2008 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The 2008 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Steve Spurrier, who served his fourth season at USC. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The team compiled a record of 7–6.

South Carolina had the top defense in the country by October, but also three different starting quarterbacks and one of the worst offensive lines in the country throughout the year. After Tommy Beecher sustained a poor performance and injury in the season-opener against NC State, the team's offense alternated mainly between quarterbacks Chris Smelley and Stephen Garcia. The Gamecocks nearly upset No. 2 Georgia and defending national champion No. 13 LSU, but fell short in both games.

Preseason Carolina had their first spring practice on March 21, 2008. It was the first of 15 spring practice sessions for the Gamecocks, who returned 54 lettermen in Steve Spurrier's fourth season. The annual Garnet & Black Spring Game was scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Saturday, April 19.

Schedule

Radio coverage for all games was provided by the Gamecock Sports Radio Network.

Game summaries

North Carolina State

Vanderbilt

Georgia

Wofford

UAB

Mississippi

Kentucky

LSU

Tennessee

Arkansas

Florida

Clemson

Players

Depth chart

These are the projected starters and primary backups for the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2009.

Key Committed Freshmen

Antonio Allen – DB Akeem Auguste – DB Eric Baker – RB Reggie Bowens – LB Jarrett Burns – ATH Ronald Byrd – DL Kenny Davis – DL Aramis Hillary – QB T.J. Johnson – OL Jarriel King – DL Reid McCollum – QB Kenneth Miles – RB D.L. Moore – WR Darrell Simmons - DB Jay Spearman – DB Chaz Sutton – DL Devin Taylor – DL Mike Triglia – TE Charles Whitlock – DB/WR Elliot Williams - OL LaCharles Lindsey - WR

Roster Wide Receiver 4 Jason Barnes -Freshman 8 Larry Freeman - Sophomore 11 Kenny McKinley - Senior 13 Mark Barnes - Freshman 14 La’Charles Lindsey Freshman 17 Chris Culliver - Sophomore 18 Dion Lecorn - Sophomore 81 Paul Haile - Junior 82 Freddie Brown, III - Junior 83 Scott Spurrier - Junior 85 Joe Hills - Freshman 89 Leon Gamble - Senior 14 LaCharles Lindsey - “Sophomore”

Offensive Lineman 54 Hardee Sanders - Junior 57 Lemuel Jeanpierre - Junior 62 Pierre Andrews - Sophomore 63 Seaver Brown - Sophomore 64 Kevin Young - Sophomore 65 Ryan Broadhead - Freshman 66 Hutch Eckerson - Junior 68 Kyle Nunn - Freshmen 70 Garrett Anderson - Junior 72 Quintin Richardson - Freshman 74 Heath Batchelor - Sophomore 75 Gurminder Thind - Senior 76 Jeremy Burgess - Senior 77 Jamon Meredith - Senior 78 Justin Sorensen - Senior

Tight End 19 Nick Prochak - Sophomore 84 Jared Cook - Junior 87 Alex McGrath - Senior 88 Weslye Saunders - Sophomore 90 Foxy Foxworth - Sophomore Quarterback 5 Stephen Garcia - Freshman 6 Tommy Beecher - Junior 7 Chris Smelley - Sophomore 16 Michael McQueeney - Junior 17 Zac Brindise - Sophomore

Running Back 10 Brian Maddox - Sophomore 22 Bobby Wallace - Junior 20 Taylor Rank - Junior 25 Mike Davis - Senior

Fullback 35 Jim Hutton - Junior 44 Clark Gaston - Sophomore 46 Bryan Kingrey - Senior 47 Patrick DiMarco - Sophomore

Defensive tackle 61 Donte'e Nicholls - Freshman 79 Marque Hall - Senior 81 Terrence Campbell - Sophomore 91 Ladi Ajiboye - Sophomore 95 Nathan Pepper - Junior 97 Kenrick Ellis - Sophomore

Defensive End 40 Eric Norwood - Junior 42 Travian Robertson - Sophomore 83 Cliff Matthews - Sophomore 92 Byron McKnight - Freshman 96 Clifton Geathers - Sophomore 99 Jonathan Williams - Senior  Cornerback 1 Captain Munnerlyn - Junior 5 Carlos Thomas - Senior 7 Addison Williams - Sophomore 28 Chris Hail - Junior 36 Stoney Woodson - Senior 4 Cedric Snead - Freshman

Defensive Back 23 Jamire Williams - Freshman

Linebacker 4 Alonzo Winfield - Freshman 6 Melvin Ingram - Sophomore 30 Yvan Banag - Senior 31 Gerrod Sinclair - Junior 44 Dustin Lindsey - Senior 45 Rodney Paulk - Junior 48 Vandaral Shackleford - Junior 49 Damien Wright - Junior 53 Marvin Sapp - Senior 58 John Guerry - Junior 52 Jasper Brinkley - Senior

Free Safety 32 Darian Stewart - Junior 42 Mike Newton - Senior

Strong Safety 21 Emanuel Cook - Junior 34 Douglas Peterson - Senior

Long Snapper 59 Charles Turner - Sophomore

Punter / Place Kicker 14 Ryan Succop - Senior 87 Spencer Lanning - Sophomore 97 Nate Spurrier - Junior

Rankings

Statistics

Team USC Opp Scoring 270 274   Points per game 20.8 21.1 First downs 241 214   Rushing 91 98   Passing 129 95   Penalty 21 21 Total offense 4115 3795   Avg per play 4.7 4.7   Avg per game 316.5 291.5 Fumbles-Lost 23-11 21-13 Penalties-Yards 75-640 69-586   Avg per game 49.2 45.1 USC Opp Punts-Yards 49-2019 70-2986   Avg per punt 41.2 42.4 Time of possession/Game 29:42 30:18 3rd down conversions 70/180 66/177 4th down conversions 12/18 5/11 Touchdowns scored 30 34 Field goals-Attempts 20-30 12-19 PAT-Attempts 30-30 32-32 Attendance 563,703 334,446   Games/Avg per Game 7/80,529 5/66,889

Scores by quarter

Offense

Rushing Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Mike Davis 12-11 163 615 42 573 3.5 3 50 47.8 Brian Maddox 7-0 32 128 7 121 3.8 1 13 17.3 Eric Baker 9-0 46 191 9 182 4.0 0 20 20.2 Bobby Wallace 8-0 25 110 11 99 4.0 0 21 14.1 Stephen Garcia 8-3 70 289 91 198 2.8 2 25 24.8                                                                                                                                           Total   403 1489 309 1180 2.9 7 50 98.3 Opponents   429 1872 328 1544 3.6 20 80 128.7

Passing Name GP-GS Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G Chris Smelley 12-9 114.78 169-302-15 56.0 1922 14 66 160.2 Stephen Garcia 8-3 113.60 65-122-8 53.3 832 6 41 107.6 Tommy Beecher 2-1 63.8 26-14-4 53.8 126 0 18 63.0                   Total   113.9 249-452-27 55.1 2892 20 66 222.5 Opponents   110.0 189-328-14 57.0 1923 9 70 159.2

Receiving Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/GKenny McKinley   54 642 11.9 4 41 64.2Jared Cook   37 573 15.5 3 66 44.1Moe Brown   30 391 13.0 1 34 30.1Jason Barnes   27 346 12.8 2 38 28.8Mike Davis   24 213 8.9 1 18 17.8Weslye Saunders   16 214 13.4 3 27 16.5Dion LeCorn   14 106 7.6 2 20 17.7Joe Hills   11 87 7.9 1 24 7.9Freddie Brown   7 66 9.4 1 16 9.4                                                                           Total   249 2842 11.6 20 66 222.5Opponents   189 2070 11.0 9 70 159.2

Defense Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass defense Interceptions Fumbles BlkdKick Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF Total 332 156 488 36-140 12-81 19 24 8-126 15.8 46 6-81 7 1

Special teams Name Punting Kickoffs No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OBSpencer Lanning 22 932 42.4 52 5 2 5 0 Ryan Succop 40 2743 68.6 15 0 Total 22932 42.4 52 5 2 5 0 40 2743 68.6 15 0

Name Punt returns Kick returns No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD LongCaptain Munnerlyn 15 105 7.0 0 35 3 106 35.30 84Chris Culliver 19 438 23.1 0 50Larry Freeman 1 24 24.0 0 24 Total

Coaching staff Steve Spurrier - Head Coach Ellis Johnson - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers & Assistant Head Coach Shane Beamer - Cornerbacks Ron Cooper- Safeties Robert Gillespie- Running Backs John Hunt- Offensive Line Brad Lawing - Defensive Line David Reaves - Quarterbacks & Recruiting Coordinator Ray Rychleski - Special Teams Steve Spurrier, Jr. - Wide Receivers

References