THE SCOOP
After missing a couple of practices, including Saturday’s scrimmage, with a bruised shoulder, South Carolina’s Jadaveon Clowney, who had 13 sacks last season, was back Tuesday for the 8:15 a.m. practice.
Coach Steve Spurrier may have sped Clowney’s return to the field, saying that if the defensive end’s shoulder didn’t show improvement soon, the Gamecocks might have to go without him in the opener against North Carolina on Aug. 29.
“I thought we had a decent practice this morning,” Spurrier said. “We don’t have a bunch of superstars right now. Hopefully as the year plays out, a bunch of these guys will develop into maybe all-conference players. But we’re an unknown team. We’ve got one superstar and that’s it. Everybody knows who he is. But one superstar doesn’t win many championships, as we all know. Hopefully a bunch of guys can come around. I think our guys have got the message that we’ve got a long way to go.”
WHAT THEY SAID
“He whipped a lot of five-stars in camp. And showed his competitive nature, and showed his ball skills. So we thought we had a good one.” — Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo on wide receiver Michael Bennett, who was a little-known, three-star recruit when he arrived at a UGA summer camp for recruits and worked his way into a scholarship offer.
WHAT TO WATCH
Texas A&M backup: If Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel gets an NCAA suspension, the Aggies will scramble for the backup. The two contenders are junior Matt Joeckel, who is the twin brother of former A&M left tackle Luke Joeckel, and redshirt freshman Matt Davis. Joeckel passed for only 42 yards last season. Davis passed for nearly 1,500 and rushed for 931 at Houston's Klein Forest High, but has yet to take a snap in anger at the college level.
Auburn QB battle: Coach Gus Malzahn said that Nick Marshall and Jeremy Johnson will get the majority of practice repetitions this week, but didn't rule out Jonathan Wallace coming back to win the job. Kiehl Frazier, a former starter, voluntarily moved to safety at Monday's practice. Marshall is a former UGA cornerback who went to junior college a season ago. Johnson was Alabama's Mr. Football and a highly rated prospect. "We told them all we feel like (Johnson and Marshall) have earned the right to compete for the job, and they're going to get the majority of reps with our (first-string players) this week," Malzahn said as reported by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "That's not to say that Jonathan Wallace will not be our starter come Day 1, but we are going to give those two new guys a real chance to compete for the job and really show what they can do."
Kicking Gators: Without Caleb Sturgis, now competing to be the kicker for the Miami Dolphins, the competition for the Gators is wide open between senior Brad Phillips and freshman Austin Hardin.
BY THE NUMBERS
1998-99
The last time that Auburn missed the postseason in consecutive seasons.
9-4
Vanderbilt’s record a season ago, its best since 1915.
