South Carolina, SEC preseason work scales down. First day of official practice delayed
South Carolina’s football program had been ramping up for the season, having gone through two weeks of walkthroughs leading up to the start of preseason camp.
But now, things will scale back for the short term.
The SEC announced the team will have a break between more intense walkthroughs and the start of camp, scaling back to the 14-hour weeks of conditioning, walkthroughs without a ball or pads, and film work. The team had been able to get on a field and go through some practice-like work across the past two weeks.
The change comes after the SEC reorganized the 2020 game schedule and pushed back the start of the season to Sept. 26. Preseason practice, which was scheduled to begin this week, can now start Aug. 17.
According to the SEC: “Beginning Aug. 17 and until the opening game, schools are allowed 25 practices with a limit of 20 hours per week of practice time. A five-day acclimatization period is required, with two days in helmets only, two days in shells and the fifth day in full pads. Schools will be required to provide student-athletes a minimum of two days off each week until the week before the first game of the season.”
The team had been going through walkthroughs four days a week. During that stretch, coaches were allowed six hours of work with a football, six hours of film and meetings, and eight hours of conditioning.
The Gamecocks still don’t yet know who their extra two opponents are, though some speculation has pointed to Arkansas and Auburn.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
