FNAN: Senior proclaims future is 'extremely bright' for Gamecocks
Saturday is Senior Day at Williams-Brice Stadium and the Gamecocks are ready to recognize 21 players dressing for their final home game.
The list includes 18 seniors and three players listed as juniors on the current roster – FB Rivers Bedenbaugh, DB Benji Russell and RB Rod Talley. All three players started their careers with the Gamecocks as walk-ons.
The 2016 senior class has experienced the highest of highs (back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2012-13) and the lowest of lows (most of 2015 season). Without a doubt, they left their mark.
All of them got to play one season under Will Muschamp. It was enough to convince them the program is in good hands and better days are ahead.
“The future at the University of South Carolina is extremely bright,” Mason Zandi said earlier this week. “We have some young guys playing well and playing effectively. We didn’t play like we wanted to last week at Florida. But the young guys are playing to the best of their abilities and having a coaching staff that is absolutely phenomenal, this university has nothing but upside.”
Muschamp has praised the senior class all season for their leadership, sacrifice and loyalty to the program and helping build the foundation, especially with so many young players taking significant roles on this year’s team.
Zandi, though, doesn’t view himself as a foundation builder.
“I don’t get a sense of pride of being the foundation or anything like that,” Zandi sad. “This is my job. This is what they brought me here to do. Some things were unfortunate, some things were fortunate. We’re fortunate to be where we are, but we’re not happy where we are. We want to continue getting better. I’m extremely proud of the games that have stepped up and handed big-time situations very maturely. I’m proud to be on this team.”
For the non-seniors on the team – and there are a lot of them considering almost 68 percent of the Gamecocks roster consists of freshmen or sophomores – securing the necessary six wins to participate in a bowl game has been paramount in order to prolong the careers of the seniors by one more game.
“Getting our team bowl eligible is the biggest thing this week,” Bryson Allen-Williams said. “The senior class has set a different standard. We put those guys on a pedestal this year and it’s all about them. Our team is all about the seniors and getting those guys to a bowl game. We’ve been talking about it since January after Coach Muschamp got here. That was the first thing we talked about – getting to a bowl game. Nobody thought we could do it, so it’s a big accomplishment.”
Allen-Williams will be a senior in 2017, and he confirmed his post-game comments suggesting he would return to the Gamecocks next season.
“All of us are coming back next season,” Allen-Williams said. “The juniors have been talking about it. We have one goal. When we all signed in 2014, we talked about helping South Carolina get a SEC East championship and hopefully a SECX championship. We’re all staying together four years. I can’t speak for others, but I know most of the under classmen are coming back. We’re ready to go to work for next season.”
WEATHER: Sunny and windy conditions (approx. 19 mph) are forecasted for kickoff at 4 p.m. with temperatures in the mid-60’s. The winds should subside in the second half as temperatures fall into the low 50’s.
NOTES:
-- ESPN.com’s Viewer’s Guide for USC-Western Carolina: “South Carolina will be the first of three SEC teams looking to become bowl eligible Saturday. It’s been quite a turnaround for coach Will Muschamp in his first season with the Gamecocks, and he understands how important the extra practice time will be for his young team if they can extend their season.”
-- ESPN.com on the importance of the Gamecocks reaching a bowl game: “The Gamecocks arrived earlier than anticipated. Nobody really thought they'd be in position to make a bowl game in Will Muschamp's first season as head coach, not after seeing the trajectory of the program the past two seasons. Everybody thought they were too young to be in this spot. But on Saturday, South Carolina will have a chance to earn its sixth win and become bowl eligible at home against Western Carolina. How do you explain the turnaround? It begins with the trio of true freshmen -- quarterback Jake Bentley, running back Rico Dowdle and wide receiver Bryan Edwards -- that have paced the offense this past month. Bentley, in particular, has provided a spark since he took over as the starter on Oct. 22. If you consider all the young talent on the roster, the future looks bright and will only get brighter with the extra month of practices that come with a bowl game.”
-- CollegeFootballNews.com predicts a 37-10 Gamecock victory on Saturday: “The Catamounts have had defensive issues this season, having a particular problem with a porous defensive front that’s getting destroyed by everyone’s running game. Offense after offense has been able to crank up third down conversions with ease, and now it’s up to South Carolina to do the same thing to get a sixth win and get to the post-season in Will Muschamp’s first season. Does Western Carolina have enough of a passing game to make it interesting? It throws well, mostly to try making up for the lousy defense, with WR Terryon Robinson a dangerous playmaker who needs to come up with a special performance. That’s not going to happen. South Carolina’s offense will show up without a problem, getting the ground attack going for one of the few times this year, while QB Jake Bentley will be deadly as the Gamecocks have a whole lot of fun and the fan base gets to enjoy Win Six.”
SEC WEEK 12 SCHEDULE (Nov. 19)
Texas-San Antonio at Texas A&M, noon (ESPNU)
Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia, noon (SEC Network Alt. Channel)
Florida at LSU, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Missouri at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Western Carolina at South Carolina, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Alt. Channel)
Austin Peay at Kentucky, 4:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
UT-Chattanooga at Alabama, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Arkansas at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Alabama A&M at Auburn, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network Alt. Channel)
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. (SEC Network)
