L-R Kevin Higgins, Dabo Swinney, Bobby Lamb, Fisher DeBerry, Mike Ayers, Art Baker

Former legendary Air Force head football coach Fisher Deberry hosted the South Carolina Coaches for Charity inaugural dinner Thursday night at the Embassy Suites in Columbia.  Deberry is the all-time winningest head football coach for the United States Air Force Academy.  He is originally from South Carolina, and has recently moved back to the state.

Fisher DeBerry

Deberry and his wife Lu Ann lead the Fisher Deberry Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and education of single parents and their children.  For this event, they have united with head coaches from around the state to raise money and awareness for each of their respective organizations.

The event was roughly from 6-10 pm, starting with a meet and greet, followed by dinner.  There was also a silent and live auction with various sports memorabilia up for grabs ranging from a George Rogers autographed helmet to a “Broadway Joe” Namath autographed Jets jersey, among others.  All proceeds were donated to the charities involved.  The evening concluded with each coach giving a speech about their respective teams and to raise awareness for their charities.

Dabo Swinney

The coaches involved were

• Dabo Swinney – Clemson -  Dabo’s All-In Team Foundation
• Steve Spurrier – USC – Gamecock FCA
• Mike Ayers – Wofford – FCA of Spartanburg
• Kevin Higgins – The Citadel – Hope for Haiti
• Bobby Lamb – Furman – Greenville FCA
• Buddy Pough – SC State – FCA of Orangeburg
• Pough was unable to appear at the dinner, and SC State was instead represented by Hall-of-Fame member Willie Jeffries.

Steve Spurrier

Various sponsors also participated in the dinner, including Founders Federal Credit Union, State Farm, Rod Walters, IPTAY, The Citadel Football Association, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated.  Former  coach Art Baker served as the Master of Ceremonies, and Burt Trembley promoted the event with the help of his team.

The University of South Carolina football squad will officially report for fall camp on Monday, August 2, with the first practice scheduled for Tuesday, August 3. The first practice is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Bluff Road practice fields, also commonly known as the Proving Grounds.

The first week of practices of the fall camp will be open to the public. Any additional open practices will be announced at a later date. No cameras (video or still) will be allowed after the first 15 minutes of the practice. Pets are not permitted on the practice fields.

The Gamecocks will open the 2010 season on Thursday, September 2 when they host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The 7:30 p.m. ET contest will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Click below for the preseason practice schedule. Most practices will last approximately two hours. Dates and times are subject to change.

• Tuesday, August 3: 7:30 p.m. (Helmets only)
• Wednesday, August 4: 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, August 5: 7:30 p.m. (Helmets and shoulder pads)
• Friday, August 6: 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, August 7: 7:30 p.m. (First day of full pads)
• Sunday, August 8: Media Day, 2:30 – 5 p.m. Practice: 7:30 p.m.
• Monday, August 9: 7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 10: 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, August 11: 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, August 12: 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, August 13: 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, August 14: 3:45 p.m.
• Sunday, August 15: Colonial Life Fan Appreciation Day, 1-2:30 p.m., Practice: 7:30 p.m.
• Monday, August 16: 3:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 17: 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, August 18: 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, August 19: First day of classes; Practice: 4:15 p.m.
• Friday, August 20: 4:15 p.m.
• Saturday, August 21: 11 a.m.
• Sunday, August: 22: No practice scheduled
• Monday, August 23: 7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 24: 4:15 p.m.
• Wednesday, August 25: 4:15 p.m.
• Thursday, August 26: 4:15 p.m.
• Friday, August 27: No practice scheduled
• Saturday, August 28: 7 p.m.
• Sunday, August 29: 7 p.m.
• Monday, August 30: 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 31: 4:15 p.m.

Steve Spurrier held his annual media golf outing today at the Cobblestone Park Course just outside of Columbia.  The Head Ball Coach is entering his sixth year at USC and this certainly is going to be a big one for his legacy on the Gamecock sideline.

Steve Spurrier media golf outing press conference

Spurrier 7-28

Spurrier has had a winning season in each of his five years in Columbia, but he hasn’t had the kind of success some expected when he took the job.  The lopsided losses in the past two bowl games, especially the doozy against UConn, have left a lot of fans a little antsy heading into this season.

Spurrier does seem optimistic about this year’s team.  He isn’t predicting championships or dropping some of his trademark zingers (whatever happened to THAT Steve Spurrier?), but he did say he is confident this team will play harder and finish better than last year’s team.  Clearly the PapaJohn.com Bowl debacle is still lingering in his head. 

The only major news today is that reserve quarterback Zac Brindise is going to transfer. He’s hoping to find a school where he can see some action over the course of his final two seasons of eligibility. Spurrier said he hasn’t heard anything new about the Weslye Sauders situation. 

The Gamecocks open camp August 3^rd.

USC added a third commitment from over the past two days Saturday with a pledge from OL Mike Matulis of Lake Worth, FL.  Matulis picked the Gamecocks from a list of over 20 offers. 

He’s the 11th commitment for their 2011 class. 

Read more at www.PalmettoSports.com.

USC picked up two commitments Friday afternoon as they staged the Gamecock Showcase Camp in Columbia.  Pledging to the Gamecocks were OL Kaleb Broome and DE Lorenzo Mauldin.  Their commitments give the Gamecocks 10 for their 2011 class.  Read more on these commitments at www.PalmettoSports.com.

USC was picked to finish third in the SEC East by the league’s media.  Florida was picked to win the division.  Georgia was picked second.  After the Gamecocks, Kentucky was fourth, followed by Tennessee and Vanderbilt. 

USC received eight first place votes to win the east and one vote to win the overall SEC championship.   Don’t ask me who voted for the Gamecocks to win the whole shooting match.  It could have been the same guy that picked Vanderbilt to win the East.  Apparently anyone with a pulse is given a ballot.  Clearly you don’t have to have a brain.

I actually have firsthand knowledge that sports media members are clueless.

Anyway, out west Alabama was picked first, Arkansas second, Auburn third, LSU fourth, Mississippi State fifth and Ole Miss was sixth.

Alabama was the overwhelming pick to repeat as the overall SEC champion.

Two Gamecocks made the media’s preseason all-conference team.  Defensive end Cliff Matthews and defensive back Stephon Gilmore were selected.

Louisville pitching coach Roger Williams has withdrawn his name from consideration for the same job at USC.  Williams reportedly was one of the front runners for the job to replace Mark Calvi who is now coach in waiting at South Alabama.  Williams interviewed with Ray Tanner earlier in the week.  Tanner reportedly was also scheduled to interview former Gamecock pitching star Kip Bouknight this week.

Steve Spurrier avoided any controversial statements at SEC Media Days

Key USC pre-season notes:

• The Gamecocks return 15 starters from last year’s team
• USC is 3-12 the last three seasons in the last five games of those seasons
• USC was last in SEC in rushing last season and allowed 34 sacks
• QB Stephen Garcia was second in SEC in passing last season with 2733 yards
• USC opens the season at home September 2nd against Southern Miss

Steve Spurrier at SEC Media Days

Steve Spurrer

The NCAA investigators tour around the SEC’s next stop is Athens, Georgia.  We’ve seen USC, Florida and Alabama hit over the past week so it probably shouldn’t come as any surprise the Bulldogs were going to get in the mix at some point.

The bigger story in this neck of the woods is the Georgia player that is being mentioned.  That would be former Summerville star and first team All-SEC wide receiver A.J. Green.  The NCAA wants to know if Green was at the notorious party in Miami that USC tight end Weslye Saunders and other prominent football players are accused of attending.  The party was allegedly put together by a sports agent.

Green has denied the accusation.  He said told a reporter today that he has never even been to Miami and that he is not worried about the NCAA inquiry.  Bulldogs coach Mark Richt didn’t shed much light on the situation when he spoke at the SEC Media Days today.  He said he was told not to comment until the investigation is complete.

Later today we will post all of Richt’s comments here at SportsTalkSC. 

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ SportsTalkSC

The University of South Carolina will host Furman University on Saturday, September 18 at 7 p.m. in Williams-Brice Stadium. The game will be available throughout the Palmetto State on a pay-per-view basis.

The Gamecocks lead the Paladins 25-20-1 in the all-time series, including a 13-7-1 mark in games played in Columbia. The teams have not met since the 1982 season, when Furman upset Carolina, 28- 23, snapping the Gamecocks’ 11-game winning streak in the series.

With the game time announcement set for Furman, game times have now been established for each of the Gamecocks’ first three regular season games, which are all at home. South Carolina will open the season on Thursday, September 2, against Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The SEC opener is slated for Saturday, September 11 versus Georgia. That contest will kick at noon ET on either ESPN or ESPN2.