Freshman sees both sides of USC-Clemson

Had he stuck with his original decision, DeVonte Holloman would be on the other side of the USC-Clemson game next week.

Holloman, a freshman safety, committed to Clemson as a 10th-grader at Independence High in Charlotte. By his senior year, Holloman was at South Pointe in Rock Hill, and Clemson had a new coach.

So Holloman re-opened his recruitment, and ended up at South Carolina.

"I made a premature decision," Holloman said Tuesday. "Really didn't get to know the people I was going to be talking to, like the defensive coordinator. I kind of fell in love with coach (Billy) Napier, who was recruiting me at the time. But he coached offense.

"When I finally got to know the people I really was going to be dealing with, I figured out I didn't make the right decision. So I opened it back up."

Clemson's parting with coach Tommy Bowden had a big impact, Holloman added. He eventually joined his South Pointe teammate, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, in committing to USC.

After all that, if anyone appreciates the rivalry, it's Holloman.

"Basically, this makes or breaks either team's season," he said. "One school gets to go around talking junk about the other all year, and I hope to make Carolina that school."

Not in the job description

Punter Spencer Lanning suffered a minor shoulder injury while tackling Florida's Brandon James on a punt return Saturday.

"I guess that's why kickers shouldn't tackle athletes," joked Lanning, who wore a yellow no-contact jersey Tuesday.

And what would he do if he had to try to take down Clemson's C.J. Spiller?

"If it comes to it, I'm gonna try to hit him low I guess," Lanning said. "He's a big boy and he carries his weight pretty well. He's a hard runner, he's doing real well this year."

Long snapper Charles Turner was also in yellow at practice, as coach Steve Spurrier noticed.

"I don't think I've ever seen a snapper and a kicker in (yellow) on the same day," he said. "In all my years I've never seen that. So that was a first."

A vet's perspective

Walk-on long snapper Matt Grooms did not get in Saturday's game when USC honored wounded soldiers. But Grooms, a 26-year-old who served in Kuwait, got to carry the American flag when the Gamecocks took the field.

"That was awesome," Grooms said. "When (equipment manager Chris) Matlock told me to do that, for the whole first quarter my blood was pumping. It was awesome. He said 'Don't say anything. Just get out in front of everybody and just do it.'"

This story was originally published November 18, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Freshman sees both sides of USC-Clemson."