 268 pounds. The South Cobb High School product will probably red-shirt and grow into a defensive tackle by next season. He is also one of the nicest young men you will ever meet.

Look for DT Kenrick Ellis to red-shirt this season. Ellis is simply too heavy right now, but has an excellent attitude and will do what is necessary to re-shape his body.

Overall, there are a lot of positives to take away from todays scrimmage. Most encouraging to me is the speed and play-making ability USC has on defense. This defense will be better coached, more fundamentally sound both from a scheme standpoint, and the way they approach the game.

Coach Spurrier was overheard telling a few people at the Letterman's dinner that he was very encouraged by the performance of his football team, and that from today's scrimmage, He believes this football team will be much better than he had originally thought. He also made the comment that Chris Smelley was going to be "special."