Its always fun to see if a new playmaker will emerge from a Spring Game. That happened today for the Gamecocks. Trey Smith, a 6-5, 225 pound receiver from Perry, Georgia by way of Western Michigan lit up the stat sheet. Before the day was over, Smith tallied 12 catches for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Coach Crowe commented on the radio that he really didn't remember a target of that size perhaps his first season at JSU. Obviously, Smith's work was against the second team defense, but its still exciting to see a new receiver emerge after losing Jeff Cameron, John Houston Whiddon and La Ray Williams from last years team.
Other notes:
*If Ivory maintains his physical condition going into next fall, Gamecock fans will be seeing a new and improved version of what was already a very good quarterback. Ivory has lost over 25 pounds and has definitely picked up a step.
*Despite worthy challengers in Tig Barksdale and Unpredictable Freelon, Calvin Middleton continues to show why he is the king. For the second straight spring game, Middleton gained over 100 yards. His performance this year bears particular note given that his work came against the first team defense. The key for Calvin will be to stay healthy in 2011.
*Speaking of injuries, quite a few players expected to contribute in 2011 missed the J-Day game with injuries including LB Spiderman Smith, OL Tristan Harden and QB Steven Coates. Of course, Coty Blanchard was playing baseball. During the game, safety Jason Horton was banged up, but it looks like he will be o.k. While Tig Barksdale played, it looked like he was bothered by injury as well and was used as more of a blocking back.
*Besides Trey Smith, another player that had an eye opening performance was Jeremy Nicholson. A highly recruited wide receiver from the 2010 signing class, Nicholson seemed to be everywhere, including making a big touchdown pass. While its hard to tell who is who sometimes in Spring Games, it looked like Nicholson was also returning kicks and playing some defense.
*Keginald Harris showed why he is a potential All American candidate by intercepting a Thomas Darrah pass and making a long return. On what seemed like the very next play, Daniel Hammett, a reserve safety from Piedmont made a beautiful pick and followed it with a long return. After having a disastrous first half, Darrah showed a lot by regaining his confidence and almost leading his team to a comeback win in the second half.
*There have been some struggles on the offensive line this Spring, but both units played well on J-Day. A high point on the day was seeing Matt Jones back on the field. Preston Hatcher, who redshirted last year, started with the first team. Speaking of the offensive line, Brandon Rogers who is normally the long snapper showed he is a receiving threat as well making several catches from the tight end spot.
Other quick notes:
*RB Jordan Allen showed he can gain yards after contact and is willing to lower the shoulder and run through defenders.
*We saw AJ Davis in the game on offense in the second half and made a great play.
*Playing safety hasn't made Brooks Robinson forget his quarterback days. He through a 45 yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Nicholson for the first score of the game.
All in all, a well played exciting game. We are sure we missed some stuff and got some stuff wrong. Please let us know your comments.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
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Trey Smith looks like a superstar in the making. How many years of eligibility does he have left?
ReplyDeleteMiddleton and Barksdale, both, looked great at running back.
Ivory looked good and much more mobile since the weight loss.
Harris, Brooks Robinson, and Wadley looked great on defense.
Thomas looked good kicking, after a shaky start.
I'm excited about the 2011 season. It looks like we have a great team.
Great question about T. Smith. He graduated high school in 2009 and looked like he had catches for WMU in 09 and 10, so most likely a junior. However, sometimes if a guy plays sparingly in an early game and gets hurt the NCAA will grant an extra year of eligibility. No reason to think this is the case with Trey Smith, but it would be great if he was a sophomore eligibility wise. Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteWill Hammett be the next Spraypaint?
ReplyDeleteSpraypaint was a special player and a great student. Not many like him come along very often. Hammett made a great break on the ball he intercepted, and almost returned it for a touchdown. We know he works hard in practice. With his continued hard work, we'll see how he progresses.
ReplyDeleteI believe Barksdale did not play. Allen and Middleton were the 2 backs for the white team. But overall the backs looked amazing.
ReplyDeleteBarksdale did not play? You might be right. The announcer was constantly mis-identifying players. He mis-called Brooks Robinson as Rayce Whiddon the entire game. Whoever the smaller back on the white team was, he did a good job. It was either Allen or Barksdale. The announcer called him Barksdale.
ReplyDeleteWe were on the field for pregame warm-ups, and Tig was dressed with the white team. He wore #22. Jordan Allen, #26, played and played well. #22 did get into the game on a limited basis. We thought it was Tig, but it could have been someone else wearing the same number. Allen would be the smaller back you mentioned. He got several carries.
ReplyDeleteOkay, we were wrong on Tig. Actually, it looks like Rod Byrd wore #22 during the J-Day game. That would make sense since we saw him punt and played on defense. Tig didn't play.
ReplyDelete