USC Gets Physical Getting Ready For Aggies

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — The University of South Carolina football team went inside the new indoor practice facility on Tuesday as rains blanketed the Columbia area. The Gamecocks (3-4, 1-4 SEC) are preparing for Saturday‘s SEC tilt in College Station, Texas against the Texas A&M Aggies (5-2, 2-2 SEC). Game time is set for noon Eastern and the game will be televised on the SEC Network with Tom Hart, Andre Ware and Laura Rutledge providing the commentary. The Gamecocks surrendered 52 points to the Aggies in last year‘s contest and linebackers coach Kirk Botkin knows this year‘s A&M squad presents its own set of problems. “They‘re still a spread you out team,” said Botkin. “They have good skill players and a good quarterback. They like to get you out in the open spaces and see if you can tackle out in open spaces. They‘re a good football team.” Texas A&M has not named a starting quarterback for this week‘s game, so the Gamecocks are preparing for both number 10 sophomore Kyle Allen and number 1, freshman Kyler Murray. “10 and 1 are two totally different quarterbacks,” noted Botkin. “If 1 is in there, it‘s a little bit harder to prepare for probably. They‘re both good. But they‘ve got good skill guys and the O-line is really talented and athletic. It‘s going to be a challenge.” The Gamecocks added a little more physicality to today‘s practice. “We did a couple live situations today that we hadn‘t done all year,” said Botkin, “so that‘s always good. That‘s always plus and I‘m all for it.” Alabama and Ole Miss had some success in the last two weeks of slowing down the Aggie attack. “We‘ve looked at all the games this year and we‘re game planning off of those,” said Botkin. “But we‘ve got to worry about what we do and what our players are able to do.” The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Wednesday afternoon.