Player Profile: South Carolina OT Jamon Meredith

Pros: Meredith is a very versatile player. At 6’5, 295 ponds, he ran an impressive 5.04 at the Combine. The former Gamecock shows promise from either the right or left tackle spots and is viewed as a potential guard by some. He is very experienced and showed himself as a team player when he was asked to switch to guard his final year. Meredith’s great play at the Senior Bowl proved he is worthy of a first day pick as he impressed most of the scouts on hand. With his versatility and athletic ability, the South Carolina product should not struggle to get on the field at the next level.

Cons: Meredith lacks the toughness and the physical mindset NFL scouts want to see from offensive line prospects. He does his job but doesn’t go out of his way to punish opposing players with big hits or pancakes. The SEC product is athletic but looks very slow at times and doesn’t show a great burst off the line, so he may not play as fast as his test times. He relies too much on natural ability and will struggle at the NFL level if he doesn’t become more physical. Meredith also needs to improve his leverage and movement when trying to block defenders in space.

Scouts Take: Playing in the SEC, Meredith has the experience against upper echelon talent and the physical ability NFL teams look for when evaluating players. He had a good college career at South Carolina and followed it up with a strong week at the Senior Bowl. He has improved his stock throughout the post-season. With good size, great ability, and the versatility to play pretty much any position on the offensive line, Meredith should land somewhere on day one, likely in the second round. He does have flaws in his game but luckily for him and the team that drafts him, most can be fixed and taught with good coaching. He needs to learn that relying on natural ability will not work at the next level. It’s up to Meredith if he wants to be a star. He should excel in a zone-blocking scheme, which plays to his strengths and covers up some of his weaker skills.

Photo Credit: SEC Sports Media

This Date in College Football History

Sept. 27, 1958: Football was revolutionized in West Point, N.Y., as Army Coach Earl "Red" Blaik unveiled the "Lonely End" offense against South Carolina. Future College Football Hall of Famer Bill Carpenter stands 18-25 yards away receiving visual signals from the huddle, while halfback Pete Dawkins (another future College Football Hall of Famer) rushes nine times for 113 yards and four touchdowns. The new offense amassed 529 yards in a 45-8 victory.

Credit: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

South Carolina Names Smelley As Starter

All Access Football has learned that Chris Smelley will start at quarterback for South Carolina against Vanderbilt on Thursday night.

Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said he made the decision after starter Tommy Beecher couldn't practice Monday because he couldn't lift his non-throwing shoulder. He said Smelley probably deserves to start even if Beecher was not injured.

Beecher threw four interceptions in his first career start last week against North Carolina State. The junior came out before the fourth quarter because he was hurt.
Smelley then completed all five of his passes and led the Gamecocks on three scoring drives. Stephen Garcia will probably be Smelley's backup unless Beecher's shoulder improves.

Photo Credit: SEC Sports Media

SOUTH CAROLINA'S GARCIA INJURES ANKLE

The Associated Press is reporting that redshirt freshman signal caller Stephen Garcia will miss a week of practice with a sprained ankle, including tomorrow night’s scheduled scrimmage. Garcia suffered the injury in Saturday night’s scrimmage. He practiced on Sunday, albeit on a limited basis.

He completed six-of-eight passes for 67 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Garcia only recently joined the team (August 1), following a school-imposed suspension for underage drinking. He was originally scheduled to return on August 15, but hit the practice field sooner because of good behavior.

He also missed spring practice and his most recent run-in with the law was not his first. Garcia had two prior incidents, one of which was also alcohol related.

The Gamecocks, who finished 6-6 last season and failed to make a bowl, return a stellar defense. However, they have serious questions at the quarterback position and while Garcia is officially the No.3 quarterback on the depth chart, he is widely considered their most talented signal caller.

Chris Smelley, one of the two quarterbacks ahead of Garcia on the depth chart, was also nicked up on Saturday, spraining his thumb on his throwing hand. Smelley did not practice on Sunday, but did return on Monday.

Smelley, a sophomore, was 9-of-18 for 114 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s scrimmage. Junior Tommy Beecher also threw for two scores, completing 9-of-13 passes for a team-high 123 yards. Neither QB threw an interception.

Photo Credit: SEC Sports Media

JASPER BRINKLEY DONE FOR THE SEASON

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Only hours after learning his senior season was finished with a knee injury, South Carolina star linebacker Jasper Brinkley was pointing toward next year.

Brinkley, on the preseason watch lists for the Lombardi and Butkus awards, sustained a right knee sprain during the Gamecocks' 28-16 loss at No. 2 LSU last Saturday.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Monday the team expects to get a medical waiver from the NCAA so Brinkley can be with the Gamecocks in 2008. Jasper's twin, Casper, expects his younger brother to return next fall.

"He's very excited about having another chance to come back and play his whole year," said Casper, who also starts for South Carolina's defense.

When asked about his standout middle linebacker Sunday, Spurrier said Jasper would most likely miss a few days of practice but expected him to be ready when No. 16 South Carolina faces Mississippi State on Saturday.

The prognosis worsened Monday. Spurrier expected Jasper to need about three months of rehab after surgery.

"At first, he was real down about it," Casper said. "This whole year, we were planning on this being a big year, going out with a bang this year. But he's holding up pretty good."

Jasper Brinkley was a key part of South Carolina's successful start this season. He had 21 tackles and led the team with two interceptions.

More importantly, Casper said, Jasper was the leader everyone else could follow.

"Next year at this time, we might be saying, 'We're glad he got hurt,"' Spurrier said Monday night. "We all plan to be here next year. We should definitely have a stronger team next year. In a way, having Jasper here next year is a positive."

The Gamecocks were fortunate to have the 6-foot-2, 262-pounder around this year. Jasper Brinkley led the team -- and was fourth in the Southeastern Conference -- with 107 tackles, which was more than double the next highest Gamecock defender.

Jasper, though, passed up the lure of the NFL draft for his senior season.

And it looked like the right decision, at least in the eyes of Gamecock fans, when Jasper Brinkley had a late interception to preserve South Carolina's 16-12 victory at Georgia on Sept. 8.

Brinkley hoped to have a similar impact at second-ranked LSU, but was hurt in the opening quarter. He went back in briefly before leaving the game for good.

Casper said Jasper thought he only had a "little bump on the knee.

"But after the game, he was in so much pain, he knew it was serious," Casper Brinkley said.

Jasper Brinkley showed similar grit earlier this season, missing several preseason practices and some of the Gamecocks' season-opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Brinkley is the second starter South Carolina's defense has lost for the year. Defensive lineman Nathan Pepper injured his left knee on a 19-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 38-3 win over South Carolina State on Sept. 15.

Gamecock coaches shifted Casper Brinkley from linebacker to Pepper's end position. This time, Spurrier said junior linebacker Marvin Sapp, second on the team with 51 tackles a year ago, would get the call to clog up the middle the way Jasper Brinkley did so effectively.

"We've had previous injuries," Sapp said. "But we've done a great job of pulling together in times when it's really rough and key people go down."

SPURRIER MAKES QB CHANGE

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Steve Spurrier is at it again, shuffling quarterbacks at South Carolina until he finds someone who plays the ball coach's game.

The latest demotee is Blake Mitchell, a fifth-year senior who only a week ago Spurrier declared would be the one to take the 16th-ranked Gamecocks (3-1) as far as they would go this season.

But after South Carolina's undefeated start ended with No. 2 LSU's 28-16 victory, Spurrier said freshman Chris Smelley would get the start when the Gamecocks return to action this week against Mississippi State (3-1).

It's the second straight year Mitchell's been benched early in the season.

"Blake's had a lot of pressure on him" and that has led to erratic performances, Spurrier said. "So we're going to give Chris Smelley a chance right now."

Mitchell lost his starting spot in 2006 after South Carolina's 18-0 loss to Georgia. He returned late in the season and led the Gamecocks to close with three straight wins -- something that hadn't happened in 33 years.

But Mitchell hasn't looked as sharp so far this year. He was 7 of 16 for 70 yards against LSU before Smelley took over.

The loss dropped South Carolina four spots in this week's ranking and ended their six-game win streak.

Spurrier had been concerned about Mitchell's tendency to hold the ball too long, missing chances to connect with receivers on timing patterns.

Smelley did a good job, Spurrier said, in getting rid of the ball quickly enough to move the Gamecocks. Smelley was 12-of-26 for 174 yards and South Carolina's only touchdown pass Saturday, a 1-yard scoring toss to Kenny McKinley.

Spurrier didn't want to get into particulars about what Mitchell did wrong to lose his spot.

"But obviously we weren't going very far and we just decided to let Chris have a chance," Spurrier said. "He threw the ball pretty well, actually."

Spurrier also didn't say if Mitchell or third-stringer Tommy Beecher would come in if Smelley was ineffective or aggravated the sprained right shoulder hurt in the Gamecocks' opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.

"Right now, Chris has a chance to go the distance," Spurrier said.