Notebook: USC kicking units were something special

USC special teams, take a bow.

Walk-on punter Sean Kelly averaged 46.2 yards per attempt and had two kicks downed inside the 20 in the Gamecocks’ season-opening win over North Carolina.

Also, Kelly had a 17-yard run for a first down on a fake punt play in the first quarter.

Kickoff specialist Landon Ard boomed all four of his kicks into the end zone for touchbacks.

In addition to zero yards on kickoff returns, he Gamecocks held the Tar Heels to -1 yards on its one punt return.

Sands makes good call

Shon Carson was listed as the starting kick returner on Sunday. He didn’t return kicks on Thursday.

The reason was clear – South Carolina was saving him.

The fifth-year senior, who had 406 career yards before the game, broke for 75 and a touchdown. Carson torched the Tar Heels’ second and third levels for the go-ahead score.

“I told coach (Everette) Sands, ‘That was a wonderful idea putting (Carson) in,” coach Steve Spurrier said.

Building blocks

The Gamecocks had four sacks on Thursday. They had 14 all of last season.

Chasing history

Skai Moore’s two interceptions were the eighth and ninth of his career, and fourth and fifth in his past four games. A junior, Moore is challenging for a career mark.

Bo Davies (1969-71) has USC’s career interceptions record with 14.

Respect the youngsters

Jon Hoke lauded Chaz Elder during camp, moving him to corner and saying his height made him perfect for the spot. Chris Lammons started over Elder.

Dante Sawyer, who was listed as a starter on the depth chart, played behind Taylor Stallworth.

Deebo Samuel and Rod Talley were the two players returning kickoffs throughout the game.

The rookies

The Gamecocks dressed 19 true or redshirt freshmen for the game. In addition, there were seven other players in their first years at USC.

Four started ( Samuel, Qua Lewis, Sean Kelly, Isaiah Johnson).

Single duty

With the surprise announcement that Ulric Jones had been switched to offensive line, some were wondering if Jones would have two jerseys for the game (one for an offensive lineman, one for an eligible receiver as blocking tight end). Jones wore his usual 93 and was eligible to catch a pass at tight end. If he were to play on the line, he would have had to switch jerseys.

Stripes

Referees were from the ACC, but the two replay officials were from the SEC.

Captains

Game captains were: Brandon Shell, Pharoh Cooper, Gerald Dixon Jr. and T.J. Gurley.

As per usual, Spurrier will wait until midseason to set permanent captains.

One more

Spurrier improved his record in season-opening college games to 24-2. He also stayed perfect against the Tar Heels in six meetings.

UNC still holds a 34-19-4 advantage in the all-time series but the Gamecocks have won the past three and six of the past seven. The two will play again in 2019 and 2023.

Red cross report

Connor Mitch had a hip pointer and didn’t play for much of the fourth quarter. Samuel left the game with a hamstring injury. Cooper landed awkwardly on an out-of-bounds touchdown pass but said he just had a knee cramp.

Many players missed series with cramps. Spurrier estimated that 12 to 13 players had to get IVs.

TE Jerell Adams and LB Jonathan Walton each started after missing some of practice last week.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 10:18 PM.