Gamecocks-Georgia kickoff Sunday at 2:30 p.m.; Hurst named punt returner
Even though no announcement had yet been made regarding the status of the annual South Carolina-Georgia game originally scheduled for Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium, USC head coach Will Muschamp went ahead and conducted his weekly call-in show anyway.
During the opening segment, Muschamp first indicated the game would definitely be played on a day and time TBA. About 45 minutes later, we had an answer, at least as far as the date was concerned.
"Obviously, everybody wants to play the game and the game is going to be played," Muschamp said. "When it will be played, we're not totally certain right now. That's what we're working through. There are a lot of logistics that go into this as far as Georgia's travel and we need to be sensitive about what is going on in our state right now and how catastrophic this storm could be. The most important thing is the safety of the people on our coast."
Towards the end of the show, though, Muschamp announced the South Carolina-Georgia game would be played Sunday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium with kickoff time TBA.
"We're working with the University of Georgia, the Southeastern Conference and the SEC Network for a kick time," Muschamp said. "But it will definitely be Sunday sometime in the afternoon. I want to compliment President (Harris) Pastides, Coach (Ray) Tanner and his entire staff. They have been together all week figuring out what we needed to do campus-wide."
About 75 minutes after the conclusion of Muschamp's call-in show, the SEC office announced Sunday's game would kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised by the SEC Network.
"Due to the potential impact of the hurricane on Columbia and the surrounding area, it is in the best interest of safety to play the game on Sunday rather than Saturday night,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a press release. “I appreciate the cooperation of the schools who worked closely to make the appropriate operational adjustments in order to accommodate this change in the schedule.”
Muschamp said he had little input into the process of determining if the USC-Georgia game would be played, leaving that important responsibility to AD Ray Tanner and his staff.
"Coach Tanner called me earlier in the week and asked, "How do you want to handle this?" Muschamp said. "I said, 'What do you mean?''He said he could continue to call and give me updates. I said, 'Coach, if something changes, let me know. We talked about three times all week. I've been game planning all week and controlling the things we can control. That's preparing our football team. I've spent zero time worrying about what was going to happen (regarding the storm). I've had a couple of schedules in place."
Earlier in the day on Thursday, the LSU-Florida game scheduled for Saturday at noon at the Swamp in Gainesville was postponed with no makeup date announced.
"There are a lot of moving parts that go with this and we need to be sensitive to that," Muschamp said. "We have to understand this is a little bit bigger than just two teams showing up and playing a game. There is a serious storm hitting our coast and our country. It's a tough deal for everybody right now."
In addition to offering some potentially positive news on the Gamecocks-Georgia game, Muschamp said wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards are ready to return to action after both missed the Texas A&M game.
"They have practiced extremely well and they looked very good today moving around," Muschamp said. "They are full speed and ready to go. That certainly helps us a lot with vertical threats down the field. They are playmakers with the ball in their hands. We want to let those guys go make plays. I like where our guys are mentally right now. Getting Deebo and Bryan back helps. Not having Deebo and Bryan available last week hurt our offense."
Freshman WR Randrecous Davis will remained sidelined for another two or three weeks because of an injury. OL Donell Stanley is tracking to return after the bye week on Oct. 15. Blake Camper dressed for the Texas A&M game and was available on an emergency basis.
"He looked much better this week," Muschamp said of Camper.
Muschamp announced about halfway through the show that sophomore TE Hayden Hurst had beaten out about a half dozen candidates to become the Gamecocks' punt returner.
"Ball security is the most important thing right now," Muschamp said. "I've got tremendous confidence in Hayden. He's a bigger guy, but we need possession of the ball. That has hurt us."
NOTES
-- Muschamp said the uncertain status of the Georgia game did not affect the Gamecocks' preparations this week.
-- Muschamp said he has been proud how freshman RB A.J. Turner has performed in all phases, including running the ball, catching the ball out of the backfield and blocking. Muschamp said Turner is one of USC's best practice players.
-- Muschamp said Boosie Whitlow is currently No. 3 at BUCK linebacker behind Darius English and D.J. Wonnum. English has 5.0 sacks, tying him for second in the SEC.