Five Things We’ve Learned About The Gamecocks

           

1) Marcus Lattimore shows no signs of a sophomore slump.

So much for the sophomore slump. Running Back Marcus Lattimore has proven that last year’s stellar performance was not the peak, but merely the beginning of a great college career. Offseason reports for Heisman candidate were nothing but positive. Coaches said he bulked up, gaining as much as 12 pounds of muscle, as well as improving his knowledge and understanding of the game. It shows.

Against East Carolina, Lattimore tied a career high with three rushing touchdowns, while compiling 112 yards on 23 carries. To follow that up he grinded out 176 yards at 6.5 yards per carry against UGA, including a vital go-ahead touchdown with 3:28 left in the 4^th quarter.

The most impressive thing thus far about Lattimore is his vision. Gamecock fans have grown used to his tackle-breaking abilities, but they better start getting acquainted with his vision at the line. Countless times against UGA Lattimore took what would have been a minimal gain between the tackles and bounced it outside for a 10-15 yard gain. The 79 yard go-ahead drive at the end of the game featured multiple of these runs.

If there was any doubt going into the season that Lattimore would be able to replicate his numbers from last year, doubt-be-gone. In fact, fans should start expecting him to break last season’s records if he keeps running the ball the way he his. Nothing should be out of reach for this young man, not even that piece of bronze hardware given out in December.

2) Stephen Garcia is the quarterback, period.

All offseason the conversation revolving around South Carolina Football was centered on Stephen Garcia and his place on the team. Anytime South Carolina was mentioned by national or local media it seemed Stephen Garcia’s off-field troubles overshadowed positives like Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Lattimore, All-American wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, and star recruit Jadeveon Clowney.

The drama only intensified when 48 hours before the season kicked off head coach Steve Spurrier announced the 5^th year senior would sit the first quarter behind unproven sophomore Connor Shaw. Spurrier backed up his decision by saying Shaw performed better in practice, something everyone (even Garcia himself) agreed with. Give credit to Spurrier for being a man of his word, as he publicly stated all offseason that the quarterback position would go to the man who performed best in practice, but the decision was very questionable.

The problem is that practice and game time are two completely different things. We quickly found this out after one quarter of football in Charlotte, against a subpar defense at best. The rest could be Gamecock history. Stephen Garcia enters in the second quarter with his team trailing 17-0, puts together a fierce drive in which he both barrels over a linebacker for a first down, and takes another run 32 yards for the Gamecocks first score of the season. South Carolina wouldn’t look back on its way to a 56-37 opening victory.

The second game of the season didn’t start well either, but Garcia proved once again he can win on the road in the SEC. He may not have looked pretty doing it (not much looked pretty in this win for the Gamecocks), but the point is that he got the job done. He did what was necessary to win. South Carolina has other playmakers, they don’t need Garcia to be the savior, they need him to do what it takes to win big games—and right now number 5 is doing just that.

Through seven quarters of play Garcia is 18-40 for 252 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. He has also rushed for 3 TD.

3) The defense has three very capable defensive ends.

The combination of Devin Taylor, Melvin Ingram, and Jadeveon Clowney is the best threesome of defensive ends in the country, bar none.

Just how deep is the DE position? Melvin Ingram didn’t even get the start versus UGA and he still finished with 2 TD’s. Clowney, a true freshman in his first SEC road game, recorded two sacks and a forced fumble. And then there’s All-SEC Devin Taylor.

These boys can play, and they have only just begun making opposing quarterbacks miserable.

4) Special teams are no longer a weakness.

It looks as if the days of South Carolina finishing at the back of the pack in the SEC for special teams may be over. The hiring of new Special Teams Coordinator John Butler is turning out to be a genius move. It also doesn’t hurt that high school standout Bruce Ellington decided to play football again.

For the first time in a while South Carolina has legitimate threats in the punt and kickoff return game. Both Ellington and sophomore Ace Sanders have shown an ability to make some good runs. Sanders took a punt return for 68 yards to pay-dirt, recording the first punt return for a touchdown for South Carolina since 2001, in the opening game against ECU. Ellington has proven to have some very shifty moves himself, almost breaking free on multiple occasions. In fact ECU began kicking the ball away from Ellington. When’s the last time an opposing team kicked away from a Gamecock return man?

It’s been a while.

It also appears that the Gamecocks have found a place kicker. In his first attempt in a Gamecock uniform, Jay Wooten nailed a 49 yard field goal against UGA. Granted it’s the only field goal of the year, but it was quite an impressive kick. Title caliber teams most always posses a lethal field goal threat, so it’ll be interesting to see how Wooten pans out over the next few weeks.

5) The zone read needs work.

Plain and simple. The zone read between Garcia and Lattimore is not working. Either the play needs a lot of work, or it needs to see a lot less time in future game plans. It seems that the zone read is called 10-15 times a game, and its results are minimal at best. The reads are horrible. Lattimore will take the ball and get smashed up the middle, or Garcia will hang on to it and meet a linebacker around the end. When a zone read works, it’s beautiful, but this one ain’t working. Scrap it. Run it 5 times a game, not 15. When you’ve got a weapon like Lattimore just let him lineup in the I-formation and pound the ball. In fact I’d like to see a lot more sweeps, they—unlike the zone read—have actually shown some positive gain.