Posted on Friday, August 26 @ Eastern Daylight Time 
With a strong performance against Central Florida, USC defensive tackle Chris Tucker easily could surpass his tackle total æ.æ.æ. for his career.
That possibility says a lot about where Tucker has been and where he is now — at the top of the depth chart following a four-year wait. The redshirt senior with four career tackles to his credit has been one of the Gamecocks’ most pleasant surprises this preseason, unseating a player who had been one of the biggest surprises of the spring.
Stanley Doughty won the Joe Morrison Award as the defensive MVP in the
spring, but he landed in Steve Spurrier’s doghouse with his indifferent attitude
in the classroom and his boisterousness on the field. The 6-foot-1, 295-pound
Tucker has taken advantage of the opportunity with an impressive August camp.
“This summer I just practiced real hard. I was real dedicated,” Tucker said.
“I don’t think I missed two or three workouts this whole summer.”
After picking USC over Georgia, Tucker redshirted in 2001, saw mop-up duty in
three games in ’02 and was bothered by a foot injury for much of ’03. But
Tucker’s low point might have been last season when he was moved to offensive
guard about halfway through the year.
“I wasn’t feeling it, really,” said Tucker, who dropped to 275 pounds to play
offense. “But I just had to do what I had to do. It turned out the better for
me.”
After Spurrier succeeded Lou Holtz in November, Tucker asked to return to
defense. The coaches agreed, and Tucker’s standout play in scrimmages — he had
two sacks, a tackle for a loss and a hurry in Tuesday’s fourth scrimmage — has
kept him there.
“He’s been consistent and playing within the scheme and playing the defense
well,” USC co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Tyrone Nix said.
“We expect big things from him this season.”
Hush, y’all. Spurrier used his speaking engagement at the Columbia Touchdown
Club earlier this week as a forum to remind the USC fans in attendance of
appropriate noisemaking at Williams-Brice Stadium this fall.
“Be quiet when we have it. We do audible a lot,” Spurrier told the crowd.
“Occasionally, I’ll yell in some audibles, so we’ve got to be quiet at home.
Can’t do it on the road, but we can do it at home.”
Extra points. After taking the day off Thursday, USC begins its game-week
preparations today. The Gamecocks will practice over the weekend, getting ready
for the Sept. 1 opener vs. UCF. æ.æ.æ. Center Chris White said he has fully
recovered from the foot injury that sidelined him for several days last
week. | 
