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Spurrier gives tight end Cook the hook

USC vs Clemson Jared Cook

Clemson safety Chris Clemons, right, breaks up a pass intended for South Carolina tight end Jared Cook in the first quarter of the game.

Jeff Blake/jblake@thestate.com

Written by JOSEPH PERSON

jperson@thestate.com
Posted on 11.30.08
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CLEMSON — There has been a lot of speculation about whether South Carolina tight end Jared Cook will leave school early for the NFL draft.

But Steve Spurrier thought the Gamecocks’ leading receiver checked out early in Saturday’s 31-14 loss to Clemson.

Spurrier benched Cook for most of the second half for a lack of effort, most notably on a first-half interception by Clemson safety Chris Clemons. Chris Smelley’s pass was behind Cook, who reached back and got a hand on the ball and deflected it to Clemons.

Sophomore Weslye Saunders replaced Cook for most of the second half and responded with four catches for a career-high 58 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown reception.

“It just didn’t look like (Cook) was into the game, so I said, ‘Weslye, you go play the second half.’ Simple as that,” Spurrier said. “He had one ball a little behind him and he just sort of — I thought his effort should have been better on that play that they picked. But maybe that was as good as he could do.”

Cook, a redshirt junior who entered the game with a team-leading 548 receiving yards on 34 catches, had one reception for 2 yards.

Spurrier praised the play of Saunders, who received a fist bump from Spurrier after recovering a fumble by teammate Mike Davis.

“Weslye had a heck of a game, caught everything he touched and dug that one fumble out,” Spurrier said.

Block party. When Clemson blocked two punts against USC last year, it prompted Spurrier to hire special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski, whose punt team at Maryland went seven years without having a punt blocked, the longest streak in the country.

Rychleski kept the streak intact through the first 11 games this year before the Tigers pounced in the first quarter.

Reserve running back Jamie Harper came free off the left side and smothered Spencer Lanning’s punt, giving the Tigers possession at the USC 29 yard line. Clemson took a 10-0 lead on Mark Buchholz’s 22-yard field goal eight plays later.

The last time a Rychleski-coached punt team had a punt blocked was 1999 when he was at Wake Forest, in the final game of the regular season against Georgia Tech. Rychleski said USC players told him they were sorry the streak ended.

“That definitely hit home with me. I appreciate their effort,” Rychleski said. “It’s going to happen. This wasn’t going to last forever.”

Where to now? USC ended the regular season with a 50-point loss to Florida and a 17-point defeat to its instate rival, but could still wind up in a New Year’s Day bowl game.

Victories by No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida on Saturday mean the SEC will get both teams in BCS bowls. And despite its loss to Georgia Tech, Georgia still is expected to receive a Capital One bid.

That likely would send Ole Miss to the Cotton Bowl, with the Outback picking from among USC, LSU, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The Outback, which did not send any scouts to Saturday’s game, has not selected a West Division team since 1997.

“We’ll go wherever they send us,” Spurrier said. “We’ll be ready to play a lot better hopefully. We’ll try our best to represent South Carolina a lot better than we have the last couple of games.”

All in the family? Two years ago when Lane Kiffin was hired by the Oakland Raiders, USC recruiting coordinator David Reaves interviewed with Kiffin, who is married to Reaves’ sister. Reaves might get a chance to meet with his brother-in-law about a job again after Kiffin is introduced as Tennessee’s coach next week.

Reaves declined comment through a school spokesman, and Spurrier said he had not spoken to Reaves about the Tennessee situation, yet.

“I don’t know. I’ll ask him,” Spurrier said.

USC defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson could be a candidate for the head-coaching vacancy at Mississippi State, where Sylvester Croom resigned after going 21-38 in five seasons. Johnson, who recently received a contract extension at USC, was the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator for Croom’s first four seasons.

Moving on up. Kenny McKinley caught seven passes to become the fifth player in SEC history with 200 career receptions. McKinley, who has at least one reception in 42 consecutive games, now has 201 catches, fourth all-time behind Vanderbilt’s Earl Bennett (236), Kentucky’s Craig Yeast (208) and Georgia’s Terrence Edwards (204).

Hear Spurrier's postgame comments

Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.

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