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Notes: McKinley sets mark, gets hurt
South Carolina wide receiver Kenny McKinley watches from the sidelines in the fourth quarter vs. Vanderbilt.
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com
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NASHVILLE — On a night when he broke a school record for longevity, South Carolina receiver found himself in an unusual position — on the bench.
The All-SEC senior caught a pass on the Gamecocks’ first offensive play Thursday against Vanderbilt, giving him at least one reception in 35 consecutive games and moving him past Sterling Sharpe and Jermale Kelly to No. 1 on the school’s all-time list.
By the end of the first quarter, however, McKinley was sidelined with a pulled right hamstring. McKinley tried to come back into the game at one point, but he was called back to the sideline.
McKinley watched the rest of the game in street clothes. USC coach Steve Spurrier said he did not know whether McKinley would be available against Georgia on Sept. 13.
McKinley had three catches for 23 yards and a touchdown, taking him farther up the Gamecocks’ receiving charts. His 162 receptions are seven shy of Sharpe’s mark, and his 16 touchdown catches are seven behind Sidney Rice’s 23.
McKinley moved past Kelly into fifth place in career receiving yardage with 2,199.
Spurrier said the gameplan changed “a little bit” with McKinley out.
“But still, we got a lot of guys ready to play. They didn’t get many balls coming at them,” said Spurrier. “We’ve got to start throwing at those other players. If Kenny’s out next week, we’ll find somebody to throw it to.”
Tight end Jared Cook set career highs with eight catches for 111 yards.
Not so fast. Steve Spurrier made good on his promise to try to embarrass the first USC player who jumped offsides.
Angered at the Gamecocks’ four false-start penalties last week against N.C. State, Spurrier said he would replace any offenders during the nationally televised game.
Sure enough, when tight end Jared Cook moved before the snap midway through the first quarter, Weslye Saunders came in for him.
However, when Jarriel King, making his first career start at left tackle, committed a false-start penalty on third-and-10 the next series, the Georgia Military transfer stayed in the game.
But Spurrier yanked King when he picked up his second false start in the third quarter, replacing him with Hutch Eckerson.
Personnel department. Walk-on Stephen Flint replaced the injured Tommy Beecher as the Gamecocks’ holder. Flint, a redshirt freshman from Mount Pleasant, made a touchdown-saving tackle after Ryan Succop’s 42-yard field goal try was blocked in the third quarter. ... Chris Culliver’s 50-yard kickoff return was the longest of his career, surpassing a 44-yarder last season. ... Only three USC quarterbacks made the trip: Chris Smelley, Beecher and Stephen Garcia. ... USC’s game captains were McKinley, defensive end Jordin Lindsey and linebacker Jasper Brinkley.
Reinforcements at tight end. A pair of reserve offensive linemen were available as tight ends, presumably as designated blockers. Tackle Quintin Richardson and guard Pierre Andrews changed their jerseys numbers to 93 and 97, respectively, so they would not have to check in with officials as eligible receivers when entering the game.
Neither player saw action in the first three quarters.
Johnson & Johnson. Though they never worked together, Vanderbilt’s Bobby Johnson and USC defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson are familiar with each other from their days as high school coaches in South Carolina and later as head coaches in the Southern Conference.
“We’ve been around each other so much over the years from coaching in the state and against each other at Furman and Citadel,” said Ellis Johnson, who was the Bulldogs’ head coach from 2001-03. “Then he was at Clemson right before I went up there. I’ve known him a long time.”
Hall of Fame trip. Spurrier visited the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville on Thursday afternoon. Spurrier, a three-sport start at Science Hill High in Johnson City, Tenn., was inducted into the hall in the 1990s.
Former Gamecocks women’s basketball assistant Michelle Marciniak also is a member. The jersey worn by Marciniak, an ex-Tennessee point guard, in the 1996 Final Four is on display at the museum.
Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.
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