Friday, April 15, 2011

5 Burning J-Day Questions

Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, there will be a Spring Game today at Burgess-Snow field. Here are 5 burning questions:

1) What will the new defense look like?

For the first time in a long time, the Gamecocks have a new Defensive Coordinator in Chris Boone. Players and coaches have been excited about what he brings to the table. Boone may play it close to the vest on J-Day, but it will be exciting to see what the new defense looks like.

2) What will Thomas Darrah do?

Darrah has the skills to be a starting quarterback, but the Gamecocks have amazing depth at that position. Darrah should get most of the snaps for the second team offense today. It will be interesting to see what the Alabama transfer can do in this situation. Unfortunately, under the format, Darrah will be operating against the first team defense so he has his work cut out for him.

3) Who is the skinny guy?

Marques Ivory has lost 28 pounds. It will be interesting to see how this affects his performance. If Ivory gains some mobility, the undisputed team leader will be even tougher for opponents to face.

4) New look backfield?

We haven't heard anything of Jahron Brown this Spring. With three very talented running backs, Middleton, Unpredictable Freelon and Tig Barksdale available, we might well see two running backs in the backfield at the same time. Probably not going to happen in the Spring Game because the players will be divided up, but interesting to watch anyway. While Barksdale was banged up in the Spring, hopefully he gets a shot to show what he can do today. He is capable of being the best player on the team. Another guy to watch is Unpredictable Freelon. We have had two seperate people associated with the program tell us that UF could be the best running back ever to play at Jax State.

5) Who wants it on the offensive line?

With the departure of Curt Porter and Tyler Ogletree and the injuries to Matt Jones and Tori Mobley, the Spring Game is a chance for some young offensive lineman to break into the depth chart. The list of available candidates is a long one including highly recruited players, Ricky Clemons, Tristan Harden and Preston Hatcher. Other names to watch include Georgia Southern transfer Taylor "Tree" Johnstone, Mammoth Douglas, Georgia product Colt Kennedy, Johnny Ubi, Jr., Tarik Milner, Chad Hampton and Max Holcombe. While offensive line is a hard position for casual fans to evaluate, the Gamecocks need to find five quality starters on the offensive line.

Can't wait for 5:30.

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