Post Georgia State Observations

*A Happy Crowe: Coach Crowe loves to run the football and control the game with the run. The Gamecocks ran it 58 times on Saturday with three separate players getting over 10 carries.

*Mr. All Purpose: The holes have not been big for the Gamecocks running attack this year, but when Ealey gets in the open field he is punishing and dangerous. On Saturday, he had over 80 yards rushing, but also had over 70 yards receiving. His best play, however, may have been a complete and utter demolition of a Georgia State defender on a block that freed Coty up for a score. A Gamecock insider said that when Ealey first arrived his blocking was far ahead of his running.

*AJ runs em' down: Despite a somewhat disappointing overall start this year, special teams have been pretty good. The Gamecocks did let Georgia State break a long kickoff return, but it was great to see Awesome Jet Davis close the gap on the returner.

*Free Country: Shaw and Bonner are great return men, but after his performance against Martin what does Gabriel "Country" Chambers have to do to get a shot as the kickoff return man.

*Jackson and Johnson (not the presidents, the linebackers): It did not take Jack Jackson long to make his impact felt, getting a tackle on the opening kickoff, returning a blocked punt for a touchdown and leading the team in tackles. It was also great to see linebacker Nick Johnson, a starter who has missed time because of injury, back out there. Johnson was second on the team in tackles. Indeed, there were new linebackers everywhere with pre-season All OVC safety Keginald Harris getting his first start of the season -- at linebacker. The teams that will threaten JSU in the OVC this year do not pound the ball. Using Harris, even though he might be undersized at linebacker, makes the whole team faster.

*The Butcher Block: Every time he is in the game, Defensive Tackle Barry "the Butcher" Stafford (they call him the butcher because he used to work as a meat cutter) just makes plays. This time the Butcher blocked a Georgia State punt from a short formation which led to the Jack Jackson touchdown.

*Colt Kennedy Comes out Firing: Things were looking scary when Matt Jones appeared hobbled with an injury after the first half. However, Colt Kennedy, from Douglas, Georgia started the second half and the Gamecocks never looked back. When asked about the big holes in the second half, a Gamecock coach said that's what happens when you keep pounding the ball.

*They were only freshmen: There are a lot of freshmen and new players working in to regular rotations. This should bode well for the Gamecocks as the season progresses as true depth is built. Among the true or redshirt freshman making significant contributrions are WR Country Chambers, RB Rashod Byers, RB Coot James, Safety Jamaal Johnson, DT Caleb Lawrence, and CB Denzell Bynum. When you add in other "new" players like Ealey, Jack Jackson, Tarik Milner, Jerry Slota, Jeremy Nicholson, Tanner Robinson all making an impact, things are hopefully looking up for the Gamecocks.

*New Look Gamecocks: The Gamecocks showed a lot of new looks this weekend. Several times the Gamecocks came out with Calvin Middleton, Ealey and Coot lined up right next to each other. Also, Letson and company seemed to show some new wrinkles on some option plays which emphasized Blanchard's dual threat capabilities.