Rock Hill's Lanning bidding for starting role as practice nears

COLUMBIA -- Ray Rychleski made his reputation with a no-nonsense approach. That and his devotion to fantastic special teams got him to South Carolina after seven years at Maryland.

So he put it bluntly.

"I think Spencer appreciates the opportunity, he feels he's got a legit opportunity, but it's like everything else, if he ain't the number one guy he's not going to be very happy," Rychleski said about Rock Hill native Spencer Lanning's chances of being the Gamecocks' starting punter this year. "I hope not, at least.

"We're still into playing the best player."

Rychleski, one of USC's two new assistant coaches along with defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson, held court at coach Steve Spurrier's annual media golf outing. The Head Ball Coach quickly got off the stage, taking a few general questions that will no doubt be asked again once practice begins on Friday, and then let his assistants take a turn before the cameras.

Lanning's career could be on the upswing. When Rychleski was hired during the spring, he mentioned he wanted to take some of the chores off of senior Ryan Succop, who has handled kickoffs, punts and field goals/PATs the past two years. He thought it may take some of the pressure off Succop's leg, thus not taking a chance of Succop wearing out at the end of the year.

Lanning, Succop's backup last season, entered the picture. A walk-on who had a standout career at York Comprehensive High School, Lanning has only gotten on the field twice in the past two seasons.

Rychleski praised Lanning's work ethic and said the battle should be between Lanning and true freshman Ryan Doerr, a scholarship kicker from Texas. But if neither steps up and beats out Succop, Succop will continue to be a one-man show.

"I told (Lanning) basically, it's a wide-open race," Rychleski said. "At some point in time, we've got to make a decision. I'm not sure when that is.

"The thing with Spencer is he's got to be consistent. The difference between Spencer and Ryan Succop is Ryan Succop can hit a crappy kick and it'll still go 40 yards. When Spence shanks one, it's not very good. That's just the facts of life."

Lanning got a big head start on Doerr, after being in the program for two years and working during the summer. He punted three times for an average of 38 yards and had a long of 44 yards in the Garnet and Black Spring Game.

Doerr came to Columbia for the second summer session and is getting introduced to college football. He doesn't have any experience but he does have a scholarship and his last season on his resume -- a 16-0 state championship year in football-mad Texas, where he placed more than half of his kickoffs in the end zone, averaged 42.7 yards per punt and was a second-team All-American according to MaxPreps.com.

It should be an interesting fight, between the phenom, the veteran and Lanning, who's impressed Rychleski and Spurrier with his work ethic. The Gamecocks have a team meeting on Thursday, their first practice on Friday and their first game on Aug. 28 -- Rychleski is hoping to have his choice finalized by at least Aug. 21.

"I do like Spence, but he's got to be at least as good as Succop," Rychleski said. "I told Ryan Succop this ... 'I don't want you to be the punter, but I don't give a crap. If you're the best guy, you're going to be the punter. So you better get your mind right.'

"We're going to try those other two guys to win the job and if they're good enough, they'll win the job."

n LOCALS: Spurrier confirmed that Chester native C.C. Whitlock is on campus for the Summer II session after spending Summer I at home. Whitlock, according to Spurrier, still frequents Chester to take care of some issues but they shouldn't keep him out of preseason camp.

Rock Hill's Tori Childers is still attempting to get past the NCAA Clearinghouse, which flagged his schoolwork after Childers transferred from New Hampton (N.H.) Prep School. A wide receiver, Childers can add immediate depth to the rotation and get the chance to turn heads with his pass-blocking, but he has to clear the academic hurdles first.

n THE SAGA: Spurrier also took a question on the ongoing drama of quarterback Stephen Garcia, who's spent the summer in his native Tampa, Fla. Garcia had several qualifications to meet before he could be re-admitted to USC, but originally he was going to have to wait until Aug. 15, the first day students could report, instead of Thursday, the first day for football players.

He may get a reprieve and be allowed in on Thursday, but Spurrier said it's not up to him.

"I'm not in the loop with that," Spurrier said. "What was told Stephen was you do what you're supposed to do and we'll look at your situation and we'll make a call. We'll find out in the next three or four days when and if he comes."

If Garcia, a high-profile recruit who's been arrested three times since he first reported in January of 2006, makes it to school, Spurrier previously said he'd be the No. 3 quarterback behind starter Tommy Beecher and backup Chris Smelley.

This story was originally published July 30, 2008 at 12:36 AM with the headline "Rock Hill's Lanning bidding for starting role as practice nears."