Receivers spending time after practice with quarterback
Most of the Gamecocks have headed to the locker room after practice, but quarterback Connor Shaw is still out on the Bluff Road practice fields, perfecting routes with receivers Alshon Jeffery and Bruce Ellington.
It's something Ellington, Jeffery and Shaw have worked on since Shaw was named the starter for the Kentucky game. Their work together has helped make the transition smoother for the young quarterback and helped Shaw gain confidence in his throws. It's also another step toward repeating last week's offensive fireworks, this time on the road against Mississippi State.
"We just stay after practice every day and work with Connor," Jeffery said. "We're just working whatever routes and whatever we're game-planning. Connor is pretty confident, but I just teach him and tell him where I'm going to be at on certain throws."
Against Kentucky, Shaw tallied 311 yards and four touchdowns. Two went to Jeffery, who had his best outing this season. However, MSU's defense is ranked No. 26 in the country, while Kentucky's was ranked No. 60 before playing the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks recognize they don't have all of the questions on offense answered after scoring 54 points on Kentucky. Along with working with Shaw, Jeffery has been working with Ellington in his development as a receiver.
"He's coming along pretty fast," Jeffery said. "He hasn't played football probably in two or three years or something like that. I'm just trying to teach him how to get more wide open and just use his hands more and be more physical out there."
For Ellington, it's more than just understanding the position better, but knowing his teammates have faith in him.
"He teaches me because he knows the game," said Ellington of Jeffery. "He teaches me how guys are going to play and how to get open so just knowing that he's a great receiver and just knowing the confidence that he has in me when we're out there running routes and all that, it's getting me better."
Ellington and tailback Marcus Lattimore have been taking more snaps in practice out of the wildcat formation, which South Carolina utilized effectively against Kentucky. Against Vanderbilt and Auburn, the running game struggled, leading the team to opt with more wildcat snaps in an attempt to get the ground game on track. Ellington's first touchdown came on a 61-yard wildcat run.
"[Ellington] was going to run several like that, although I don't think he went very far on any of them," said coach Steve Spurrier. "Bruce got loose around the end. Some of those guys took a bad angle at him. We need to block better. We need to get Marcus some better holes in there. That wildcat stuff, everyone's doing it. It gives you one less guy to block, theoretically."
After struggling against Vandy and Auburn, the offensive line was able to give Shaw adequate protection, as well as create more holes for the running game. Nevertheless, Shaw was sacked three times and was forced out of the pocket on several occasions. With offensive lineman Kyle Nunn still out with a back injury, defensive tackle Byron Jerideau has been moved to the offensive line to help sure up depth.
"We're starting to get a surge," said tackle Cody Gibson. "We're just trying to come together and get into a grove. Once you get into a grove, everything happens like clockwork. You've got to have some momentum."
Momentum is the one thing the offense has on its side after its best offensive outing all season. The win not only brought USC one step closer to its goal of returning to the SEC Championship Game, but it breathed life into what had been a catatonic offense.
"It felt pretty good," Jeffery said. "It shows what we're capable of and what we've got to build on for the rest of the season to come."
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