Here’s a little trivia for you – South Carolina has returned exactly ONE kickoff for touchdown since 1997. Want to guess who it was? Oh, right, the headline…
Matthew Thomas burst onto the scene in 2001 as a true freshman with a spectacular catch on the game-winning drive in a 13-9 win over Georgia. He went on to have a solid season that year, and much more was expected of him in following seasons.
The kickoff return of 95 yards against UVA in 2002 showed a flash of who Thomas could be. But a subsequent fumble by Thomas in the same game, returned for a touchdown by the Cavs, showed us the reality of Matthew Thomas – talented but very inconsistent.
Maybe we expected too much out of the lightly recruited DB/WR out of Georgia. But it’s really his fault for showing us those occasional flashes of brilliance. Isn’t it?
Did you cringe when you read that name? C’mon, just a little? If you were in the stands at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 22, 1997, you cringed a lot.
A severe knee injury to Anthony Wright in the second quarter of the Tennessee game had left Penn as the starter for the Florida and Clemson games. He was over-matched against UT and UF, but for some unknown reason I remember having hope going into the Clemson game.
I felt my hope was justified after we jumped out to a 14-3 lead and were driving. Then, inexplicably since we were shoving it right down the Tigers’ throats, Brad Scott went to his bag of tricks. We fumbled, Clemson recovered, subsequently scored, and all momentum was lost.
Trailing 26-14 midway through the third quarter, the cringe-worthy moment arrived. Penn dropped back and fired towards a receiver running a 10-yard out route near the sideline. Clemson’s Antoine Edwards saw it all the way, picked off the lollipop, and it was game over.
For all intents and purposes that was the end for Vic Penn at South Carolina. He was branded as too small and with too weak an arm to succeed in the SEC. He transferred to Central Florida where he wound up having a fairly decent career.
I’ll tell you this, we sure could’ve used him in ’99.
And now, Coach Spurrier gives us a report on Saturday’s scrimmage from Oppositeland:
Spurrier: OK, guys, thanks for coming out, it’s always a pleasure to have you out here with us. First of all, in addition to it being another beautiful day to be a Gamecock, I’d say we had one of our typical scrimmages, which means it was outstanding on both sides of the ball. Our offense moved the ball when we wanted them to, and our defense stopped the offense when we wanted them to, just like we planned. Things could not have looked better, my friends. Questions?
Reporter: Coach, you say you liked the offense today, but are you concerned about the seven sacks, particularly the five with Garcia in the game?
Spurrier: Aw, that’s just a part of learning and why we practice. You’re going to have good plays and bad plays, no biggie. As for Stephen Garcia, he just keeps getting better every practice. His decision making is superb, he has a rocket arm and is a leader. He’s got all-SEC and maybe all-American written all over him. I just hope he decides to stick around and not jump to the NFL after this year.
Reporter: How about the back-ups?
Spurrier: I have to say, I couldn’t be happier with Shaw and Clifford, they have bright futures ahead of them. But it would be silly to think either could beat Garcia out at this point. Stephen is just so far ahead. The bottom line is we are in good hands at quarterback. Of course, if I had a receiving crew like we have now when I played I’d probably still be playing.
Long pause for reporters’ sycophantic laughter to die down.
Reporter: Are you pleased with the progress of the offensive line?
Spurrier: Oh, you bet. Those guys are aggressive and rarely miss an assignment. It’s all instinct now, they almost don’t even need to be coached.
Reporter: How about on defense? Are you missing Eric Norwood?
Spurrier: I don’t think there’s any question our D will be better than last year, even though it’s hard to top “great”. And of course we miss Eric Norwood, he was an unbelievable defender. As a matter of fact, I’d like to take this time to announce that we are not only going to retire Eric’s number, we are going to retire his NAME at the University of South Carolina. There will never be another Eric Norwood playing for the Gamecocks. Literally.
Reporter: Coach, how is the investigation on the living arrangements of Saunders, King and Robertson going?
Spurrier: Aw, yeah, I’m more than happy to talk about that. Where is that Joe Person anyway?
Joe: Here I am coach.
Spurrier: Get up here you little scamp. (Person walks up, Spurrier puts him in a headlock and gives him a noogie.) I love this guy! Joe, you found out anything else?
Joe: Not yet, coach.
Spurrier: Atta boy Joe. Keep on diggin’. If you find anything out you let us know, all right?
Spurrier: OK then, my men. I’ll close by saying I cannot wait for September 2. Our guys could go tomorrow if necessary and play great. But since we have two and a half weeks to go, we’ll use it to get sharper and start our run at the BSC national title. Now you gentlemen have a good evening and say hello to the wives and kids for me.
Steve Taneyhill came out of nowhere in 1992 to take an 0-5 Gamecock squad and guide them to a 5-1 finish. No South Carolina season has ever seen so much despair followed by so much euphoria. Early in the season players revolted and voted to “dismiss” Sparky Woods. But Woods turned to the long-haired freshman from Pennsyvania in game six, and the rest is history.
Taneyhill not only won games, but did it with flair that gained him and the team national recognition – hair flowing out of the back of the helmet (did we even call it a mullet back then?), taking the helmet off and mugging for the camera (thanks “the U”), and mock home run swings. But there was substance to go with the style, as he led the Gamecocks to their first ever bowl victory, and even briefly moved into Heisman contention in 1995 after a 473-yard performance against Mississippi State.
To this day, when people find out I’m a Gamecock fan, some still ask “who was that long-haired quarterback you guys used to have?”
Today we tackle one of the most important topics in the history of Gamecock football – nay, all of college football – the uniform. South Carolina has worn every combination of garnet, black & white possible the last 118 years. And if they haven’t, then it’s a shame, because white helmets, black jerseys and garnet pants just might work…
Everyone has their opinion on helmets and jersey/pant combinations, and I’m here to tell you without a doubt what were the best Gamecock unis ever. So let’s get down to it.
First of all, you people with your graphics programs and WAY too much time on your hands (says the guy running the Gamecock sports blog), please STOP IT. We are never going to have helmets with a palmetto tree or some sort of claw on them.
Next, to those of you in the 2004 “black” camp – no, no, no, a thousand times NO. Unless you’re planning to start a new XFL team or just can’t get it in your head that the Miami Sharks aren’t real, let it go. The black uniforms were not “bad” or “cool”, and certainly did not intimidate a single opponent. Just ask Yusef Kelly.
Black helmets + any combination of white and black unis = worst idea ever. (As a Falcons fan I got a little misty when they wore the throwback Bartkowski unis last year. I miss them so.)
Now to narrow down the rest of the field:
The Rogers-era unis – good, but today’s translation of those probably result in our 2005 iteration. I like the larger block C, and garnet facemasks might be interesting.
JoMo-era unis – Good move to go to the garnet helmets, but never got the helmet striping quite right. The really loose jerseys are hard to watch from that era.
Sparky-era unis – Fixed the striping issue on the helmets with a solid black down the middle flanked by narrow white stripes. Jerseys and pants were blah, and solid black shoes weren’t great.
Scott-era unis – The one thing he did right. Outstanding unis to go with great helmets. Lost his way late (in more ways than one) by going to shadowed numbers, which was all the rage at the time.
Early Holtz-era unis – we deserved to go 0-11. Plain, traditional uniforms are for teams who have always had plain, traditional uniforms (see Penn St.).
Mid-Holtz-era unis – Started getting somewhere by adding the extra stripes to the helmets.
End of Holtz era – You really want me to get started on that again?
Early Spurrier unis – Brought back mid-Holtz. Solid, but the Russell jerseys looked cheap.
Spurrier Under Armour – I have to admit, I was pretty pumped when I heard we had inked a deal with UA. But I feel kind of like Jerry in the Seinfeld episode where he has the girlfriend that looks great in one light, but hideous in the other. Also, anything with “piping” just doesn’t seem right to me. The jury is out, and may never come back in.
The winner? No doubt in my mind the mid-90’s uniforms – garnet helmets, sharp jerseys with outlined “Carolina” and numbers, and wide striping on the pants. I think when Spurrier came on he missed the boat by not going back to garnet helmets. Duce Staley concurs.
Oh, who could forget the feeling we had after the 1996 Clemson game…no, no, not the nausea from watching us almost cough up a 34-17 fourth-quarter lead and the bruised knees and bloody knuckles from falling to the floor in prayer as Clemson attempted a tying field goal. The other feeling.
Yes, the feeling the Troy Hambrick was taking the torch from Duce Staley and our running game would be in more than capable hands for the next three years. Hambrick would be a beast for us, an all-SEC back for which teams would have no answer. After all, he had finished the season strong filling in for Duce after he sprained his ankle against Vandy, and he complimented Duce nicely with 135 yards against the Clembillies.
And the touchdown run in that game. The magnificent touchdown run. Hitting the hole, breaking into the open, and just as he was running out of gas that last little lean that sent the pursuer sprawling. A thing of beauty.
Alas, Hambrick’s next two years were very Mike Davis-esque – 604 yards in ’97 and 701 yards in ’98. Not quite the superstar we had hoped.
When Lou Holtz was hired many thought it would be a great new start for Hambrick. He would be the feature back for a power running team. But before he ever played a down he was kicked off the team for a ________-related offense. (You fill in the blank, I don’t remember but am pretty sure it’s one of a half dozen things.)
Hambrick went on to play a couple of years in the League, including some time with his favorite team, the Cowboys. He and his brother Darren now run a very successful frozen banana stand in Pomona Beach, CA. It’s true, I read it on the internet.
In the interest of full disclosure, I hate it when a quarterback wears a number any higher than 19. Always have. Despite that, I think Bobby Fuller was one of the five, maybe four, best quarterbacks to ever play at South Carolina. Over his two years as a starter after transferring from Appalachian State he put up some very nice numbers, combining a decent arm with great decision making and accuracy. Yet you never hear his name mentioned in any South Carolina quarterback conversation. Ever.
It must be because he played in the post-Ellis, pre-Taneyhill era, an era so devoid of color, sound and smell that it has practically self-stricken itself from the record books. It was about as memorable as Sparky Woods (whom we also plucked from App State) himself, the most beige head coach in our history. I have as few memories from the 89-92 seasons as any.
Of course, those included my last 2 1/2 years of college, so never mind. Mystery solved.
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