South Carolina Football All-Decade Team: All-Purpose Players
by Gamecock Man on Jul 15, 2011 12:19 PM EDT
in South Carolina Gamecocks Football
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PrintThis post continues a series picking an All-Decade Team. Over the summer, we'll be honoring the best players Carolina has had at each position over the past ten years. We'll also give shout-outs to some of the other memorable players we've had. In our last four installments of this series, I picked Ryan Succop as our top placekicker, Spencer Lanning as our punter, Marcus Lattimore (with an honorable mention to Cory Boyd) as our runningback, Jared Cook at tight end, Alshon Jeffery and Sidney Rice at wide receiver, Travelle Wharton, Garrett Chisolm, T.J. Johnson, Shane Hall, and Melvin Paige on the offensive line, and Stephen Garcia at quarterback. That's the list for each offensive position.
Today, I'd like to honor a couple of offensive players who didn't find their way onto the list of honorees, not so much because they're not deserving players but, rather, because they played multiple positions and thus never played one position for enough downs to warrant honors at those positions. Those players are Ryan Brewer and Syvelle Newton.
Brewer played RB, WR, and KR / PR for the Gamecocks from 1999-2002. Over the course of his career, he accounted for over 2000 all-purpose yards. Although impressive, those may seem like modest numbers for inclusion on an all-decade team. However, what really puts Brewer over the top is his clutch play. He was a very steady player who always saved his best performances for key games. (Sound like anyone else we know? BATTLE.) He still holds an Outback Bowl record for receiving average after his performance in the 2001 contest against Ohio St. He won Outback Bowl MVP award for that performance. He also had very memorable performances in key games against Georgia and Alabama that year.
Here are some of Brewers' greatest hits:
Ryan Brewer (via gocarolina528)
Keep reading after the jump.
As much as Brewer epitomizes the jack-of-all-trades player, Newton may do so to an even greater degree. Newton played QB, WR, and RB, including several memorable performances at QB in the 2006 season. His statistics tell the whole story; this guy did everything for the Gamecocks. He even played safety for the last few games of the 2006 season, including a phenomenal performance against Clemson in which he played a key role in shutting down CU's final drive:
South Carolina-Clemson Final Plays (via gocarolina528)
Three cheers to these two fine Gamecocks.
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You forgot about
Patrick Dimarco at FB
Glad you done this spot… those 2 guys definitely deserve props
I love Pat DiMarco...
But he never played quite enough of a role in the offense to warrant inclusion here. He’s very similar to Brewer here, a guy who ran, caught, and hit. However, Brewer was a legitimate go-to guy when he played here. DiMarco was never that guy.
Newton is in a different sphere from both players. If not for his injuries, he would have probably been one of Carolina’s best players ever. I remember Spurrier saying once that he always wished he could have been Newton’s QB coach from the beginning. Just think what 2006 could have been if that had been the case.
Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog By and For Gamecocks Fans.
by Gamecock Man on Jul 15, 2011 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions
didnt you do a All-Full Back post???
I thought you did
by Gamecockrock on Jul 15, 2011 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Back in May when GM did the RB article
I had argued to include both Lattimore and Boyd on the first team as RBs, because (a) other award teams tend to have two first team backs and (b) FB is not an every-down position in our offense (while TE isn’t necessarily either, we see more TE sets than we do FB sets).
I agree with GM that Pat DiMarco was a great go-to guy, but didn’t quite put up All-Decade numbers, and definitely not in the FB spot (If anything, Stephen’s inability to see him open in the flat on dozens of ocassions robbed DiMarco of greater glory but that’s a dead horse that’s been beaten enough).
I feel the same way about Ryan Brewer – great Gamecock, but while he is one of the great Outback Bowl players of all team (no mean feat), he doesn’t beat out Lattimore or Boyd for inclusion on the All-Decade team, and he wasn’t nearly as versatile as Syvelle.
So assuming GM is only going with one RB (Lattimore) it looks like Newton is the 11th and final offensive player.
Here's a health, Carolina, forever to thee! UNIVERSITAS CAROLIN MERID. 1801 Emollit mores nec sinit esse feros (Ovid)
I think GM's intending to place Brewer and Newton on team as All-Decade All-Purpose Players
I agree if only going one, though, that Newton should earn the nod.
by Skulls and Spurs on Jul 16, 2011 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I intended to recognize both Newton and Brewer. Didn't really mean to pick between the two.
But I agree that Newton would get the nod if I had to pick.
I don’t think I did a fullback post. I’ll have to rectify that. I think we may have discussed Pat DiMarco in the TE post, though.
Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog By and For Gamecocks Fans.
by Gamecock Man on Jul 16, 2011 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions
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