Heading into South Carolina’s annual intrasquad spring game April 17, fifth-year senior Dondrial Pinkins was the clear cut starter at quarterback.
After all, he has by far the most experience of any of USC’s quarterbacks, playing in all 12 games in 2003. He completed 50.3 percent of his passes, and threw for 2,127 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
But then Syvelle Newton had the spring game of a lifetime, completing 16-of-27 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 71 yards on 11 carries. He played for both sides and led all four scoring drives in the 13-13 tie.
“Syvelle’s performance in the spring game was outstanding,” said South Carolina coach Lou Holtz in Tuesday’s Southeastern Conference teleconference. “He’s young and hasn’t had much experience, but boy is he exciting and thrilling.”
Pinkins did not fair nearly as well. He was 4-for-14 for 35 yards and one interception and did not muster up any scoring drives. But Holtz said on the whole, he had a good spring practice.
“Dondrial did not have a good spring game, but he did have a very good spring practice,” Holtz said. “With [Syvelle’s] performance in the spring game, you definitely have to plug him into that quarterback race.”
The quarterback controversy is just one of the questions Holtz and company have going into the 2004 season. After going 5-7 the last two seasons and being left out of the bowl game mix in both, the avid Gamecock country is becoming restless.
Holtz said the fact that his team has been unable to reach a bowl game in the last two years has hurt the Gamecocks’ development.
“When you have have 15 [spring] practices, [developing] is very difficult,” Holtz said. “The fact that we didn’t go to a bowl game and lost those 20 practice opportunities I think also hurt the football team. And how much progress we make in the summer is going to be critical.”
South Carolina has 16 returning starters, including nine on offense. But that offense finished the quarterback position.
Returning at running back is sophomore Demetris Summers.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound first-team Freshman All-SEC performer is coming off a season when he rushed for 638 yards on 124 carries and three touchdowns.
Holtz said he is concerned more with the Gamecocks’ offense than with their defense.
“We probably had more concerns with the offense during the spring than we did with the defense,” Holtz said. “The defense was ahead of our offense throughout the spring. We need a good summer out of our players, that’s for sure.”
The defense does return six starters, but lost cornerback Dunta Robinson, who was the 10th overall pick in last weekend’s NFL draft.
The leading returning defender is defensive end Moe Thompson, who compiled 99 tackles with 9.5 of them being for loss last season.
No matter the situation, Holtz, who is a master motivator, will get the most out of his players.
As for the quarterback race, Holtz said he will not hesitate to use a two-man system.
“What we have done many times before is play two quarterbacks,” Holtz said. “You have a starting quarterback, and you play the second-team one also because it gives you a little change of pace.”