Gamecocks Spring Fever: Garnet & Black Game Saturday
By Chris Carey
Credit: Curtis Wilson-USA TODAY Sports
As hard as it is to believe, it’s already time for the South Carolina Gamecocks’ Garnet & Black scrimmage, which means spring practice comes to an end. This Saturday, April 12 at noon at Williams-Brice Stadium will be a chance for coaches and fans alike to see the progress players have been making both individually and as a team, and get a glimpse into what the upcoming season may look like.
GamecocksOnline.com has a lot of the details about before and after the game on their website. Here’s some of the specifics about during the game:
“The spring game is scheduled for four 12-minute quarters. The clock will stop during the first half and will run continuously in the second half. The annual football spring awards will be presented by Head Coach Steve Spurrier at halftime. The South Carolina women’s basketball team, which earned the SEC regular season title, and the back-to-back SEC champion equestrian squad will also be recognized during the intermission. Fans can use the hashtag #Gamecocks on their Twitter and Instagram posts for a chance to see their tweets and photos on the video board during the game.
Of course, many fans are going to be interested in what is happening at quarterback this coming season. After coming off their third straight eleven-win season with Connor Shaw at the helm, Dylan Thompson has clearly been named the starter by Steve Spurrier. Thompson has played very well for the team, both as a starter and a backup over the past few seasons, and he continues to play well this spring. The question mark is in who will back Dylan up knowing that Spurrier likes to utilize more than one quarterback if possible. Many fans were surprised to hear that walk-on Perry Orth is far solidly in the number two spot. Many people thought for sure the competition was going to be between redshirt sophomore Brendan Nosovitch and redshirt freshman Connor Mitch, but so far Orth has made the most of his opportunity. The spring game will give everyone a chance to see these guys in action, and although it doesn’t guarantee the backup spot in the fall, it definitely gives someone the chance to strong arm their way to it.
On the other side of the ball, there are a lot of question marks around the defense, with so many players gone from last year. There are concerns at defensive end, cornerback as well as safety, all which have been strengths for Lorenzo Ward’s squad the past few years. Hopefully some of those questions are at least somewhat answered during the game Saturday. So far in the spring practice, Brison Williams and Jonathan Walton have received a lot of praise for their efforts on the defense. Either way, there will still be a lot of work left for the squad before the season opener against Texas A&M on August 28.
For those who can’t make it down to Williams-Brice on Saturday, the scrimmage will be broadcast on ESPNU.
The spring game creates a lot of buzz and excitement for the fans. They get a chance at an early look into next season’s starters and a first look at some of the new players. The hardest part will be when the game ends, realizing they now have more than four months until the next time they can watch the Gamecocks play.