36,412 fans turn out to Williams-Brice to take in offseason festivities
Throughout spring practice, redshirt freshman Connor Mitch and redshirt sophomore Perry Orth have battled for the right to back up starter Dylan Thompson this fall.
With the spring football season culminating in Saturday’s annual Garnet & Black spring game, the two got one last chance to state their cases before camp starts in August. But after the game, head coach Steve Spurrier said he was not closer to picking a No. 2 quarterback.
“We’ll let them go through the summer before we make up any decisions,” Spurrier said. “Then again, we might not make a decision until it’s time for somebody to go in besides Dylan.”
And while much has been made of the backup quarterback controversy this spring, Spurrier said there is no exact science to the decision.
“Sometimes the guy that’s standing closest to me might get to go in,” he said.
After trading the advantage back and forth for that past few months, Mitch looked to be the favorite to win the second-string job entering the spring game. He completed seven of his 10 attempts for 108 yards on the day.
Although he’s still a freshman, this was Mitch’s second spring season after earning his early high school graduation and joining the team in the spring of 2013. And even though he turned in a strong performance Saturday, Mitch doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions about his role in the fall.
“I’m not going to make the decision — who’s the backup — but I made some good reads,” he said. “I came off of some too quickly, but overall a good day.”
During the halftime awards ceremony in which Spurrier handed out the annual awards for efforts during spring practices, Mitch was recognized as the most improved offensive freshman of the spring.
Orth, the winner of the offensive “Big Play” award for the spring, turned in a solid day of his own from under center. He threw for 86 yards on six completions and tacked on a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Though many eyes were on the signal callers Saturday, most of the scoring came on the ground in a contest that saw the Black team take down the Garnet team 28-10.
South Carolina’s stable of running backs was in top form during the spring game, totaling 113 yards and three scores as a group. Redshirt freshman David Williams led the way with 35 yards and two touchdowns on the day, with redshirt junior Brandon Wilds contributing 12 yards and score of his own.
After receiving some minor Heisman chatter in a 2013 breakout season, junior running back Mike Davis is the clear leader of the Gamecock backfield. He received a conservative two carries and went 13 yards Saturday.
“Mike’s ready to have a big year, and Brandon Wilds is ready. Shon (Carson) should be back and David Williams had some nice runs,” Spurrier said.
Redshirt junior tailback Shon Carson made his impact primarily through the air before injuring his shoulder in the game, taking a screen pass for 37 yards in the first quarter. Carson’s was the only injury sustained on the day.
At its core, the spring game is for the fans, giving them a much-needed football fix during the doldrums of the offseason. And nobody knows how to keep the fans entertained like Spurrier.
His crowning achievement for the Garnet & Black spring game was the person he sent on the field for the annual “celebrity off the sidelines” play, as head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Thompson in the second quarter.
“The best play of the spring game had to be the catch by wide receiver Dawn Staley,” Spurrier said. “She was in the endzone, she knew to hit the ground with it. So it was an excellent catch. That was probably the highlight play.”