Former Gamecock, current Bears WR Alshon Jeffery hosts Final Four pregame party

The music beat, the patrons partook and Alshon Jeffery posed.

The former South Carolina standout and current star receiver of the Chicago Bears hosted a celebration in honor of Dawn Staley’s Final Four team on Saturday, renting a room at the top of the team hotel for the occasion.

Fellow Gamecocks-turned-NFL-players Bruce Ellington and Stephon Gilmore also contributed (although each wasn’t around for at least the first part of the party) as the room throbbed with garnet and black, each attendee knowing the Gamecocks were going to whip Notre Dame on Sunday and advance to the national championship game.

“That was just something that coach Staley and I were talking about,” Jeffery said. “We said, ‘Why not throw a little celebration party?’”

Jeffery, clad in sweater and slacks, cheerfully stood for photographs with anyone who asked while a DJ spun tunes. The team gathered with family and friends in the hotel lobby until curfew – can’t beat the Fighting Irish without rest.

Jeffery reflected on the team’s run, comparing it to his own career. Spurning Southern Cal to come play for a team that had, at best, middling success, he was part of the best period in USC football history.

“Who thought coach Spurrier would get us to the SEC championship? Who thought (baseball coach Ray) Tanner would win two national championships and go to three?” he said. “We looked at it as possible, and coach Staley made it real.”

This story was originally published April 4, 2015 at 11:57 PM with the headline "Former Gamecock, current Bears WR Alshon Jeffery hosts Final Four pregame party."