SC Athletics

When the NCAA and SEC announced that the NCAA Basketball Tournaments and other athletic events would be canceled due to the Coronavirus, no one was more disappointed than Dawn Staley and her No. 1-ranked Gamecocks.

The SEC champions, which lead the nation in attendance, were in line to be the top national seed and host the first two rounds of the women’s tournament at Colonia Life Arena. Third- and fourth-round games were scheduled for Greenville, a likely destination for the No. 1-ranked Gamecocks. But those events and others were suddenly canceled March 11-12 due to health precautions surrounding the rapidlyspreading virus. The SEC canceled the men’s basketball tournament and suspended all other athletic events until at least April 15. "This is a difficult time with so many conflicting emotions,” Staley said in a statement March 12. “First and foremost, we have to recognize how important it is to do the right

thing for our community. Sports is a big part of our lives, but just one part of how we are connected to each other. We need to step back and think about the larger good served by canceling events that put people at risk. "As competitors, we are certainly disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to contend for a second national championship. That said, it will not diminish the way we look at our season, how we value our body of work over the last four months. We have measured ourselves against the best in the country over that time and will embrace and relish that accomplishment. "For our seniors and the others throughout the country, who will not have the chance to finish their careers the way they expected to, that's a tougher, more emotional thing to process. Again, we have to lean on that this is the right thing for everyone's health and safety.”

After three days of rapidly changing updates, the SEC announced on March 13 that it had suspended all athletic activities, including competitions, team and individual workouts and practices and team meetings, until at least April 15. It had previously suspended all competitions through March 30, but expanded those restrictions after further developments and mass cancelations and suspensions of sports leagues and athletic competitions across the nation.

All university athletic practices and team workouts were suspended on March 13, with team meetings prohibited after 5 p.m. on March 16. The university extended its spring break through the week of March 16-21 and considered moving to online classes beyond that.

The restrictions suspended all South Carolina spring sports as well as spring football practice and the April 4 Garnet & Black Spring Game. The SEC had previously suspended all on-campus and off-campus recruiting. No decision had been announced by press time on March 13 on Will Muschamp’s annual Spurs Up Tour.

South Carolina announced it would issue refunds for tickets purchased for canceled events. "The safety and well-being of our studentathletes, fans, coaches and staff is the most important responsibility we have in our athletics department," Athletics Director Ray Tanner said. "The decision to suspend athletics competition was a difficult decision for everyone in the league.”

The suspensions and postponements fell in line with similar restrictions from universities and athletic conference in the country, as well as the suspension of the NBA, NHL, MLB and other professional sports leagues and events. "This is a public health situation that many of us have never experienced before," Tanner said. "Decisions have been and are being made with as much information as possible as expeditiously as necessary.”

As of press time, the NCAA, SEC and South Carolina were still working through issues related to the cancelations and season suspensions. The NCAA was considering granting an extra year of eligibility to student-athletes whose spring sports were suspended. It was also considering whether to grant a similar waiver to basketball players and athletes in other winter sports that did not get to compete in postseason tournaments and championship competitions and how such changes would impact scholarship and roster limits.

For more information on this developing story, please visit gamecocksonline.com or spursandfeathers.com.

HANGING TOUGH

Photo by Travis Bell

After surviving rough freshman season, quarterback Ryan Hilinski confident entering year two

Ryan Hilinski had just helped lead South Carolina to its biggest victory in almost 10 years, yet when the Gamecocks drove for the game-winning field goal against No. 3 Georgia, he was hobbled on the sideline.

Hilinski completed 15 of 20 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in Athens, but had to be helped off the field in the third quarter after Georgia linebacker Adam Anderson landed on his left leg, bending his knee awkwardly. He had taken several hard hits during the game, but the last one, which caused him to slam his hand into the turf as he writhed in pain, finished him for the day.

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor

After the game, Hilinski limped to midfield, where he hugged head coach Will Muschamp and told him, “I got your back coach. I’ll be back.”

It would not be the last time Hilinski would utter those words.

Two weeks later, he took a brutal beating at Tennessee, leaving the field at Neyland Stadium holding a bloody towel to his face after taking three sacks and several more hard hits in a staggering 41-21 loss.

But the next day, Hilinski was back at practice at the Long Family Football Operations Center. And a week later he completed 24 of 31 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-7 win over Vanderbilt.

Beaten, bruised, bloody and battered, Hilinski never backed down during a challenging freshman season as South Carolina’s starting quarterback. Though he was forced into the starting role in just his second career game as a freshman, though he struggled badly at times during a disappointing 4-8 season and though he endured multiple injuries, Hilinski never wavered and never let it get him down.

With what the 19-year-old sophomore has endured in his life, a few hard hits and a little physical pain are nothing.

“I’ve been through a lot of low points in my life,” Hilinski said during spring practice. “I had stuff come into my mind, but then I told myself, ‘that’s just life.’ We have low points and

we have to bounce back from those things and you have to go to the next day because the next practice is going to come and if you are still in that low point, you are going to have another bad practice and it’s going to lead to another bad practice and it’s going to lead to another bad game. I didn’t really let those things affect me last year and I tried to not let it affect my teammates.”

Whenever doubt or regret creeped into his mind, he handled it the same way he has handled everything else in his life.

“It would sneak up on me, but then I would punch it right in the face and let it go back the way it came,” he said.

That won’t happen again. I got left with a bad taste in my mouth last season. Personally, I will never let it happen again.

– RYAN HILINSKI ON LAST YEAR’S 4-8 SEASON

The last two years have been an emotional roller coaster for Hilinski and his family. A month after Ryan’s junior season at Orange Lutheran High School in California, his older brother and hero, Tyler, died by suicide after suffering from a CTE brain injury as the quarterback at Washington State.

Using the memory of his brother as inspiration, Ryan finished his high school career as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in the country, earning numerous All-American honors and a national player of the year award. A month later, he was on campus at South Carolina, competing with redshirt freshman Dakereon Joyner for the right to back up threeyear starter Jake Bentley.

When Bentley went down in the season opener with a season-ending foot injury, Hilinski was suddenly thrust into the starting role, and the roller coaster quickly turned into a whole new series of twists and turns.

After going through spring practice and his first fall training camp, was he ready to become South Carolina’s starting quarterback? Bentley, who also took over Muschamp’s team as a true freshman, didn’t make his first start until the seventh game of the 2016 season.

“Absolutely,” Hilinski said. “I knew being the backup I had to be able go in and be able to execute when it was my time to shine. Coach gave me that opportunity … and I came in there and I had to be able to execute. I did feel ready.”

Hilinski got off to a strong start, completing his first 10 passes in his first start against Charleston Southern. He finished the day 24- of-30 for 282 yards and two touchdowns in just three quarters of a 72-10 win. A week later, he had to face No. 1 Alabama.

Though the Gamecocks fell 47-23, Hilinski played well, completing 36 of 57 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked three times and under pressure all day. The highlight was looking across the field and seeing legendary head coach Nick Saban, whom he had grown up watching. “That was really exciting to get that opportunity,” he said.

Though South Carolina was 1-2 after losing the season opener to North Carolina in Charlotte and to Alabama at home, Hilinski gave the Gamecocks hope with his first two performances. But he was in for a rude awakening the following week.

After suffering an elbow injury against Alabama, he missed most of practice in week four and struggled in his first SEC road game, completing just 13 of 30 passes for 166 yards in an embarrassing 34-14 loss at Missouri. Hilinski fumbled into his own end zone after one of his passes was batted back to him in the first quarter, giving Missouri an early touchdown off the turnover. Later, he threw an interception that the Tigers returned 100 yards for a touchdown, sealing South Carolina’s fate.

Hilinski bounced back, however, putting together efficient performances in wins over Kentucky (24-7) and Georgia (20-17) before the Gamecocks ran off track again. He struggled at home against Florida (17-of-35 for 170) as the Gamecocks blew a third-quarter lead in a 38-27 loss. He played well the following week at Tennessee (28-of-51 for 319) but the defense collapsed and South Carolina blew another lead in a 41-21 loss.

Still hobbled by the Georgia injury, Hilinski took a beating in the two losses, getting sacked six times and suffering several other knockdowns and hard hits. The injuries eventually took a toll and he played his worst football — as did his teammates — in losses to Appalachian State, Texas A&M and Clemson

Kelly, Kym (front) and Mark (center) Hilinski with family and friends at Williams-Brice Stadium. Photo by Josh Hyber

in the last three games of the season. After the season, he had surgery to repair a torn MCL.

He took it all in stride, however, while his teammates marveled at his ability to keep playing and keep fighting.

“You have to stand in there and take some hits sometimes and deliver some balls,” wide receiver Bryan Edwards said. “And Ryan does a great job of that. He never complains. He gets up. He dusts himself off and he keeps going. To see that out of a true freshman is special.”

“He’s a guy who is going to get right back up,” center Donell Stanley said. “It shows how tough he is.”

“It’s just part of the job,” Hilinski said. “You have got to get hit. It makes it even better when you throw a ball and you get a completion. Then you don’t really feel those hits anymore.”

From the elbow injury and strained knee to a bloody face and numerous bumps and bruises, Hilinski never backed down, even when his team continued to struggle all around him.

“Everybody has physical issues,” he said. “I had bruises everywhere, but that’s just part of the game. I kinda liked it because I knew I’m getting hit and I’m going back in there just like everybody else on this team.”

SUPPORT SYSTEM

Through the struggles, Hilinski leaned on his coaches and teammates for support. The best advice he got was from Bentley, who told him to “just shake it off, let the last play go, let the next play happen.”

Though Hilinski was a physical wreck by the end of the season and his team headed toward a disappointing 4-8 season, his confidence was never shaken, his teammates say.

“His confidence was never a problem at all,” offensive lineman Sadarius Hutcherson said. “Ryan was always the same.”

“Ryan is a physically and mentally tough kid, I think more so than people realize outside the facility,” said his dad, Mark, who talked to his son often throughout the season.

“We talked like any father and son about those things and you remind them, you wanted to play in the SEC East. This is a tough place to be and you’re competing against the best guys in the country and just keep that in mind during all the tough stuff. But it also shows how much effort and hard work goes into being a quality football player in our league and on that team.”

When times got really tough, Hilinski had one of the strongest support systems in college football with a family united by tragedy. After Tyler’s death, Mark and Kym Hilinski traveled with Ryan on all his recruiting visits and decided then they that would move the family wherever Ryan chose to attend school. They moved from California to Lexington, S.C. when Ryan enrolled at South Carolina and were at every football game — home and away — last season. After home games, Ryan would meet his parents and a large group of family and friends for dinner.

“They have been everything to me,” he said. “They have helped me through thick and thin.”

“I think it probably helped us as much as it helped him,” Mark said. “After Tyler passed, we all sort of made a decision to all be as close together as we could be. … I think we were in a unique position that there is a lot going on and there is a lot for us to check in on with each other, and being together, I thought, was a real important deal.”

Though his parents give Ryan the freedom to enjoy campus life and the college experience, they are always close by when he needs them.

“We certainly enjoy seeing Ryan as much as we are able to and see him play football and get on with his life and be there to support him,” Mark said. “I think it’s a big family win. I think it’s a home run for all of us in that respect.”

Ryan also leans on his older brother, Kelly, who is in medical school and also lives in the Columbia area. A former quarterback at Columbia University and Weber State, Kelly took Ryan in, gave him another place to live off campus and often had dinner waiting on him after practice or classes.

“He would just talk to me about stuff,” Ryan said. “Some things you can talk to your parents about, but some things you can only talk to your brother about. I’m just so glad that Kelly can do that for me and I still got a brother here to do that with.”

Hilinski is also grateful to Gamecock fans, who have supported him and his family and their Hilinski’s Hope foundation, which helps raise awareness of mental illness among young people. Hilinski took the field each week holding up three fingers to honor his brother, who wore No. 3. At the Alabama game, the entire crowd participated by holding up three fingers at the start of the third quarter, a tribute that became a Williams-Brice tradition.

“It’s been really, really special,” Ryan said. “Going from coast to coast, it’s just really, really cool to see all these people buy into something they are not even familiar with. I think when we saw that first third quarter in the Alabama game, that really touched us and touched our family.”

Support like that means a lot to the Hilinski family.

“Tyler is such a big part of our lives still and we miss that kid terribly,” Mark said. “Ryan obviously early in the season was very demonstrative about that and we are so grateful for the fans at Carolina for starting that 3 in the third quarter.

“I think there is an incaluable amount of resilience that gets transferred back out of Williams-Brice onto those guys. For Ryan, for sure, that lifted him the rest of the year and he continued to fight for his team and his coaches and his community here.”

THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE

After a year to adjust to his new surroundings and his role as South Carolina’s starting quarterback, Hilinski says he feels more comfortable and confident going into his second season.

Photo by Allen Sharpe

He’s gained weight, is bigger and stronger than last season and spent the offseason working on his throwing motion and mechanics. He’s also worked on his mobility, which became a sore spot last season, with coaches and fans joking that he was “slower than a semi-truck.”

“I have been working in the training room non-stop, just getting my legs stronger,” he said. “I know I can run faster now. I feel faster in practice. I might not be as fast when I look at the film, but I feel super fast when I am out on the field. I’m moving around a little bit, I’m feeling good and I’m feeling confident in my movement in the pocket and escapability and stuff like that.”

Now comes the biggest challenge — adjusting to the intense, no-nonsense style of new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo and learning a new offense that will require him play more under center for the first time since his sophomore year of high school. After spending hours with Bobo during the offseason, he has fully embraced the challenge.

“Everybody is buying in and feeling confident and excited about this new offense,” he said.

Bobo was pleased with Hilinski’s development during spring practice. When the two first met, he told his young quarterback “your footwork is terrible,” but after two weeks of practice, he said Hilinski had improved his footwork, mobility and accuracy.

“And I have been real impressed with him in the meeting room, how sharp he is, how smart he is, how he comes in prepared before the meetings and before we even get into the install he has taken the time to look at it,” Bobo said. “He has arm talent, he’s athletic enough. I wouldn’t call him a dual-threat quarterback, but he’s athletic enough to move around the pocket and make some plays.”

Bobo sees a maturing, mentally tough quarterback determined to get better and put last year’s struggles behind him. One he believes can succeed if the Gamecocks can improve their protections, run game and the rest of the offense around him.

“He was a freshman last year and we threw it 466 times and he got hit a lot, and that wears on a young guy,” he said. “But I haven’t seen a guy who has lost his confidence or become gun shy. I haven’t seen that from him.”

Hilinski knows he must play better than last season, when he completed just 58 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,357 yards and 11 touchdowns. Though he had three 300-yard games, he passed for fewer than 200 yards six times.

“I’ve got to play better, I’ve got to,” he said. “I had a couple of moments [last year] I felt were good and a couple of opportunities where I said, ‘Hey, I’ll go out there and throw some touchdowns.’ But other than that, I have to play better and I put that on myself.”

If he does, South Carolina’s offense should improve after averaging just 372 yards per game and 5.2 yards per play last season.

Photo by Jenny Dilworth

Hilinski promises that it will, and vows that Gamecocks fans won’t have to endure another 4-8 season.

“That won’t happen again,” he said. “I got left with a bad taste in my mouth last season. I have never had a four-win season in my career. Personally, I will never let it happen again and I can tell you all the players on this team are confident in our season going forward and in our championship offense.”