Practice report: Cooper, Moore banged up, miss workout

Several hundred fans showed up Saturday morning for South Carolina’s first open football practice of the season.

None of them were happy to see Pharoh Cooper walking around with a slight limp and a light wrap on his left knee rather than practicing. The junior All-SEC wide receiver caught 69 passes for 1,136 yards last year and is expected to be the focal point of the Gamecocks’ offense this season.

Cooper has a minor hand injury to go along with the knee bruise and was held out mostly for precautionary reasons, head coach Steve Spurrier said after the two hour workout.

“They call it a sprained hand and that’s the biggest reason (he sat out), and I think somebody bumped into his knee the other day,” Spurrier said. “There is nothing wrong with him. We were playing tackle today so he didn’t have to be here for that.”

Linebacker Skai Moore sat out after exhibiting concussion symptoms following a collision in Friday’s practice.

“He got bonked yesterday,” Spurrier said. “He was a little slightly jarred. I don’t think it was that serious.”

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Terry Googer was injured trying to make a leaping catch on the final play of Saturday’s practice and might have suffered a concussion, Spurrier said.

“I don’t think he was ever unconscious,” Spurrier said. “He’ll be all right.”

Linebacker Jonathan Walton (knee), defensive end Gerald Dixon (leg), cornerback Wesley Green (knee), defensive end Dante Sawyer (illness), defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth (pectoral) and tight end Connor Redmond (back) sat out due to injury.

Practice report. The Gamecocks practiced game situations in the final half of practice, rotating all four quarterbacks for live 11-on-11 action.

“The reason you have these scrimmages is you find out who your ballplayers are,” Spurrier said. “You find out who can say, ‘Hey coach I can play.’ Or you find out, ‘Coach, I’m a little nervous out here.’ We have a long ways to go but I thought it was a pretty good attitude, thought the defense was in position, where they were supposed to be most of the day.”

South Carolina will scrimmage again next Saturday and might open that workout to the public as well, Spurrier said.

Young up front. After the first team offensive line, South Carolina gets young fast up front. The second team offensive line Saturday consisted of true freshman Christian Pellage at left tackle, true freshman Zack Bailey at left guard, junior Cody Waldrop at center, redshirt freshman Donell Stanley at right guard and true freshman Blake Camper at right tackle.

“We have some big guys, they just have to learn what to do,” Spurrier said.

Special guest. Longtime college coach Rick Neuheisel, now an analyst for CBS, addressed the Gamecocks midway through Saturday’s practice. Neuheisel, who attended practice along with a CBS camera crew, spoke for about five minutes.

News and notes

▪  Toure Boyd made it to Columbia and attended his first practice. He did his first day in helmet and shorts, and will have to have another, then two days of shells, before being able to fully practice.

▪  Wide receiver Sean Odom knows what he’s doing and needs to get a few more reps, Spurrier said.

▪  The starting lines to being the 11-on-11 drill were Brandon Shell, Mike Matulis, Alan Knott, Will Sport and Mason Zandi (left to right, offense) and Cedrick Cooper, Gerald Dixon Jr., Kelsey Griffin and Qua Lewis (left to right, defense).

▪  Former player/staffer DeVonte Holloman attended practice, as well as scouts from the New York Jets.

▪  Shamier Jeffery missed practice in order to attend his graduation. Jeffery earned his sociology degree.

▪  The Gamecocks will next practice at 9 a.m. on Monday. It is closed to the public.

This story was originally published August 8, 2015 at 11:39 AM.