Special teams’ block party provides a buoy in The Swamp

The legs of Dylan Thompson lifted South Carolina to Saturday’s overtime victory against Florida, but it was the outstretched arms of two of his teammates that put the Gamecocks in position for the win.

USC’s special teams came through with a pair of game-changing, fourth-quarter plays. First, senior Brison Williams blocked a field-goal attempt. Then, junior wide receiver Carlton Heard batted down a Florida punt.

“To block the punt and the field goal … that’s obviously what gave us a chance to win the game,” coach Steve Spurrier said.

Williams blocked Frankie Velez’s 32-yard field-goal attempt with 3:31 remaining in the game to keep the Gamecocks behind by a touchdown, 17-10.

The Gators later were forced to punt after a failed attempt to run out the clock. That’s when a diving Heard got to Florida kicker Kyle Christy with 39 seconds remaining. USC tied the game five plays later after a 34-yard drive.

“That was the first time we sent everybody to (try to) block (the kick),” Heard said. “I had a feeling that I was going to come free, because two guys were on the left side of me, and there was another guy on the right. It was a straight hole. I ran through unblocked. I just dove and hoped that I got it.”

Heard’s effort was the Gamecocks’ first blocked punt since Devin Taylor against N.C. State in 2009. Williams’ field-goal block was the first since J.T. Surratt got his hands on a kick at Vanderbilt earlier this season.

“When you have two blocked kicks at a critical point in the game, it will cost you the football game,” Florida coach Will Muschamp said. “I don’t know what else to say. When you’ve got 40 seconds to go, just get the ball off.”

Sophomore Elliott Fry contributed a 31-yard field goal for USC in the first quarter and has 181 career points, one shy of Spencer Lanning (2007-10) for 10th all-time. USC senior punter Tyler Hull averaged 40.4 yards per kick Saturday, including a season-long 54-yarder in the second quarter.

It was a season highlight for a special teams unit that has bounced back since giving up two kickoff returns for touchdowns against Vanderbilt.

The field-goal block Saturday was the third of the season for USC.

There is not a lot of time to think when successfully blocking a kick, Heard said.

“It happened at the blink of an eye,” Heard said. “The guys on special teams always talk about getting a block, picking it up and scoring, stuff like that. It’s a good moment, especially when your team wins.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 11:10 PM.