USC practiced in shoulder pads and shorts for just over two hours under the hot Saturday afternoon sun at the Bluff Road Practice Fields adjacent to Williams-Brice Stadium.
The USC offense has pleased Spurrier with its ability to make plays and move down the field. He hopes the Gamecocks will improve on last season' ninth-place showing in the conference in total offense (315.9 ypg).
"If you check the scrimmages around the country, when teams put the ball at the 30 and take off, there's not a lot of touchdowns," Spurrier said. "Our guys have been scoring some touchdowns. Our guys have done pretty decent in the scrimmages. Of course, at times, our defense looks pretty good, too. We're much improved from this time last year, certainly."
Spurrier has commented several times this pre-season that he wants the Gamecocks to play faster and with a greater sense of urgency. Two freshman defenders, in particular, have filled the bill – defensive lineman Eric Norwood from Atlanta and linebacker Rodney Paulk from Richland Northeast High School in Columbia.
"Eric probably plays as fast as anybody on defense," Spurrier said. "He and Rodney Paulk. They're all over the place. We try to slow them down a little bit. But the guys are hustling. They're all hustling well. I think we will play faster overall."
Norwood and Paulk could be among as many as three or four true freshmen who earn the right to start on defense, Spurrier said. Other first-year candidates include defensive backs Captain Munnerlyn and Darian Stewart and safety/linebacker Emanuel Cook (pictured above.)
"Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook could very easily run with the first team part of the game," Spurrier said.
