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Orth, McIlwain share snaps equally in first two days; Williams challenged

Brandon McIlwain

The two-day acclimation period for South Carolina is over.

The Gamecocks wrapped up Day 2 of preseason camp on Wednesday morning, again splitting up the squad between veterans and first-year players participating in a fast-paced SEC practice for the first time.

Quarterbacks Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain continue to battle for the starting quarterback job, sharing snaps equally as the coaches “try to figure out who the best guy is.”

“Both (Orth) and Brandon did some good things,” Will Muschamp said after Wednesday morning’s practice.

Orth, fully recovered from a broken collarbone suffered in spring practice, took most of the snaps with the first team offense on Tuesday as McIlwain worked with the second team. Wednesday, the two signal callers flipped roles to give each one an equal chance to work with the No. 1 offense, and most importantly impress the offensive coaches.

“Perry has looked good and has looked powerful,” USC offensive coordinator Kurt Roper said. “More powerful than he did in the spring. He is stronger and moving at a good pace right now. I don’t see any issues with the collarbone from the spring.

“Brandon has shown these aren’t his first practices. He has come back and is smarter in his understanding of what we’re trying to do offensively. So, we’re in pretty good shape.”

Does Orth’s experience (8 career starts) give him an advantage over McIlwain? Roper doesn’t discount the importance of experience.

“Experience is obviously a huge advantage,” Roper said. “You’ve been in the stadiums before, you’ve gotten ready for a game before and gone through all the butterflies and the anxiety,” Roper said. “He has dealt with the complex defense you see in the SEC. There are some very good defensive coordinators running around this league that cause a challenge. So, being in the battles before definitely helps. Experience is a great indicator and talent is a great thing to have on your side. We just have to figure out who is going to be the most productive.”

Muschamp maintained the two most important factors in his evaluation of the quarterbacks are ball security and number of explosive plays.

“To me, the biggest stats (for quarterbacks) are explosive plays and taking care of the ball,” Muschamp said. “Turnover margin and big play ratio. You’re not giving them up on defense and you’re making them on offense. You’re taking care of the ball on offense and you’re getting turnovers on defense. Those are the biggest factors. When you go look at who makes the NFL Playoffs and who is playing well in college football, for the most part it goes back to those two stats.”

Muschamp defines an ‘explosive play’ as any run over 12 yards and any pass completion over 16 yards, the type of play that change field position.

Orth described the first two workouts as ‘high tempo, high energy, just high intensity.’

“You see all the guys drenched in sweat,” Orth said. “We’ve only been practicing about an hour and a half, hour and 45 (minutes), but we only get about a two or three-minute break in the middle of practice,” Orth said. “We’re non-stop. The intensity has been high. Only good things so far.”

Heralded freshman Jake Bentley, who has been on campus for two months, is practicing with the young players.

“What you see in the first two days we have worked with him is Jake is a pretty talented guy,” Roper said. “He is an intelligent guy and picks things up. But it is still a brand new situation for him.”

While Orth and McIlwain divide the snaps equally between the first and second team offenses, sophomore Lorenzo Nunez has spent most of his time at wide receiver, even though USC retains a package of plays for him at quarterback.

“He repped solely at receiver for the most part in the first two practices, but we will have some packages for him at quarterback,” Muschamp said.

Roper is impressed by how Nunez has handled the position change.

“He is a conscientious player,” Roper said. “He likes being out there competing. He is athletic. He is having to learn how to run routes. But he is working hard at it. He has some talent.”

NOTES:

-- Muschamp said JUCO offensive line Akeem Cooperwood will not join the Gamecocks. Cooperwood is attending Georgia Military College and was supposedly completing some coursework. “Akeem will not be with us. We’re moving forward,” Muschamp said.

-- Muschamp said freshman DL Dennis D.J.’ Wonnum and WR/TE Kiel Pollard have caught his eye in the first two practices. “They have mixed in well,” Muschamp said. “Both of those guys are practicing in the early practice (with the veterans) because of that. We have some other guys too. They have a great opportunity. We need some guys to step up. But we’re in helmets right now.”

-- Roper said the Gamecocks have utilized a lot of running backs in practice in order to help them stay fresh. Williams has gotten a “lot of reps” but has rotated with other running backs, he said. Besides Williams, A.J. Turner, Rod Talley and Darius Paulk have taken snaps with the first team offense.

-- Muschamp on what he wants to see from RJr. RB David Williams: “Everyday consistency. The guy has some ability. But it’s hard when you have to challenge somebody every single day at practice and every meeting. It gets tiring for coaches. I asked him the other day, “What have you accomplished since you’ve been here? I didn’t get a response.”

-- Muschamp said RB Ty’Son Williams, a transfer from North Carolina, is working with the second team offense. “He is very athletic with a big body and good work ethic,” Muschamp said. “I’m very pleased after two days.”

-- With eight starts under his belt, Orth said the game has “slowed down a lot” for him. “My understanding the offense has gotten better,” Orth said. “We spent a lot of time in the summer getting ready for this season. Everything has slowed down exponentially from last season.”

-- Orth on McIlwain: “His ability to throw the football, he throws it about as good as I’ve seen. And he is only a freshman, which is pretty impressive. There are flashes every day. There were a few plays today where you just say, ‘Wow, that kid is talented.’ He works hard, which makes it easy for me to compliment him. He’s a good kid and good friend. I’m excited for his future.”

-- Orth said Nunez demonstrated ‘incredible’ improvement at wide receiver from Day 1 to Day 2. “You can see him getting more comfortable out there,” Orth said. “Everybody knows he can run and catch. He is explosive with the ball. He made a few good plays out there today. Each day, he will get a lot better. He will find himself in a very significant role playing out there.”

-- With Alan Knott sidelined, Zac Bailey, Cory Helms and Donell Stanley have all taken snaps at center.

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