Why the Gamecocks bolted footballs to the walls

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

The new ops building has anything and everything a player or coaching staff could want, but that didn’t stop the Gamecock coaches from making a few additions three weeks into preseason camp.

Those would be the footballs attached to thick springs and bolted to the walls outside meeting rooms, serving as a way to remind players of what’s important.

“Turnovers,” defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said. “Every time you go by there, you snatch that ball out. We want them thinking about the football…We want to play to win and the ball’s the most important thing in this building. Coach Muschamp says every day, we mention it in every single meeting every day: its’ about the ball.”

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Every time a player walks by the ball protruding about six inches out from the newly-constructed wall, he’s expected to punch, rip or stab at the ball, whatever really strikes his fancy as he’s en route to a meeting or to grab something to eat.

It’s there as a friendly reminder from the Gamecock coaching staff that the emphasis should, and will be, on getting the ball off people and the bolted balls give them a few more chances to practice their moves.

The balls didn’t go up with the facility and go up roughly two weeks out from the start of the season.

Forcing turnovers has been an focal point and a desired character trait of a Will Muschamp and Robinson-coached defense dating all the way back to their days at Florida together.

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But through the first 15 practices of camp those numbers aren’t where Robinson wants them to be from a defensive coach’s perspective.

“We’re probably not as pleased as we want to be. You look at the two big scrimmages we have, we only had two turnovers, which is not what we want,” he said. “That’s really good on the offensive part because that’s one of the things we talk about: get the ball. Jake’s doing a good job protecting that but we have to cause some turnovers to do what we need to do.”

Last season was a disappointing one in terms of turnovers for the Gamecocks, finishing minus-5 in the turnover margin.

In the six games the Gamecocks either tied or won the turnover battle, they went 4-2 while they went 3-4 in games they lost the turnover battle.

The goal in practices entering this season is three turnovers every day in team drills, and that’s still the standard Robinson holds his defense to.

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“That’s our goal, and that’s only in team drills. We don’t count one-on-ones, anyone of that. We count team drills, 11-on-11 versus people.”