October 1, 2008
<SCRIPT language=Javascript src="http://vmedia.rivals.com/js/swf.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=VBScript> on error resume next For vCount = 2 to 6 If Not(IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash." & vCount))) Then Else bFlash = true flashVersion = vCount End IfNext </SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=Javascript><!--bMacComputer = (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("Mac") != -1);if (bMacComputer == true) { document.write("
Spurrier: McKinley Expected To Play
");}else{ var swf= new objSWF(); swf.fullpath = "http://vmedia.rivals.com/flash/contentheadlines.swf" swf.bgcolor = "#FFFFFF"; swf.salign = "lt"; swf.scale="noborder"; swf.width = "620"; swf.height = "60"; swf.fontcolor = "000000"; swf.h1 = "Spurrier: McKinley Expected To Play "; swf.h2 = ""; swf.shadow = 1; swf.url=""; swf.version = 6; swf.cab = "6,0,0,0"; swf.alt = "
Spurrier: McKinley Expected To Play"; RunGenObj(swf.drawflash())}//--></SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
<NOSCRIPT>
McKinley expected to Play</NOSCRIPT>
<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
Scott Hood
GamecockCentral.com Staff Writer
<SCRIPT language=javascript>document.write("<div id=contentcontainer style='font-size: " + currentsize + "pt;'>");</SCRIPT>Talk about it in
The Insiders Forum
After sitting out nearly four full games, wide receiver Kenny McKinley is expected not just back on the sidelines wearing a South Carolina uniform this weekend, but on the field as well.
Sidelined with a strained hamstring since late in the first quarter of the Vanderbilt game, McKinley participated in practice Tuesday afternoon for the first time since sustaining the injury on Sept. 4. He practiced again on Wednesday.
Head coach Steve Spurrier, though, is non-committal about how much playing time the senior from Mableton, Ga. will get on Saturday when the Gamecocks travel to Ole Miss for a critical SEC game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.
"Kenny was running around decently," Spurrier said late Wednesday afternoon following a two-hour workout on the Bluff Road practice fields. "He's expected to play some. We'll see how much as we go. But he'll suit up and go play."
Spurrier contended he will not allow McKinley to take the field against the Rebels unless he was close to 100 percent. He rejected the suggestion McKinley will be utilized as a decoy in case he can't go full speed.
"He was cutting okay. He didn't do a whole lot but what he did he was okay," Spurrier said. "He has to be full go before he'll be real valuable. We don't need any decoys out there. I don't think anybody is worried about our passing game right now. I'm sure Ole Miss will play just about what everybody else has been playing, plus their stuff. We haven't really scored a lot of points against anybody. But we're hopeful we can get the offense going."
If he plays, McKinley will continue his pursuit of most of the school's major receiving records. He needs eight receptions to break Sterling Sharpe's 21-year old mark of 169 career receptions. Zola Davis (1995-98) is second with 164 catches.
Spurrier also rejected speculation that McKinley will be 'rusty' when he takes the field on Saturday.
"He's been catching a few balls here and there," Spurrier said. "He's caught a lot of balls the last two days."
McKinley was not made available to the media on Wednesday. He was seen jogging across the street towards Williams-Brice Stadium following practice.
Chris Hail, a junior who was recently shifted from defensive back to wide receiver, said McKinley has taken some snaps with the first team offense in practice this week. Hail is backing him up.
"Kenny is making a good comeback," Hail said. "They put him out there and I'm glad to have him out there. I'll just be the next man off the bench. (McKinley) is about 90 percent. He's looking real good, he's looking all right. He goes to the training table every day and gets that work in. He goes to the swimming pool to work those quads. It's killing him not to be out there but he's making a good recovery. He'll be back."
Spurrier's pronouncement Wednesday represented a quick reversal of fortune for McKinley. During his weekly teleconference on Sunday, Spurrier mentioned the possibility of McKinley taking a medical hardship for the year of he didn't play against Ole Miss or Oct. 11 at Kentucky.
"Actually, I hadn't really talked with the trainer that much," Spurrier said. "His rehab has come along nicely. He tested out on that strength machine in (the weight room) almost full speed. He's not 100 percent but he's close."
Earlier in the day, Spurrier said this: "Kenny practiced a little bit yesterday. How much he'll play, we'll just have to wait and see on Saturday. But he's going with us and we're definitely planning on suiting him up."
Over the last three games, USC's vertical passing game has come to a screeching halt even though Spurrier has continuously called for deep throws down the field. USC has averaged 18.7 points and 223.3 passing yards in the last three games.
"We're not going to blame our problems on Kenny not being there," Spurrier said. "We blame our problems on a little bit of all of us. We're trying to work our way out of it. The (offensive) line is trying to work their way, receivers, running backs, quarterbacks. Actually, the quarterbacks threw the ball a lot better today. It was a little bit encouraging."
USC could use McKinley's talents on Saturday. Burdened with a 0-2 conference mark, USC faces a must-win situation against Ole Miss, which avoided dropping to 0-2 when it upset Florida, 31-30, last weekend in Gainesville.
"They certainly proved they're one of the best teams in the SEC," Spurrier said. "We're looking forward to the ballgame out there on Saturday afternoon."
One of the most heavily discussed plots leading into Saturday's game is the familiarity of the respective defensive coordinators for their opponent. Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix, of course, served in the same capacity with the Gamecocks for two years before joining Houston Nutt's new staff in December.
"That's part of the game. I'm certainly very happy for Tyrone," Spurrier said. "We had a wonderful three years here together. He has a better situation there than he did here. Change is a part of coaching and all coaches know that. We don't take a job to have for 10 years. We take a job, have a run at it and, hopefully, there's a better one down the road. Or, if you've done it long enough like I have, you're trying to make some success right where you are. That's what I am. I'm not looking for anything down the road. Most assistant coaches, if they've done a super job, maybe there's a bigger and better job down the road somewhere."
Moreover, USC defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson is very familiar with the Rebels program following a four-year stint (2004-2007) as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. He's also faced Nutt and his offense enough times throughout the years to have a good idea about what to expect from Ole Miss.
Spurrier, however, reiterated Wednesday that it's less about coaches or schemes and more about players when it comes to determining who will win the game.
"To tell you the truth, it still comes down to players making the plays and so forth," Spurrier said. "I still believe the players on the field will determine the winner. As coaches, we try to put them in position to make plays. Then they determine who wins and loses.
"We're going run our defense and I'm sure Ole Miss is probably going to run their defense. We don't really change up a whole bunch. Maybe we'll emphasize one coverage or one type of defense more than others. But the way we've played offense, we've struggled against almost everybody we played. We just haven't done a whole bunch offensively yet this year. Hopefully, we can get something going soon."
Statistically, Ole Miss has struggled defensively under Nix's guidance in the first five games. The Rebels are in the bottom one-third of the conference rankings in all of the major categories, including ninth in total defense (328.8 ypg) and 11th in scoring defense (23.4 ppg). However, Ole Miss has 38 tackles for loss in the last three games.
However, Spurrier contended Wednesday that he's been impressed watching the Ole Miss defensive line on film. The Rebels' defensive front is led by the trio of defensive tackles Peria Jerry and Ted Laurent (tied for SEC in TFL's with 6) and defensive end Kentrell Lockett.
All-SEC defensive end Greg Hardy, who had 10 sacks last season, has returned to the lineup after missing the majority of pre-season camp and the first three games with a stress fracture in his foot. Hardy, though, is not listed on the depth chart, but expects to see significant snaps. In just two games, Hardy has 2.5 sacks.
"Their whole defensive line is very good," Spurrier said. "Shoot, they've got good athletes up and down the field at all positions. We're not going to try and leave a back in to help on one guy or something like that. We're basically going to run our offense. Their defensive guys are very active."
QUARTERBACK BATTLE CONTINUES: Spurrier refrained from naming a starting quarterback on Wednesday, but his comments to the media clearly gave a slight edge to redshirt sophomore Chris Smelley, who has started the last four games, one fewer than his career long stretch established last season, and made 10 career starts.
"They've thrown a little bit better," Spurrier said. "Chris Smelley is obviously ahead of Stephen (Garcia) as far as knowing what to do and where to throw it, things like that. But we'll wait until tomorrow to announce who's going to start.
Spurrier acknowledged Smelley's experience and "knowing what to do with the ball" gave him an edge in the starting quarterback race with Garcia, who has 131 yards passing and 86 rushing yards in last week's win over UAB.
"But, then again, Stephen can run out of there," Spurrier said. "Our passes are based on protection to start with and not just take off running. But sometimes that is good. Anyway, they'll both be ready to play. There's a good chance maybe they'll both play quite a bit."
Prior to Wednesday's practice, Spurrier contended he's still looking for one of the Gamecock quarterbacks to emerge as the clear favorite.
"We're not 100 percent settled (on quarterback)," Spurrier said. "I wish we were. I wish we definitely had a guy we could all look to and so forth. Chris Smelley is more experienced and probably takes care of the ball a little bit better than Stephen Garcia. Stephen has played just a little bit. He's sort of helter skelter out there as far as knowing what to do."
Garcia led USC with 18 rushing attempts last Saturday night and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. His longest run was nine yards. His first career TD came midway through the second quarter on a five-yard run up the middle. Sophomore running back Brian Maddox was second with 10 carries.
"Stephen does give us the ability to run the ball," Spurrier said. "He can run out of the pocket and make something happen. We're planning on playing both of them and we'll go on from there."
RYCHLESKI VOWS TIGHT ENDS WILL IMPROVE: USC's tight ends had a difficult time in last Saturday's victory over UAB, particularly when they were required to block. Steve Spurrier challenged the media after the game to find one play where the tight ends executed their blocking assignments properly. Tight ends coach Ray Rychleski said a few glaring errors tarnished the entire performance of the tight ends.
"The tight ends did not have a good night," Rychleski admitted. "As I've said before, you can have 80 good plays and you might have two bad ones, but those two can really hurt on some big plays. That's what stands out, and that's kind of what happened to the tight ends. We played decent at times, but our bad plays were really bad plays. We helped cause a fumble, we helped cause two sacks, and one was totally our fault."
As a result of his poor play, Weslye Saunders was demoted to third team for this week's game at Ole Miss, though No. 2 tight end Larry Freeman wore a non-contact yellow jersey during Wednesday's practice. Rychleski offered this one example: Saunders made a 23-yard reception on one play but gave up a key sack on the next snap.
Efforts to make sure the poor performance is not repeated started soon after the UAB ended, Rychleski said. The coach accepted part of the blame for the problems experienced by the tight ends, and eagerly looked forward to Saturday's game at Ole Miss was a way to erase the memory of the UAB performance.
"We had a heart to heart talk with the three tight ends and how we can get better," Rychleski said. "We're all in this together and hopefully come Saturday we'll do a lot better. We're going to bounce back on Saturday, I promise."
Rychleski has emphasized the fundamentals in practice this week, and the scout team linebackers have been rushing off the edge to allow the tight ends to improve that facet of their game. Saturday's SEC contest at Ole Miss is still three days away, but Rychleski is already looking forward to the game.
"I can't wait for this Saturday to get here from a tight end standpoint so I can get the bad taste out of my mouth from this past Saturday," he said. "We have something to prove in all areas. Our guys are disappointed with how they played. It's good to play poorly and still win the game. Now we have to play well and win the game. If we play bad this week, we' won't win the game."
EVERYBODY RUN, THE HOMECOMING QUEEN'S GOT A GUN: Nobody likes to be the opponent for Homecoming, especially in the SEC. Well, it's Homecoming this weekend in Oxford when the Gamecocks show up to play a critical SEC game. That fact clearly irked special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski earlier this week.
"That tells you something right there," Rychleski said. "When your team is the homecoming game, they don't respect you very well. I don't care what you say. When those people circle those games for Homecoming, they're circling wins. Nobody wants to go home a loser on Homecoming. I'm glad they made us the Homecoming Queen. Nobody wants to be (the) Homecoming (opponent)."
Spurrier, though, isn't too concerned. He said Auburn was frequently scheduled as Florida's Homecoming opponent during his 12 years in Gainesville. Often, the Homecoming opponent is dictated by the schedule.
"I don't worry about that," Spurrier said Wednesday. "They had to schedule somebody. It's like us pulling those players out of the game last week. We had to pull them out for somebody. Nah, it's no big deal."
NUTT GUARDING AGAINST COMPLACENCY BY REBELS: Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt fears an emotional letdown by his football team following last Saturday's upset win by the Revels at previously No. 4 Florida. The Rebels worked out Tuesday for the first time in preparation for the meeting with the Gamecocks.
"My antennas are up," Nutt was quoted on saying in an article published on RebelSports.net, the Rivals site covering Ole Miss football. "It's got to be the most important thing that we do, go back to work and it's got to be just like we did last week. Guys came out and went to work after feeling real sick to their stomach. There was a purpose of trying to get better. For the most part, (Tuesday) was all right. We'll see tomorrow when we come back and get much better."
Nutt did not notice any outward signs of complacency during Tuesday's workout.
"All I can really go on is did they go to study hall when they're supposed to," Nutt said. "Did they go to the weight room? Did they come out here and give great effort?"
Some Ole Miss seniors are looking out for signs of complacency, as well, from some of the younger, les experienced players on the Rebels' roster.
"It was over when we got on the plane," Ole Miss defensive tackle Peria Jerry said. "It was a great win and everybody was happy, but it's gone now. We're looking forward. We have to stay focused. We can beat anybody, but we have to stay focused and get prepared for the upcoming game. I feel like a lot of guys are coming along pretty quickly and it seems like it's not really a big deal to anybody. Everybody wants to just keep winning and keep this thing rolling."
By all accounts, Ole Miss dominated Florida from a physical standpoint. Numerous Florida players were nursing a myriad of injuries following the game, while Ole Miss exited Gainesville with virtually no injuries.
"We teach them that if you play extremely hard at the highest intensity level and play with a bend in your knee, chances are you're most likely not going to get hurt," Nutt said. "You can always use your head wrong or something like that, but you try to keep emphasizing to see what you hit and we've been fortunate the last couple of weeks."
NIX PREPARES TO FACE FORMER TEAM: Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix will face his former team this weekend. Nit served on the USC coaching staff for the three seasons, serving as the sole defensive coordinator for two years (2006-2007). He left in December to join Nutt's first staff in Oxford and was eventually replaced by Ellis Johnson.
"I'm not playing them," Nix said. "All I do is coach these guys here and try to get them ready as best as possible. As far as the personal relationships, it's no different than probably competing against your brother in basketball or any other sport. You shake hands after it's over and tell each other how you're feeling and then you move forward to the next opponent."
Nutt will go through what Nix is feeling this week later this month when Ole Miss travels to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks.
"It's hard," Nutt said. "It's going to be a lot like when we play that other team (Arkansas). It's going to be hard. It's there. You spent part of your life there, so you can't help it. You know the kids. You know the players. You know the coaches. You know all of them. We just have a task, a job to do, and you try to focus on that."
NOTES:
-- Spurrier said the punishment for Captain Munnerlyn has been determined: he will sit out the first play of Saturday's game against Oxford. "Whether or not he plays the second or third play, we'll see how the game goes," Spurrier said. "He's going to play. Coach Beamer has been playing a lot of guys. Captain needs to pick up his play a little bit. He can play a little bit better, we think. He's been very good on punt returns. Bur his defensive play, he could pick it up a bit."
-- USC has started a "little extra conditioning program" for any player that commits a mental error in a game. "We're going to try to do that every week to remind our guys that if we play our assignments and play with effort we have a chance to be a really good team."
-- Spurrier reported Wednesday that USC is "pretty healthy for this time of year."
-- Backup tight end Larry Freeman wore a yellow jersey during Wednesday's workout after undergoing a root canal. "He had to go see the dentist, so he was held out today," Spurrier said. Freeman should be ready to play on Saturday.
-- Saturday's upset of No. 4 Florida in The Swamp has earned Ole Miss a place on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In the issue set to hit newsstands Tuesday, the magazine's headline reads "Rebels Rise" and the cutline of the cover photo is "Ole Miss defensive end Greg Hardy clobbers QB Tim Tebow of the Gators, No. 4 no more."
-- Freshman QB Reid McCollum has mononucleosis and missed practice on Wednesday.
-- When asked about Spurrier's comment Tuesday that he had a "screwball attitude," Chris Hail responded "I don't really know what he means by that." However, Hail admitted he has missed some classes and workouts in the past, but that he's learned from his mistakes. "I want to prove I can go out there and play ball and not screw up." Hail said Spurrier asked him to move back to wide receiver. He has three career receptions, all against Auburn in 2006. When asked if he would provide a boost to the downfield passing attack, Hail said "I add that extra fuel because I have a lot of speed" . Hail said he ran a 4.4 flat in the latest testing.
