Today is Thursday, June 11, 2009. There are 84 days until the season opener.

No one was wearing #84 in the spring

James "Skimp" Harrison (E, 1942); Buddy Frick (E, 1956); Bucky Walker (E, 1958); Bill Magan (E, 1959); Paul Lessek (E, 1960); Bert Anderson (E, 1964); Ken Thornton (E, 1965); Randy Harbour (TE, 1966); Dave Lucas (DE, 1967-69); Steve Wade (TE, 1970-71); Brian Nemeth (TE, 1972); Stevie Stephens (WR, 1973-74); John Dantonio (DE, 1975-78); DeWayne Chivers (DE, 1979); Karey Johnson (OLB/DE, 1980-82); Kenneth Robinson (LB, 1983-86); Chann McLaughlin (WR, 1987-88); Ray Hill (DE, 1987); Mike Landry (LB, 1989-1993); Thomas Pritchard (WR, 1994-95); Jermale Kelly (WR, 1996-2000); Ricky Ricks (WR, 2001); Andre Hemphill (WR, 2002-03); Austin LeSane (WR, 2004); Jared Cook (WR/TE, 2005-08)

Though his time at USC could have come to a better end, receiver Jared Cook was the best combination of talent and production to wear #84. End Buddy Frick was an All-ACC player in 1956 and Kenneth "Gus" Robinson was a team captain and solid linebacker, but Cook might have been the best combination of size and speed since Ryan Bethea was suiting up in the late 1980s. Cook, whose brother Jason was a starting fullback for Mississippi State, redshirted in 2005 and was a backup tight end in 2006; he caught six passes that year for a 19 yard average, including a 25-yard touchdown against Auburn. He played both wide receiver and tight end in 2007 while catching 30 passes, including three touchdowns. Cook really blossomed as a senior, coming up with 37 catches for a 15 yard average, including an 8 catch, 111 yard day against Vanderbilt when Kenny McKinley was injured and Cook had to carry the passing game. He made the decision to turn pro early and was a 3rd round pick this spring by the Tennessee Titans.

Certainly in terms of wins, the 1984 season was USC's most successful ever. It was Joe Morrison's second season at the helm, and he had a senior-laden offensive line, a stable of good running backs and an opportunistic defense. Expectations were not high among national pundits going into the season and a close win over The Citadel (31-24, with the winning score coming on a trick halfback option pass from Quinton Lewis to Chris Wade) did little to convince anyone otherwise. A 21-0 shutout of Duke led up to USC's first big win of the year, a 17-10 win over Georgia where backup QB Mike Hold came off the bench to go 3 of 3 for 88 yards and rush for the winning touchdown. The Gamecock defense forced turnover after turnover in wins over Kansas State (49-17) and Pittsburgh (45-21) while the USC ground game churned up yardage; Hold and starting QB Allen Mitchell each threw 2 TD passes in the win over the Panthers. Hold performed his magic again in a come from behind 36-32 win at Notre Dame where the Gamecocks trailed 26-14 at the start of the fourth quarter. Hold had two fourth quarter touchdown rushes and Quinton Lewis added a third. Carolina handled ECU fairly easily (42-20) but needed a Thomas Dendy touchdown with under a minute to go to knock off N.C. State (35-28). The Gamecocks also sadly lost starting RB Kent Hagood for the year in that game with a broken leg. After Bryant Gilliard's three interceptions led a 38-26 win over Florida State USC found themselves perched at #2 in the nation and traveling to visit underdog Navy. Carolina was off all day in that one though and suffered their first loss of the year, 38-21. Another fourth quarter comeback led the Gamecocks to a 22-21 win over Clemson; USC trailed 21-3 at the half, but Quinton Lewis ran for a touchdown, Tony Guyton and Willie McIntee sacked Tiger QB Mike Eppley for a safety, Scott Hagler kicked a 41-yard field goal and Mike Hold took it in from the 1 for the winning score with under a minute to go. The Gamecocks fourth quarter magic ran out in the Gator Bowl; they led Oklahoma State 14-13 going into the final period but the only score would be a touchdown pass by OSU's Rusty Hilger to defeat USC.

Rushing: Thomas Dendy, 103-634-8

Passing: Mike Hold, 64-137-5, 46.7%, 1385 yds, 8 td

Receiving: Ira Hillary, 27-564-3

Tackles: Paul Vogel, 164

Tackles For Loss: Glenn Woodley, 11

Sacks: Carl Hill, 5

Passes Broken Up: Rick Rabune, 11

Interceptions: Bryant Gilliard, 9

Kicking: Scott Hagler, 8-13 FG, 45-45 XP, 69 pts

Punting: Tom O'Connor, 66-40.4

KO Return: Raynard Brown, 11-31.3-1

Punt Returns: Jerry Dunlap, 29-6.3-0

- AP All-America - LB James Seawright, OG Del Wilkes

- Football Writers All-America - LB James Seawright

- Kodak Coaches All-America - OG Del Wilkes

- Walter Camp Foundation All-America - OG Del Wilkes

- Football News 2nd Team All-America - FS Bryant Gilliard, LB James Seawright

- UPI 2nd Team All-America - LB James Seawright, OG Del Wilkes

- Football News Freshman All-America - LB Carl Hill

- All-South Independent - SS Joe Brooks, FS Bryant Gilliard, LB James Seawright, OG Del Wilkes

- Jacobs Blocking Trophy - OG Del Wilkes

- Steve Wadiak MVP - LB James Seawright, OG Del Wilkes

- Captain's Cup - FS Bryant Gilliard, DE Harry South, OG Del Wilkes

- George Terry Best Attitude Award - RB Quinton Lewis, DE James Sumpter

- Best 84 yard rushing game - Kent Hagood rushed 14 times for 84 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown, 1985 vs. Duke

- Best 84 tackle season - Strong safety Joe Brooks was named All-South Independent in 1984 when he recorded 84 tackles

- Best 84 yard passing game - Anthony Wright threw for 84 yards and a touchdown to Zola Davis in a 1996 win over Arkansas

- Best 84 yard receiving game - Toby Cates had four catches for 84 yards, including an 18 yard TD from Steve Taneyhill, in a 1994 win over Clemson

George Schecterly (OT, 1978-80); Corey Alexander (RB/WR, 2000-01)

The above information was compiled by John Parker, author of the Gamecock Player Encyclopedia, which is 271 pages and covers almost 2,800 players. Click here to order. Click here for a view of the cover. Click here for a sample page. Click here for a second sample page.

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