Today is Wednesday, June 17, 2009. There are 78 days until the season opener.

Who wears No. 78

No one was wearing #78 in the spring

Steve Fetsko (E, 1951); Lamar Hammett (T, 1956); Ken Akin (T, 1957); Sam Fewell (T, 1958-60); Mike Kirkpatrick (T, 1961); Steve Cox (DT/OT, 1962-65); Bob Wehmeyer (OT, 1966-67); Mack Lee Tharpe (OG, 1968); Ken Wheat (DT/OG, 1969-71); Bobby Bethea (DT, 1972); Lenny Leonardi (OT, 1973); Steve Courson (DT, 1974); Jerome Provence (OT, 1975-76); Bill Lane (OT, 1977-79); Freddie Chalmers (OT, 1980-82); Robert Radford (OL, 1983); Anthony Nathan (DL, 1984); Mark Fryer (OT, 1985-89); Kevin Rosenkrans (OT, 1990-92); Travis Whitfield (OG, 1993-97); Kevin Rivers (OG, 1998-2001); Jabari Levey (OT, 2002-05); Justin Sorenson (OT, 2006-08)

All-Time #1 78

Jabari Levey, offensive tackle, Moncks Corner, S.C. Levey was rated one of the nation's 25 best offensive tackles when he committed to USC over Florida State, North Carolina and Tennessee. Similar to fellow Lowcountry offensive lineman Jamar Nesbit, Levey didn't take long to become a starter, as he was in the lineup for seven games as a true freshman at the left guard position. Levey would go on to start 29 games in his career, working as the starter at left tackle in 2004 and 2005. He spent time in the pros with the Raiders and Buccaneers as well as the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe.

The 1978 edition of the Gamecocks finished 5-5-1 but adding just two touchdowns worth of points across four games would have had them at 9-1-1. USC rolled easily in the opener, 45-10 over Furman, as sophomore George Rogers rushed for 3 touchdowns. USC held a 14-7 lead over Kentucky in the fourth quarter but the Wildcats scored a touchdown and settled for a 14-14 tie. Carolina dropped a close one to Duke as another fourth quarter lead vanished - this time USC was up 12-10 with just over three minutes to go, but a 26-yard touchdown run by Duke gave them a 16-12 win. The big win of the season was a 27-10 blowout of Georgia, as both Rogers (29-128-1) and Johnnie Wright (27-156-1) went over 100 yards rushing and QB Garry Harper threw for a touchdown (to Willie Scott) and ran for one. Another bitter loss followed, as Carolina lost 6-3 at Georgia Tech, with the Yellow Jackets making the winning field goal with only 57 seconds left in the game. Wright's 125 yards and two touchdowns led a 24-7 win over Ohio, setting up a game that would have one of the great comeback plays in Gamecock history. Carolina had fought from behind all game against Mississippi and found themselves trailing 17-10 with just a handful of seconds to go and the ball on their own 20. Harper dropped back and let one fly and Horace Smith went the distance, as the 80 yard touchdown moved USC within a point with 9 seconds to go. Eschewing a tie, Coach Jim Carlen called for a two-point try and Harper hooked up with Zion McKinney to give Carolina an 18-17 win. USC lost to North Carolina the next week 24-22, despite the efforts of backup QB Skip Ramsey, who came off the bench to throw two fourth quarter TDs. The next week Carolina struggled to mount any offense and lost to N.C. State 22-13. Rogers destroyed Wake Forest in the tenth game, rushing for 237 yards on 27 carries, including a 72-yard touchdown. The defense held Wake to just one touchdown and a pair of field goals. The Gamecocks' last hope for a winning season fell when USC 41-23 to Clemson, as the Tigers' Lester Brown rushed for three scores.

Rushing: George Rogers, 176-1006-6

Passing: Garry Harper, 62-135-8, 45.9%, 776 yds, 7 td

Receiving: Zion McKinney, 19-281-1

Tackles: Tim Singleton, 108

Tackles For Loss: Bill Janus, 9.5

Sacks: Roger Woolbright, 5

Passes Broken Up: Andy Hastings, 3

Interceptions: Rick Sanford, 4

Kicking: Eddie Leopard, 7-13 FG, 14-15 XP, 35 pts

Punting: Max Runager, 61-42.0

KO Return: Horace Smith, 15-20.7-0

Punt Returns: Horace Smith, 17-3.6-0

- Dan Clancy, center - George Terry Best Attitude Award

- Bill Janus, middle guard - Captain's Cup, Steve Wadiak MVP

- Tony Penny, offensive guard - Captain's Cup

- Max Runager, punter - Captain's Cup

- Rick Sanford, cornerback - Sporting News All-America, George Terry Best Attitude Award

- Best 78 yard passing game - Halfback Jay Lynn Hodgin threw two passes, completing both, in a 21-18 win over Appalachian State in 1974

- Best 78 yard rushing game - Harold Green rushed 18 times for 78 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 1987 win over East Carolina

- Best 78 yard receiving game - Carl Platt had four catches for 78 yards including some key first down conversions, in a 1988 win over Georgia

- Billy Gambrell ran 78 yards for a touchdown against Northwestern in 1962

- Kerry Hood hooked up with quarterback Mikal Goodman for a 78-yard touchdown against Kentucky in 1999

- Phil Petty threw a 78-yard touchdown to Ryan Brewer against Tennessee in 2000

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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