But there was something about the program that appealed to Holtz. He was taken by the fact that, win or lose, more than 80,000 fans showed up for every game at Williams-Brice Stadium. And Holtz knew the state of South Carolina was loaded with high school talent. Mine that talent, Holtz reasoned, and a consistent winner could be built in Columbia.
South Carolina struggled mightily in its first season under Holtz, finishing 0-11. But the next season, Holtz engineered the most dramatic turnaround in the country, carving out eight wins with a solid defense and kicking game and an offense that was geared to limit mistakes. The Gamecocks put an exclamation point on their season by beating Ohio State in the Outback Bowl.
A year ago, South Carolina did that season one better, winning nine games and again beating the Buckeyes in the Outback Bowl.
Can Holtz and his Gamecocks keep the bowl streak going? If so, he will have to replace a host of key players from his 2001 team. But the best recruiting class in the veteran coach’s time at South Carolina -- some say it’s the best ever at the school -- has re-stocked the talent supply. South Carolina signed eight of the top 10 high school players in its home state and also brought in five junior college transfers to lend immediate help.
South Carolina caught a break in the off-season when defensive coordinator Charlie Strong wasn’t hired away by other schools looking for a head coach.
Holtz enters the season as the third winningest active coach in the country with 233 victories. That places him 10th all-time. With two wins, Holtz can pass former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. And Holtz is six victories away from overtaking his former boss at Ohio State, Woody Hayes.
Can the Gamecocks get Holtz those six wins? The way the program is going now, that seems a certainty.
QUARTERBACKS
Corey Jenkins 146; travels come full circle this fall, when he begins the season as South Carolina’s starting quarterback. As a child, Jenkins sold soft drinks at Williams-Brice Stadium. He went on to become an all state quarterback at Columbia Dreher High School, but he got sidetracked on his way to a career playing football for the Gamecocks.
Jenkins signed with Carolina in 1995, but professional baseball beckoned, and he wanted to give the sport his best shot. Jenkins spent four years toiling in the minor leagues for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox organizations.
Eventually deciding that his dream of playing in the big leagues would never be realized, Jenkins enrolled in 1999 at Garden City (Kansas) Junior College, where he played football for two seasons. After earning JC All-America honors both years, Jenkins transferred to South Carolina. Last season he saw action in 11 games as a backup to Phil Petty.
Jenkins rushed for 303 yards and two touchdowns and completed 11-of-24 passes for 194 in relief of Petty. A great athlete, Jenkins took one snap as a fullback in the Outback Bowl, and could also play tailback, receiver, linebacker or safety if he put his mind to it. But Jenkins spent countless hours preparing for the day he would return to Williams-Brice as the Gamecocks’ quarterback.
He won that job in spring practice and then validated his position in the spring game while demonstrating an ability to throw as well as he runs. He completed 11-of-18 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns and wasn’t intercepted. Jenkins added 91 yards rushing on eight carries.
Jenkins’ backup will be sophomore Dondrial Pinkins (6-2, 238), who saw action in seven games in 2001 after red-shirting the season before. Pinkins suffered torn cartilage in his knee in his first preseason camp and sat out 2000. A year ago, he completed 3-of-7 passes for 21 yards. Pinkins made the most of his three completions. Two of them went for touchdowns, one a 10-yarder to Willis Ham against Vanderbilt and the other for three yards to Ryan Brewer against Florida.
Pinkins showed some running skill, too. At his size, he’s hard to bring down. Pinkins carried four times for 31 yards against Kentucky and three times for 28 yards against Florida, including a 20-yard burst.
RUNNING BACKS
Where to list Ryan Brewer ? Is he a running back? Or is he a wide receiver? Actually, he’s both. And if he recovers in time from off-season ankle surgery, chances are good he’ll be South Carolina’s most valuable player.
Brewer (5-10, 215), a senior who caught 37 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns in 2001, injured his ankle in the Gamecocks’ Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State on Jan. 1. Brewer rehabbed the injury throughout the off-season, but re-injured his ankle in Carolina’s final scrimmage before the spring game. Brewer’s ankle was placed in a case for three weeks and the injury re-evaluated. Doctors decided at that point that surgery was necessary. After surgery, Brewer’s ankle was again put in a cast, this time for several weeks, before he began rehab. His status for the fall wasn’t clear.
Clearly, South Carolina is a much better team with Brewer in the lineup. The most versatile player in the SEC does it all. In addition to his receiving totals in 2001, Brewer also rushed 36 times for 186 yards. He returned 18 kickoffs for an average of 20.3 yards per return, and 18 punts for an average gain of 5.5 yards. In 2000, Brewer even punted three times, for a respectable 40.3 average.
After the January dismissal of Derek Watson, who couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble during his time in Columbia, Brewer was elevated to first-team tailback.
Watson was booted after being convicted of marijuana possession. He had started for three seasons and rushed for 1,684 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2000 and 2001. Despite those accomplishments, the loss of Watson is addition by subtraction. And Holtz felt more than comfortable with Brewer stepping into the position.
In the absence of Brewer and Watson, the emphasis in the backfield shifts to senior fullback Andrew Pinnock (6-0, 255). Or perhaps it already had. A year ago, Pinnock carried 115 times for a team-high 622 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 2002, Pinnock gained 406 yards, second on the team.
A deceptively quick and powerful runner, Pinnock knows how to find the end zone. He’s scored 20 touchdowns in his career.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Of all the positions on offense, receiver might hold the most questions marks as the Gamecocks enter 2002.
Holtz is hoping senior James Adkisson (6-5, 215) can become a big-play threat. A former junior college player, Adkisson caught 17 passes for 227 yards in 2000, his first season in Columbia. A year ago, he appeared in just two games before a back injury sidelined him the rest of the season. He was granted a red-shirt year.
Adkisson has the tools to be a go-to guy. His size, coupled with his leaping ability, should allow him to go up and get high passes. Adkisson is also fast. He competed for the South Carolina track team as a jumper and a sprinter. Adkisson impressed his coaches in the spring.
Other receivers who will compete for time in the fall are sophomores Andrea Gause (5-9, 190) and Matthew Thomas (6-1, 180) and seniors Michael Ages and Chavez Donnings (5-11, 185).
Hart Turner (6-5, 240), a junior, will start at tight end. His backup is red-shirt freshman Fran Person (6-6, 245).
Turner started two games and appeared in 11.
"Hart Turner is starting to develop into a fine receiving tight end," Holtz said. "He will have role in this offense. He is starting to earn is way onto the playing field."
OFFENSIVE LINE
Of South Carolina’s five returning starters on offense, three of them play on the line. All three have won some sort of all-league honor in their careers.
The left side of the line is in the capable hands of junior tackle Travelle Wharton (6-4, 300) and senior guard Cedric Williams (6-3, 300).
Wharton, a Freshman All-American and All-SEC Freshman pick in 2000, started 11 games last fall, missing only the Arkansas game with an ankle injury. The ankle didn’t keep him down long, though. He returned the next week against Vanderbilt and helped the Gamecocks establish a school single-game total offense record with 656 yards.
Williams, a first-team All-SEC pick in 2000, started eight of 12 games last season but was slowed by a high ankle sprain. A three-year starter, Williams’ has gained strength and improved his technique each season.
The other veteran on the line is senior guard Shane Hall (6-6, 300). Hall, second-team All-SEC a year ago, started 11 of 12 games last season and was so versatile he was used at left tackle, right guard and right tackle.
After the spring, right tackle Watts Sanderson (6-6, 300) and center C.J. Frye (6-3, 315) earned starting jobs. Frye started four games in 2001. He also throws the shot put for Carolina’s track team. Sanderson backed up Wharton last season and played in seven games, including the last four.
KICKERS
Junior Daniel Weaver (6-1, 205) turned up on the Gamecocks’ highlight tape last season after kicking the game-winning field goal in the Gamecocks’ 31-28 victory over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl.
Ahead 28-0, South Carolina had to hold off a furious Buckeye comeback. With 23 seconds to play and the scored tied at 28, Weaver was called upon to try a 42-yarder. His kick cleared the crossbar by less than a foot, but it touched off bedlam among the 25,000 or so South Carolina fans who made the trek to the game.
Last season, Weaver was 13-of-17 on field goals, including 4-of-5 from 40 yards or beyond.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The front wall of South Carolina’s 3-3-5 defense returns two key players, senior nose tackle Langston Moore (6-2, 290) and senior left end Dennis Quinn (6-4, 265).
Moore came up with 56 tackles, three for loss, one sack and three quarterback pressures last season, and he gave the Gamecocks a little bonus when he blocked two kicks. The first came in the season opener against Boise State, and teammate Rashad Faison returned it 82 yards for a touchdown. Moore swatted away another field goal the next week against Georgia.
Quinn started eight of the nine games he played a year ago, and despite undergoing knee surgery in the middle of the season, he still managed 29 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks. Quinn was injured in a late September game against Mississippi State, underwent surgery on Oct. 1 missed just three games against Kentucky, Arkansas and Vanderbilt and was back in the lineup October 27 against Tennessee.
The other starter up front is sophomore right end George Gause (6-5, 255), a former linebacker and the first cousin of South Carolina receiver Andrea Gause. In 2001, Gause was chosen to the SEC’s All-Freshman team after playing in nine games. He didn’t start his first game until the Outback Bowl, but his debut in the lineup was impressive. Playing linebacker in place of an injured Kalima Edwards, Gause made a game-high 10 tackles, two for loss, and a sack against Ohio State.
Gause made 24 tackles on the season.
South Carolina raided Georgia Military College, which won the junior college championship in 2001, for three players. The best might have been lineman Randy Jackson (6-4, 270), a junior who was rated the No. 2 junior college prospect in the country by Rivals.com and was the NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year.
LINEBACKERS
This unit will miss former starters Kalimba Edwards and Kenny Harney. Between them, they accounted for 165 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four sacks a year ago. Edwards was taken in the second round of the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. He was the 35th player selected.
South Carolina still fields a solid trio of linebackers in seniors Jermaine Lemon (6-0, 225) and Rod Thomas (6-1, 235) and freshman Lance Laury (6-2, 225).
Lemon started out as a spur safety last season, but he was moved to linebacker when Shannon Wadley was lost for the season with an injury. Lemon started 11 games and finished as the Gamecocks’ second-leading tackler with 91. Five of his tackles were for loss, and he also added two sacks, five pass breakups and seven quarterback pressures.
Lemon made his first start against Georgia and responded with seven tackles. Lemon came up with three double-figure tackle games, with a career-high 16 against Wofford.
One of the surprises of the spring was Laury, a former walk-on who was red-shirted in 2001. South Carolina coaches thought they might have gotten a steal in Laury’s red-shirt season, and they turned out to be right. Not many walk-ons win starting jobs in the SEC. Fewer still win them as freshmen.
Linebacker reserves are junior Jeremiah Garrison (6-1, 225), sophomore Orus Lambert and senior Lenny Williams (6-4, 230).
DEFENSIVE BACKS
South Carolina’s secondary, which finished second in the SEC and 22nd in the country in pass defense a year ago, was gutted. All-America cornerback Sheldon Brown, All-SEC corner Andre Goodman and free safety Antione Nesmith have all departed, leaving big holes to fill. Brown was chosen in the second round of the NFL draft by the Philadephia Eagles. The Detroit Lions took Goodman in the third round.
Holtz has a solid base around which to rebuild the secondary in senior spur safety Rashad Faison (5-9, 190), who is being touted as an All-America candidate. Faison was South Carolina’s leading tackler last season with 104. He also led the Gamecocks in tackles for loss (9.5), including two sacks, and intercepted a pass.
Faison blocked a field goal in the 2001 opener against Boise State and returned in 82 yards for a touchdown, setting a school record. Faison was a second-team All-SEC pick a year ago.
Joining Faison at the spur slot is senior Jonathan Martin (5-11 215). Last season he made 64 tackles, including three for loss, recovered a fumble and blocked a kick. He made nine tackles against Alabama and got his blocked kick against Kentucky.
"Our strongest position may be at spur with Faison and Martin," Strong said. "I feel pretty comfortable there."
After spring practice, South Carolina’s other secondary starters were junior free safety Deandre Eiland (6-0, 200), senior right cornerback Isaac Stackhouse (5-10, 190), and junior left cornerback Dunta Robinson (6-0, 180).
Eiland has the most experience, earning four starts in 2001 and making 46 tackles. He had 10 tackles and caused a fumble in South Carolina’s win over Alabama. Stackhouse and Robinson filled reserve and special teams roles last season.
The Gamecocks’ secondary received a major talent transfusion from the junior college ranks with three signees. Two of the new defensive backs came from Georgia Military College, Jermaine Harris (6-4, 210) and Corey Peoples (6-2, 200).
RECRUITING CLASS
When Holtz came to South Carolina, he knew if he could shut off the exodus of state high school talent to other SEC schools and keep Clemson from hogging all the top players, he could sustain his program. In 2002, all the hard work of Holtz and his staff paid off. The Gamecocks cleaned house in their home state.
South Carolina signed eight of the talent-rich state’s top 10 prospects, including linebacker Hurley (6-3, 235) of Greenwood; defensive lineman Moe Thompson (6-3, 250) of Goose Creek; receivers Troy Williamson (6-2, 185) of Aiken, Charles Ben (6-1, 185) of St. Matthews and Frederick Bennett (6-2, 160) of Manning; defensive back Tremaine Tyler (6-0, 175) of Cope; and offensive linemen Jabari Levey (6-7, 300) of Moncks Corner and Stephen Sene (6-6, 280) of Columbia.
"On paper, this was one of the best classes I’ve had," Holtz said.
The recruiting analysts went a step farther in assessing South Carolina’s talent harvest.
"This just may be South Carolina’s best recruiting class," ESPN analyst Tom Lemming said. "At least it is in the 23 years I’ve been following recruiting."
The jewel of the class is Hurley, a Parade All-American who was rated the No. 1 linebacker in the country by PrepStar, Prep Football Report and Rivals.com. He easily the No. 1 in South Carolina.
Hurley piled up 82 tackles, 22 for loss, and five sacks and in 2001.
Hurley knew a month before national signing day that he wanted to attend South Carolina, but he kept his decision to himself, causing some Gamecock fans to fear he would choose Florida. He gave those in attendance at his signing-day press conference a start when he took a Florida jersey out of a plastic bag. After a dramatic pause, Hurley tossed the jersey aside and pulled off his sweatshirt to reveal a South Carolina jersey.
The Gamecocks’ receivers haul was impressive. Williams, who played for Silver Bluff High School, was chosen the No. 5 wide receiver in the nation by SuperPrep and the No. 3 player in South Carolina. Last season he caught 21 passes for 500 yards, and rushed for 890 more.
Ben, who played for Calhoun County High School, was ranked as the No. 17 receiver in the country by Lemming. A super athlete, Ben has a 37-inch vertical leap and runs the 40 in 4.4. In 2001, he caught 56 passes for 650 yards and six touchdowns.
Bennett, rated the No. 4 prospect in South Carolina by SuperPrep, caught 52 passes for 1,162 yards and 22 touchdowns.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
Holtz enters this season with cautious optimism after the loss of personnel the Gamecocks suffered from teams that won consecutive Outback Bowls.
"When I take a look at what we lost, you have great trepidation and you wonder what in the world am I doing coaching," he said. "We have a solid nucleus, but we have a lot of question marks."
If Jenkins can handle the quarterback job and do-everything Brewer can make it back from ankle surgery, South Carolina’s offense will be able to hold its own. And if the Gamecocks’ defense, despite the loss of several key players from 2001, can continue to be the backbone of the team, Holtz can put yet another competitive group on the field.
Asking the Gamecocks to slip past Tennessee, Georgia or Florida in the SEC’s Eastern Division is a bit much. But a third straight bowl game is a reasonable and reachable goal.
