“Everybody is getting an even proportion of the ball this whole spring,” said Mon Denson, the senior with 127 contains, that have netted 584 yards and four touchdowns. “Everybody has been in there.”
Well, now not all and sundry. Senior Rico Dowdle, who appeared to get an emotional song on the beginning activity and bulk of the Gamecocks’ 2019 includes when Ty’Son Williams introduced his transfer intentions, has yet to participate fully this spring because of groin harm that has lingered because the give up of closing season. Although running backs coach Thomas Brown said final week that Dowdle “did a few crew stuff,” the Gamecocks’ maximum skilled returned still hasn’t back completely to practice.
His endured absence has been noticed by offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon.
“Rico, similar to the rest of these guys, has to return out there and earn it in exercise,” McClendon stated. “If he doesn’t earn it in practice, he isn’t going to get it in the game. We’re going to play the nice two men, and if he’s not one of the first-class two guys, he’ll be over there status next to me. He’s got to go out there and compete and get it proper in practice.”
Dowdle has 1,669 yards and 12 touchdowns on 322 career contains. The Gamecocks have six spring practices ultimate, along with the April 6 spring game.
“All (the going for walks backs) have become reps with one-of-a-kind organizations, so we can say, ‘This is what you probably did with this organization, and that is what you probably did with this organization.’ Now you observe the production chart and say, ‘These are efficient guys,’ ” McClendon stated. “If a few guys are available busting his tail and earning it and a few men are over right here and indicates up, and we try to place him in that’s not honest. Everything you talk approximately and the entirety you preach goes out the window, and we don’t need that to manifest.”
McClendon followed all that up through announcing he wasn’t frustrated with Dowdle.
“If a man’s hurt, he’s hurt, but what I can’t do is say, ‘OK he’s going to come back back from being harm and cross proper returned to doing it,’ if there are men who’re accessible doing a terrific activity of earning gambling time,” McClendon stated.
Dowdle has overlooked ten games in his career due to injury, which includes a sports activities hernia, a broken leg and a sprained ankle. His absence has left the spring consists of to Denson, redshirt freshman Deshaun Fenwick (who performed in games last year), senior A.J. Turner (who practiced at cornerback the first week of spring) and freshman Kevin Harris (who enrolled early). Redshirt freshman Lavonte Valentine is operating with the track group this spring.
“Spring goes suitable,” Fenwick said. “To get better and improve each day, compete and with a bit of luck make my team better than what they had been. As long as I maintain bringing it and being consistent, I think I’ll see a few consists of in the fall.”
The Gamecocks plan to play primary backs in video games q4, McClendon said.
“I assume looking to play three a recreation is a manner an excessive amount of,” he said. “It’s difficult for a man to get right into a rhythm, get into the glide of strolling the ball and studying the defense and things like that. What we need to do is slim it down going into a sport and say, ‘OK, those are the two guys we’re going to depend on.’ And we’d adore it to be the identical two men, but it’s up to those men.”