Clowney had 33 total tackles, six sacks, and two forced fumbles, but can also be awarded partial credit for defensive end Melvin Ingram’s standout season, as the threat of Clowney, as well as defensive end Travian Robertson, led to opportunities for Ingram.
Ingram added to his long list of awards after being named to the first-team Walter Camp All-American squad. He was also named an AFCA All-American earlier in the week. The senior finished with 44 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions.
All-SEC Freshman Squad
The All-SEC Freshman team was released on Thursday, and three Gamecocks made the list. They are bolded. Bruce Ellington, though a sophomore in basketball, is a freshman in football eligibility. The Honorary Captain distinction brought a tear to my eye, as Garrett Uekman died earlier on Nov. 20 because of a heart condition.
FRESHMAN ALL-SEC
OFFENSE
HONORARY CAPTAIN
Garrett Uekman, Tight End, Arkansas
TE - Malcolm Johnson, Mississippi State
OL - A.J. Cann, South Carolina
OL - Marcus Jackson, Tennessee
OL - Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama
OL - Chaz Green, Florida
C - Reese Dismukes, Auburn
WR - Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia
WR - Odell Beckham Jr., LSU
QB – Maxwell Smith, Kentucky
RB – Isaiah Crowell, Georgia
RB – Kenny Hilliard, LSU
AP - Bruce Ellington, South Carolina
DEFENSE
DL - Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina
DL - Trey Flowers, Arkansas
DL - Anthony Johnson, LSU
DL - Kaleb Eulls, Mississippi State
LB - A.J. Johnson, Tennessee
LB -Curt Maggitt, Tennessee
LB - Serderius Bryant, Ole Miss
DB - Brian Randolph, Tennessee
DB -Vinnie Sunseri, Alabama
DB - Pop Saunders, Florida
DB - Tevin Mitchel, Arkansas
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK - James Hairston, LSU
P - Brad Wing, LSU
RS – Marquel Wade, Arkansas
Key Matchup for Nebraska:
A favorable matchup for the Gamecocks heading into the Capital One Bowl will be quarterback Connor Shaw’s mobility versus the Nebraska defense. The Huskers have had their issues against mobile quarterbacks this season, with all three of their losses coming to teams with quarterbacks who had success in the air and on the ground.
Against Wisconsin, Nebraska surrendered 255 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, as well as 32 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on six carries, to quarterback Russell Wilson. Northwestern’s Kain Colter, who is the backup for starter Dan Persa, was able to lead the team in rushing and passing in the win over the Huskers. Finally, Michigan’s Denard Robinson had 180 passing yards and 83 yards on the ground.
Shaw, who struggled as a passer at first, had his best outing against Clemson, tallying four touchdowns on 210 passing yards and 107 rushing yards. The Gamecocks will need Shaw to carry that momentum into the bowl game against a defense that will be without defensive coordinator Carl Pelini, who has been named the head coach at Florida Atlantic.
“It’s a lot different when you get thrown in the fire,” Shaw said. “I think the main thing is your confidence. Game in game and game out, your confidence grows as much as you play. The past six games, I feel like my confidence has grown game by game, so we’ll take it from there.”
Though Shaw was with the team when it played Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, quarterback Stephen Garcia was the starter in that game.
“I feel like I prepared last year just as I’m going to prepare this year – to be the starter,” Shaw said. “It’s game-time experience, it’s confidence, and I think we have a lot of momentum coming in from the Clemson game. Like coach (Steve) Spurrier said, we have a lot to play for. I think our team rallies around our captains. By the way you play, they’ll rally around you.”
Tweet of the Day: @richarddeitsch: Sources are telling me the NBA has also rescinded the Louisiana Purchase.
I don’t know how or why the NBA killed the deal to send Chris Paul to the Lakers, but it was a terrible move by a league that is dwindling in significance and popularity. Los Angeles was giving up Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, its second and third leading scorers. This was by no means an unfair deal for anyone.
Sports story that will inevitably go overlooked because of other headlines: From SI.com, From plus-one to NCAA split, major change on college football horizon: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/12/07/img-forum-plus-one-ncaa/index.html?eref=twitter_feed
