Camp report: King sits out with irregular heartbeat

Leading off

Jarriel King sat out Wednesday’s practice after an apparent recurrence of an irregular heartbeat. The junior left tackle had surgery in January that was aimed at correcting the condition, which he has had for several years.

“He had a little irregular heartbeat that happens occasionally with him. But he’s OK,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “He’ll be all right in a day or two. He needed a day off.”

Asked about his heart on Tuesday night, King said: “My ticker’s good. Everything’s all right with me.”

The player, who started 11 games at left tackle last year, said there were no limitations placed on him by the condition. He admitted that the situation did cause some anxious moments.

“Yeah it was a scare – it’s still a scare to me now,” King said. “But I’ve still gotta work with it. Man, I’ve got it. What can I do? I keep on going.”

Stock rising

Walk-on Bryce Sherman continues to move into the discussion at tailback. The former member of the USC track squad was the team’s leading rusher in Tuesday’s scrimmage, and running backs coach Jay Graham sounded open to using him in the season opener at N.C. State. So did projected starter Brian Maddox.

“Sherm the worm. Sherm’s good,” Maddox said. “I can’t wait to see him get out there. Hopefully, they give him a chance and he makes some plays out there.”

Stock falling

The intensity of players who did well in Tuesday’s scrimmage. Without naming names, Spurrier said some players who had success followed up with a “lackluster” practice on Wednesday.

“Obviously if we’re going to be a top-caliber, championship team, we’ve gotta push every practice,” Spurrier said. “So it was disappointing, some of the guys.”

Injury update

Defensive tackle Nathan Pepper, who has battled knee problems, sat out Wednesday night’s practice. It was likely just a precaution not to strain the knee of the fifth-year senior. …

Freshman Ronald Byrd will probably have to have knee surgery and will redshirt. The defensive linemen apparently got hurt when he planted his knee in the ground during Tuesday’s scrimmage.

“But he was probably going to be redshirted anyway. So maybe the year will give him a chance to get a lot bigger,” Spurrier said. “He needs to gain about 30-40 pounds. He’s a good player and hopefully he can come back full-speed from this knee surgery.” …

There is no timeline for tailback Eric Baker (hernia) to return, according to Graham.

“I leave it up to the trainers, and they tell me how much I can do with him,” Graham said. “(Wednesday) he went through individual, did a couple things. He looked pretty good. So we’ve just gotta take it day-to-day.”

Quote of the day

“Different blocking schemes, that’s about it. That’s all I can tell you. And we’ve got coaches that care about running the ball this year, and make it a top priority. We’re gonna run hard,” - Maddox on differences in the run game from last season.

Extra points

There was no new word on Leon Mackey, a defensive lineman from Hargrave Military Academy who is awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse. …

Maddox said he shed 10-15 pounds in the offseason and is now weighing 210.

Up next

The Gamecocks hold their first two-a-day of the summer. They practice at 9 a.m., then hold a regular 7:30 p.m. session.

This story was originally published August 13, 2009 at 12:52 AM with the headline "Camp report: King sits out with irregular heartbeat."