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South Carolina will reconvene in an official capacity today for the first time since thumping Clemson 34-13 on Nov. 26 in its regular-season finale.
The No. 10 Gamecocks will hold a team workout today before holding their first Capital One Bowl practice on Saturday morning. South Carolina will practice nine times in Columbia before breaking for the holiday. The team will gather again in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 27 to begin its preparations for No. 21 Nebraska.
The Gamecocks and Cornhuskers will play on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.
The 19-day layoff hardly has been a vacation for the football team. It has watched defensive end Melvin Ingram pile up honor after honor, seen two young defensive backs leave the program since the last time it was on the field together and been named in the university’s response to an NCAA Notice of Allegations.
• Ingram, who led the team in sacks (8.5) and tackles-for-loss (13.5) has been named to enough All-America first teams (Associated Press, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News) to be considered a consensus All-American. He is the Gamecocks first consensus All-American since offensive lineman Del Wilkes in 1984 and third all-time, joining Wilkes and running back George Rogers.
Spur Antonio Allen, who leads the team with 81 tackles and is the only player to rank in the SEC’s top 10 in tackles, interceptions, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries, was named a second-team All-American.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was named the SEC’s freshman of the year
• Young defensive backs Martay Mattox and Corey Addison left the program. Mattox — a true freshman from Athens, Ga., — enrolled early and was a standout of sorts in spring practice but never found any traction in the fall. Despite a multitude of injuries in the secondary, Mattox never played.
After playing quarterback in high school, Mattox was tried as a safety and cornerback by the Gamecocks. Addison — a redshirt sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., — played in five games and had three tackles this season before suffering a concussion that ended his season. Addison, also a high school quarterback, announced his plans to transfer on Twitter; a school official confirmed earlier this week that Mattox has left the team. Neither could be reached for comment.
• In a response to an NCAA Notice of Allegations, South Carolina acknowledged committing three “major and serious” violations within its football program. The school has offered to give up six football scholarships over the next three years. It also sent letters of reprimand to assistant football coach G.A. Mangus, track coach Curtis Frye, assistant basketball coach Mike Boyton and compliance officer Jennifer Stiles as part of its investigation.
