All is Wells for Clemson
Cody Wells grew up with the Florida-Florida State rivalry and never spent much time in South Carolina until enrolling at USC.
But there may be no one on the Gamecocks’ roster more excited to play Clemson than the outside linebacker from Belleview, Fla. Wells, a fifth-year senior, has missed the past two Clemson games while injured.
“I said to everybody, ‘All right, Cody, finish out this last game. It’ll be the first season you finish,’” Wells said Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be a fun experience.”
Wells sat out the 2005 game against the Tigers with a knee injury; a torn biceps sidelined him last year. He laughed when asked whether he has been mindful of potholes this week while walking on campus.
Wells played special teams and was in for a couple of defensive snaps against Clemson in 2004, the infamous brawl game that cost both teams bowl bids. Wells was not involved in the melee.
“I was sitting on the sideline asking, ‘What is going on?’” he said. “That’s when I realized, ‘Wow, this rivalry right here is intense.’”
Tackling the problem. A glance at the Gamecocks’ tackles chart helps explain USC’s recent defensive struggles. Safeties Emanuel Cook and Darian Stewart are 1-2 on the list with 83 and 62 stops, respectively.
“Having two safeties make them is not good,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said. “So hopefully our linebackers and D-linemen will get involved in tackling real soon, like Saturday night.”
Middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley, whose 107 hits in 2006 were twice as many as the Gamecocks’ No. 2 tackler, sustained a season-ending knee injury at LSU on Sept. 22.
“Obviously, now we look back and say, man we could’ve used him to make some tackles,” Spurrier said.
Two to tango. Tight end Andy Boyd, a sixth-year senior from Concord, N.C., grew up in a state with five Division I football programs. The abundance of schools — and the fact that most were better known for their basketball programs — diluted the rivalries, according to Boyd.
“Just having two teams, I think that’s what makes (Clemson-USC) unique, just because there’s two major colleges,” Boyd said. “(For) fans, there’s no fine line. Either you’re one or the other.”
Two to tango, part deux. Surprisingly, Spurrier said USC and Clemson do not go after the same recruits as often as fans might think. Spurrier estimated the two schools overlap on about five to eight players a year.
“A lot of times, they’re on a different group of players, just like we’re on a different group,” he said. “So we don’t go head-to-head on all these guys.”
One player both schools recruited was USC freshman linebacker Cliff Matthews, who ultimately chose the Gamecocks over Georgia. Matthews, a Cheraw native, said he preferred the game-day atmosphere at Williams-Brice Stadium to Death Valley.
“I went to games at both places, but it’s a lot more crazy here in Columbia,” Matthews said. “The crowd, players — how they get excited.”
Senior sendoff. USC has 21 seniors playing their final home game this weekend. The group includes 16 scholarship players, but only six starters — Boyd, quarterback Blake Mitchell, tailback Cory Boyd, fullback Lanard Stafford, center William Brown and defensive end Casper Brinkley.
Extra points. Though rumored as a candidate for potential openings at Texas A&M and LSU, Spurrier reiterated on his call-in show Tuesday he is not interested in pursuing other jobs. “We’ve made our lot here and hopefully I can finish up,” he said. “I’ll say this, I’m looking forward to coaching (quarterback) Stephen Garcia and all these other freshmen.” ... If USC beats Clemson, the Gamecocks will have three consecutive seasons of at least seven wins for the first time in school history.
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