Stanley Doughty is a big guy. He's every bit of the 6-foot-1-inch, 328 pounds that the USC Web site lists him as. Sometimes, though, big guys play big in big games, and that's exactly what Doughty has done during the Gamecocks' four-game winning streak.
The native of Greensburg, La., is in the middle of his redshirt sophomore season as a nose tackle and is playing like big-time players are supposed to. He leads the team in sacks with 3.5 for the year for a hefty loss of 22 total yards. That Carolina leads the SEC in sacks so far this season with 26 for 161 yards lost makes Doughty's statistic even more impressive.
Still, Doughty doesn't get too wrapped up in personal accolades.
"One of my personal goals was to become bowl eligible and to make (the) All-SEC (defensive team)," Doughty said. "That's one of them I've worked towards and helping the team become the best that they can be, and hopefully everybody on the team can be successful."
The team has been successful when Doughty, the man his teammates call "Cheese," is in the starting lineup as the team has won four of his six starts. When asked about his nickname, Doughty explained the origins of his unusual moniker.
"It came from my freshman year when I told them (my nickname is Duckie), and Travelle Wharton, who's with the Panthers right now, he said, 'Naw, we're going to call you Cheese.'
"I said, 'No, you're not calling me Cheese, that's not my name.'
"He said, 'You're a freshman so we're going to call you Cheese'... it just kind of stuck to me," Doughty said.
Doughty chose Wharton and the rest of the Gamecocks over 22 other colleges that offered scholarships. The three schools he was most interested in were Carolina, Southern Miss and his local LSU. Some academic issues caused LSU and then-coach Nick Saban to want to grayshirt him and enroll him the spring after his high school graduation, much like USC's Ko Simpson did in his freshman year. The Tigers didn't have a scholarship available for Doughty, and after some careful planning, he chose Carolina.
"I enjoy the fans; I enjoy the southern hospitality around here. Basically I told my mom and I told coach Saban that South Carolina is the place for me and the Lord, He blessed me and I'm doing real good here as a Gamecock," Doughty said.
There are still some big differences between the sandy soil of South Carolina and the Cajun culture of Louisiana that remind Doughty of where he is.
"The food (is the biggest difference)," Doughty said with a laugh. "It's a whole lot different. Being from Louisiana I like a lot of spicy food and I've been here a good little while now, but I still miss my crawfish and my boudin, my ... etoufee."
Typical cuisine notwithstanding, Doughty is happy to be at Carolina and is very proud of his team's victories and accomplishments so far this season.
"A lot of people weren't expecting us to become bowl eligible - I'm not talking about the coaches and the players, I'm talking about (the media). But we shocked the world, and coach Spurrier has done a great job since he's been here in his first year ... nobody expected us to beat the teams that we've beaten."
When Doughty looks toward the future of the Gamecock program and the chance to beat some of those teams on a regular basis, he gets optimistic.
"Hopefully next year our offense will be down pat and our defense will be down pat, and maybe we can become a powerhouse in the East."
If that happens, big Cheese and the rest of his defensive line will certainly play a vital role. That's just what big players do.
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