STARKVILLE — The status of James Carmon remains unclear even after his performance in a relief role Saturday against the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Despite a knee injury, Carmon came into the game in the second half and helped MSU (3-3) turn a 3-0 halftime deficit into a 21-3 victory at Legion Field.
“I think they kind of felt comfortable because they know when I get in there I know what I’m doing,” Carmon said Saturday. “I feel like I know the offense like the back of my hand now. There’s definitely more chemistry.”
Carmon’s decision to play and to take the place of redshirt freshman Blaine Clausell gave the Bulldogs instant run lanes in the option game and made things a little easier for quarterback Tyler Russell, who came on in the second half for starter Chris Relf.
“He was cleared to play, but (he) said he didn’t feel confident on (the knee) and then he didn’t get many reps in practice,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “Hopefully he performs at a higher level. With our depth everybody is important.”
Mullen said Monday no offensive linemen received the coaches’ highest grade of ‘champion’ after a film evaluation.
“(Carmon) didn’t grade high at left tackle, so he probably actually graded higher the last two weeks at guard than tackle, but we’ll see what this week brings,” Mullen said.
MSU offensive line coach John Hevesy said he would prefer Carmon to stay at left tackle, the position he trained at all spring and in the preseason, for the rest of the season.
“I’d love to keep them all where they are, but we may still have to move guys around to put the best five guys out there,” Hevesy said.
Cox honored by as league’s best defensive lineman
MSU junior defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week, the league announced Monday.
Cox, a native of Yazoo City, had a career-best seven tackles Saturday.
“I think it’s just about my preparation throughout the week was better than it has been all season,” Cox said. “For the first time this season, I got more and more confident in the days leading up to the game until the foot hit the ball.”
Cox leads a defensive front that hasn’t allowed a touchdown in its past six quarters, a total of 20 opponent possessions. On Saturday, Cox had five quarterback hurries. Mullen called Cox’s performance against UAB “his best game for sure” this season.
“He has to continually improve,” Mullen said. “He has to have a dominant performance for us every single week. I think he can be that type of player, eventually. Before he graduates here we expect him to be one of the top linemen in the Southeastern Conference.”
Cox is the first MSU player to receive the honor since Pernell McPhee claimed the award twice in 2009.
“It was nice to see Fletcher play up to his ability,” MSU defensive coordinator Chris Wilson said. “We had a conversation about how he had to play in this final stretch and for the first he played sideline to sideline.”
Cox is the second MSU player to earn a conference weekly honor. Senior running back Vick Ballard earned Offensive Player of the Week following a win at the University of Memphis in the first week of the season.
Gamecocks quarterback named SEC player of the week after first start of season
University of South Carolina sophomore quarterback Connor Shaw was
named Monday the SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
Making just his second career start, Shaw nearly surpassed his career
totals in just about every passing category when he went 26 of 39 for 311 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 54-3 rout of the University of Kentucky. The 6-foot-1, 204-pounder from Flowery Branch, Ga., also rushed 15 times for 42 yards. His touchdown passes were of 20, 11, 24, and 25 yards.
“They just benched one of the top recruits in the country (Stephen Garcia),” Mullen said Monday. “One of the highest-rated quarterbacks coming out of high school is sitting on the bench. It seemed to work OK for them last week, too.”
Shaw became the first Gamecock quarterback since 2006 to throw four touchdowns in a game. South Carolina quarterbacks had thrown just four touchdowns in the first five games.
South Carolina had 639 yards of offense on 91 plays against Kentucky. Shaw entered the game with 27 completions in 44 attempts for 252 yards and one touchdown.
“He was ready to play,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. “Connor has been here for two years. He practiced well this week. He was sharper in practice than he was today. We had a lot of good plays called, and he threw them perfectly.”
South Carolina will play at 11:21 a.m. Saturday (WCBI) at Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium.
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