The Feed Pail: Clowney turns trash into Christmas treasure

Welcome back to the feed pail, where we take a look around the internet for some choice South Carolina Gamecocks tidbits and share it back here with you. It’s quiet ahead of the holidays and the bowl game, but there are still a few things worth noting.

Jadeveon Clowney fills Jacksonville trash cans with toys — Matt Young, Houston Chronicle

Always a fan of smack talk, the South Carolina great made headlines earlier this week when he referred to Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles as “trash” after the Jaguars dominated Houston 45-7. Jacksonville fans, eager to troll after the team clinched its first playoff appearance in a decade, started ordering trash cans online and sending them to Clowney. In response, Clowney posted on Twitter that he was filling the cans with toys for the needy. Well done, JD.

Connor Shaw spreads Christmas cheer to Clemson family — Matt Connolly, The State

Clowney wasn’t the only Gamecock who got into the spirit of the season: Connor Shaw stopped by and visited a young Tigers fan recovering from lung surgery in the hospital. It’s always nice to see acts of kindness within the context of the rivalry, and Shaw remains an absolute stand-up dude.

What South Carolina football players said about Bryan McClendon — Hale McGranahan, SEC Country

Former wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon is getting a tryout in the Outback Bowl, auditioning to take over as offensive coordinator. The players talked a little about his approach and indicated there hasn’t been a big change, which you’d expect at this stage in the season — they’re not going to overhaul an entire offense over the course of a month, after all. This was a nice comment from Hayden Hurst, however:

“B-Mac just brings a sense of confidence that we need,” Hurst said. “For some time now, we’ve been searching for a bit of an identity as an offense and I think he has a pretty good philosophy on how he wants to run things and how he wants things done.”

So I guess the players were just as confused as the fans when it came to USC’s offensive approach. Sheesh.

Jake Bentley explains how his QB coach, father is different on and off the field — Cody McClure, Saturday Down South

With the Gamecocks’ staff adjustments in the wake of Kurt Roper’s dismissal, quarterback Jake Bentley now finds himself being coached by his father. The two have obviously been around each other on the sidelines prior to this move, but it’ll be interesting to see if the elder Bentley stays in this position after the OC hire is made.

As for Jake, it sounds like it’s business as usual except for one thing:

I still call him ‘dad’ on the practice field, though. I’m not going to call him coach. I mean, he is a coach, but I’m going to call him ‘dad.’ It just sounds weird saying, ‘Coach Bentley.’

Fair enough.