* It's Coordinator Tuesday, so no comments from Joker today, only Randy Sanders and Rick Minter (and a dash of Mike Cassity.) 

* Sanders said QB Maxwell Smith was able to practice today. "The original plan was for him not to throw much today, but he felt pretty good, so he went ahead and practiced. We tried to limit his throws a little bit, but he looked good, felt good. He's not 100 percent yet, but I expect by Saturday he'll be real close. We'll see how he's doing in the morning." 

* Smith was wearing a brace on his left knee today. Sanders was asked about it and said it's typical for a lot of QBs to wear it on their left knee as it tends to get rolled up on more than the other. That happened to Max in the WKU game, and Sanders said he advised him to wear it as a precaution moving forward.

* QB Jalen Whitlow got all the work with the 2s, which is the way it's been since the Louisville game. Perhaps with more reps now he's the next man up if Smith should experience a setback. Sure sounds that way now. It almost sounded to me like they feel bad for putting Morgan Newton in that situation Saturday with very few reps for himself that week.

* Asked how much of the playbook they feel like they could run with Whitlow in the game, Sanders said "about 10 percent that you'd feel really comfortable calling. He may be able to draw more than that on the board, but as far as getting out and executing against the kind of defense we've got to play Saturday, it would be pretty small."

* Asked about the Whitlow-Towles battle for the backup spot earlier in fall camp, Sanders said Whitlow's ability to make something happen with his running ability was a big part of the decision, given that both guys would be limited to how much of the offense they could run.

* Sanders said the South Carolina D-Line is "by far and away the best defensive front we will have seen this year." Praised the Gamecocks' athleticism and active play up front, saying it has helped them cover up for some losses in the secondary. 

* Minter was asked if the defense was making improvement and could build on some of the 3-and-outs they had against Florida. He said ultimately they're still allowing too many points, too many third-down conversions, so you can tell he's frustrated. "We kinda got better, but we didn't. Until the end result changes and until we get better on third down -- 12 of 17 -- and until we get better against the run -- 200 yards -- it's not going to change."  If nothing else, he said the good start Saturday at least gave the team more of a chance. "We helped that 94-3 stat a little bit," Minter quipped. "We're a young team that's trying to build on something."  Said he was most upset with the bad drive they surrendered to start the second half. They've done that a couple of times coming out of halftime this year, something they're trying to solve. 

* Freshman DB Cody Quinn has drawn a lot of praise for his play against the Gators. Minter said all three freshmen (Tiller, Harmon and Quinn) are "good takes." They feel like Quinn has a lot of "grace under fire." He likes his calm, cool demeanor and confidence he brings to the field. Minter feels good about the depth they're building at a position that was a big question mark going into the season.

* Asked if last year's 54-3 score and the fact that the Gamecocks were still throwing the ball late in the game stuck in his crawl, Minter said: "They haven't changed. They've done that the first four games, so I expect that to be the norm if they have that opportunity. Spurrier's not changing. That's who he is. He's a quarterback at heart and loves to throw the ball... Even the last play of the game, they don't take knees. They just keep giving reps to the next unit. That's kind of their attitude about it. Just keep firing away, keep running their offense. It's our job to stop them, not their job to take the air out of the ball."

* Minter said Gamecock QB Conner Shaw is similar to Florida's Jeff Driskel in that he can hurt you with his feet when the play breaks down. The Cats have to be prepared for the QB to tuck it and run.

Nice update jeff. I felt bad for newton as well. It was a tough situation they put him in. Good news is max is throwing again. If you hear how he is today let us know. Thx.

CatFansince73 wrote:  Sanders said Whitlow's ability to make something happen with his running ability was a big part of the decision


This is something else I've been scratching my head about.  Whitlow only carried the ball one time against Florida.

Only had two series, it was 38-0, and the D stacked the box. Sanders said they just called what they thought he could handle versus the looks he was seeing at that point.

BUT I was confused by the gameplan for Newton. I know he's not a speedy guy, but he can be an effective runner due to his size and strength. I cannot believe they had him throw the ball that often in the first half.

I Think your right about having the gameplan commit more to running the ball than they did. Im disappointed with how they have used the run game all season. It has been a very vanilla approach We actually looked decent running against florida in the first half.
That brings up another issue i think this team faces which is ball control. Im not 100% on board with the no huddle yet. I need to see more to get a good idea of how effective it is vs. the huddle. You give up some communication between the players during the drive and its harder to manage the clock.
I think they should be aware of t.o.p. while using it. If they snap the ball without using much clock on the majority of plays then it puts alot of pressure on the defense. They have been on the field a ton so far this season.

I think the no huddle has to be coupled with at least an adequate defense to be effective. If the defense can get themselves off of the field on most series then the lack of substitutions starts to have an effect on the opposing defense.

We were so far behind (actually 31-0 when Whitlow first came in), what would it have hurt to see what the kid can do? At least use his strengths. What I saw was just more of the same trying to not lose too horribly. There was never any intention of trying to win that game.

And what was the point of punting on Florida's side of the field on our last possession? Did Foster need more reps than Whitlow?

CatFansince73 wrote: We were so far behind (actually 31-0 when Whitlow first came in), what would it have hurt to see what the kid can do? At least use his strengths. What I saw was just more of the same trying to not lose too horribly. There was never any intention of trying to win that game.

And what was the point of punting on Florida's side of the field on our last possession? Did Foster need more reps than Whitlow?

CF73, I really think the answer is right in front of you...coaching staff.  I've been a supporter of Joker and his decisions, right or wrong, for too long now.  He is a wonderful man, great recruiter, blah, blah, blah....the man can't coach!! 

In the words of your man Obama...IT"S TIME FOR A CHANGE!!

(or in my man Romney...HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS!!)

I gave Joker the benefit of the doubt for two seasons, but even the most blindly loyal fan surely can see by now that we have to make a change. I think he wants out too, even if he doesn't realize it yet.