Anderson, Cooper will miss game one with Ellington questionable
With just one day before the season opener, South Carolina’s injury report is becoming a little more certain.
Coach Steve Spurrier said on his call-in show Tuesday that tight end Rory Anderson is officially ruled out of the game against North Carolina, but tight end Jerell Adams should be able to play. Spurrier said Adams has run around “decent” in practice the last few days.
As expected, linebacker Cedrick Cooper will also miss the game against UNC. As for wide receiver Bruce Ellington, who is nursing a hamstring injury, Spurrier said the junior is “sort of questionable” for Thursday. Ellington returned to practice over the weekend but re-aggravated the injury.
“He’s going to try and see what he can do (Wednesday) and Thursday,” Spurrier said. “We’ll see what he can do in warm-ups, but he knows the plays. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Larry Fedora
Spurrier said good things about second-year North Carolina coach Larry Fedora on Tuesday, citing his success with Southern Mississippi before he moved to UNC. Fedora coached with USC secondary coach Grady Brown at Southern Miss and with USC defensive line coach Deke Adams, who was in Chapel Hill last season.
Spurrier said that Adams “may have helped” the Gamecocks some in their preparation for Fedora’s Tar Heels.
“Larry Fedora has done a very good job everywhere he has been,” Spurrier said. “He’s a good, hardworking guy. You have to admire what he has done as a coach.”
Clemson chatter
The Tar Heels are coming off of an 8-4 season last year, but there hasn’t been much talk about them during the preseason. Spurrier has an idea of why that might be.
“You don’t hear as much conversation out of (UNC), because you have Clemson down the road, and you hear a lot of their coaches talking,” Spurrier said.
Follower
True freshman wide receiver Pharoh Cooper won a state title at quarterback at his North Carolina high school, but elected to play defensive back at South Carolina. He has since changed positions again and will likely see playing time as a receiver early on against the Tar Heels.
Spurrier said he could see why Cooper wanted to play defense when he first came to college.
“I think someone told him that you can be like Stephon Gilmore,” Spurrier said. “Play quarterback, win a state championship, go to South Carolina, play defensive back, be a first-round NFL pick and become a millionaire.”
‘They can be stopped’
North Carolina was successful last season with its hurry-up offense, scoring more than 40 points per game. Spurrier knows that sort of offense can work if the team is completing passes. But if it’s matched up against a defense that is just as fast, the hurry-up offense doesn’t give much of an advantage.
“It’s not like they go up and down the field against everybody,” Spurrier said. “Don’t get me wrong; they are a good team, but they can be stopped. Everybody can be stopped with good solid defense. So whether or not you snap it real fast or not, the key is whether your players can block, execute, run the ball and pass the ball. To me, that’s the key.”
Extras
Women’s soccer coach Shelley Smith and men’s soccer coach Mark Berson were honored at Spurrier’s call-in show for their early season success. Smith’s squad knocked off No. 7 Duke Sunday night and Berson’s team won both of its exhibition matches.