This 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.