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9 seniors 'still standing strong' for USC

Steve Spurrier’s first recruiting class at South Carolina was 28 players strong. Four years later, very few of them remain with the Gamecocks

USC 2009 seniors

Steve Spurrier, center, poses with the seniors for a group photo during media day at Williams-Brice Stadium. Pictured are (back row, from left) linebacker Eric Norwood, offensive guard Lemuel Jeanpierre, defensive tackle Nathan Pepper, center Garrett Anderson, linebacker Gerrod Sinclair, (front, from left) wide receiver Scott Spurrier, strong safety Darian Stewart, head coach Steve Spurrier, wide receiver Moe Brown and linebacker John Guerry.

BrettFlashnick.com/Special to The State

Written by JOSEPH PERSON

jperson@thestate.com
Posted on 08.14.09
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Lemuel Jeanpierre has seen a lot of players come and go since he arrived at South Carolina in 2005 as part of Steve Spurrier’s first recruiting class.

Nearly all of his classmates are long gone.

Transfers, early exits to the NFL and graduation have thinned the class of 2005 considerably. Four members of the 28-player class remain: fifth-year seniors Jeanpierre, Nathan Pepper and Gerrod Sinclair, and offensive tackle Jarriel King, who did not arrive at USC until last season.

The Gamecocks count seven scholarship seniors and nine total on this year’s team, easily the fewest in the SEC.

Spurrier cites mistakes in recruiting for the void. But coaches and players believe the attitude of the remaining seniors and the leadership skills of several younger players will make up for the scarcity of veterans.

“I look around, I see a lot of new faces. But I think it’s a lot of good, new faces — a lot of talent, and there’s a lot of young talent,” said Jeanpierre, an offensive lineman from Orlando, Fla. “The attitude, I believe, is our team wants to be coached hard and go out there, work hard and compete.”

For the first time since he has been at USC, Spurrier had players vote on team captains in the spring. They elected two seniors — All-SEC linebacker Eric Norwood and receiver Moe Brown — and a pair of juniors, fullback Patrick DiMarco and defensive end Cliff Matthews.

“We’ve got very good leaders right now with the captains and a few of the older guys who’ve played well,” Spurrier said. “It’s hard to be a leader if you haven’t played very well. You can’t say, ‘Come on, guys, let’s go.’ They sort of look at you and say, ‘Hey, you need to worry about yourself.’”

The Gamecocks entered preseason camp with five seniors projected as starters. As a result, a number of younger players have been thrust into leadership roles.

“Even without the number of seniors that we have, we still have a lot of underclassmen that are leaders. We’ve got (Stephon) Gilmore, Akeem Auguste, Cliff Matthews. A bunch of guys. Even Travian Robertson,” Norwood said. “A lot of guys are stepping up, even on the offensive side of the ball. A lot of guys (are) just trying to lead in their own way.”

After last season, Spurrier encouraged a number of fourth-year players who had a year of eligibility remaining to move on. Quarterback Tommy Beecher and receiver Freddie Brown transferred to Liberty to play a final post-graduate year with the Virginia school, while tailbacks Bobby Wallace and Taylor Rank did not return.

Though the attrition in Norwood’s class of ’06 has not been as pronounced, the Gamecocks lost two starting defensive backs when Emanuel Cook and Captain Munnerlyn entered the NFL draft this year.

Other losses from the class included players who transferred (Chris Smelley, Vandaral Shackleford, Clark Gaston), were dismissed (Kenrick Ellis, Chris Hail) or sustained career-ending injuries (Nick Prochak).

“Not a lot of seniors here,” Spurrier said. “That means maybe we haven’t done a very good job recruiting four years ago. That’s what that means. Made some mistakes, guys didn’t stick, didn’t hang around, or it just didn’t work out. We believe the freshman class we’ve got here now are guys that are going to stick around.”

Jeanpierre said he thinks the newcomers have blended in well.

“I see new freshmen coming in, and I’m not just going to (say), ‘Aw, they’re brand new.’ I’ll go out there and try to reach out to them,” he said. “It’s a closer-knit group.”

Spurrier has said several times that players and coaches “all like each other now.” That was not the case at the end of last season, when the Gamecocks finished on a three-game losing skid and Spurrier grumbled about a few of the juniors focusing too much on the pros.

Senior safety Darian Stewart and Jeanpierre are not sure that was the case, but they say the NFL will not be a distraction this season.

“We haven’t brought it up because we know what we have to do this season. And if we don’t win, we don’t get looked at,” Stewart said. “So we’re just trying to focus on winning the games, and hopefully we get some looks.”

Norwood announced after the Outback Bowl he was turning pro before changing his mind a few days later. And though he said the seniors have not come up with a nickname to call themselves, he is proud to be part of the motley group of survivors.

“We don’t have no particular name. Y’all can come up with something,” Norwood said. “We’re still standing, still standing strong.”

Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.

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