Practice observations: Orth, Turner among first-teamers as USC goes full pads

Observations from Saturday’s open periods of South Carolina football practice.

▪  The three open periods Saturday included one heavy on hitting and blocking, two team drives and special teams.

▪  The first period had linemen/linebackers/tight ends in tight quarters, with hard one-on-one blocking to open space for a running back. The receivers and defensive backs worked on screen blocking.

▪  There was a good deal of hard hitting in that drill, probably owing to it being the first day in full pads.

▪  Wide receiver Deebo Samuel was off to the side with injured players, though no official word was available yet. True freshman receiver Bryan Edwards was also out and has has been in a yellow, no-contact jersey at least a few days this week.

▪  Defensive lineman Dante Sawyer also did not practice during the media viewing period.

▪  Center Alan Knott practiced with a club on his healing right hand.

▪  In the team period, the No. 1 nickel defensive line included end Marquavius Lewis inside at tackle, with Darius English and true freshman early enrollee Keir Thomas at end. The second-team line included Kelsey Griffin and Kobe Smith, with Shameik Blackshear and Daniel Fennell at the end spots. (The team was rotating heavily on the first drive.)

▪  Perry Orth took first-team snaps at quarterback, while Brandon McIlwain was with the No. 2 group.

▪  Safety D.J. Smith picked off a tipped pass from Orth.

▪  A.J. Turner was with the No. 1 offense, with Darius Paulk coming in. Rob Talley started the second unit’s drive, with presumptive starter David Williams getting a little action at the end.

▪  Chris Lammons and Rashad Fenton were the outside corners with the first team, and Jordan Diggs played nickel. Jamarcus King and Rico McWilliams were the second pair of corners.

▪  Bryson Allen-Williams and T.J. Holloman were the first-team inside linebackers.

▪  Lorenzo Nunez didn’t look out of place at wide receiver, and up close looked a bit thicker than last season.

▪  McIlwain appeared to hit Christian Owens late in the second-team drive for a score, but it was at the far side of the field.

▪  Turner caught a swing pass for a big gain from Orth.

▪  The first team line opened a massive hole to get Turner a nice run up the middle.

▪  Freshman tight end Evan Hinson had one nasty block during the opening drill, and later freshman linebacker and Richland Northeast product T.J. Brunson stepped up to fill a gap and make a nice run stuff.

▪  The three players at the head of three lines of return men were Fenton, Lammons and freshman wide receiver Korey Banks. Nunez was among those players as well.

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Practice observations: Orth, Turner among first-teamers as USC goes full pads."