Holtz: No difference in Vols, different Gamecocks without Brewer

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Posted 6:39AM on Tuesday, October 29, 2002

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina coach Lou Holtz sees the same, dominant Tennessee as always despite its losing Southeastern Conference record. What worries Holtz a lot more are his Gamecocks, who definitely won't be the same without all-purpose hero Ryan Brewer. Holtz had hoped that Brewer's bad left ankle, operated on in May and injured again Oct. 19 against Louisiana State, would heal enough through the open date that he could go against the 25th-ranked Vols (4-3, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) this Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. Instead, Brewer's ankle is badly swollen. He's on crutches, meaning the Gamecocks (5-3, 3-2) will be without their leading receiver and their most clutch performer as they start their critical closing stretch. ``I tell you what, Ryan Brewer is so solid, he's on our punt team, our kickoff, our punt return, our kickoff return, he's just so reliable,'' Holtz said Monday. Don't forget lining up as a receiver, in the backfield or as one of the key parts of South Carolina's goal line T-formation. ``Good, good poise, leadership. I just hope he gets back,'' Holtz said. ``When, I don't know. I hope he gets back, because boy, he's done a marvelous job here.'' Brewer says not to write him off so soon. ``Every day it gets a little better and progresses,'' said Brewer, who has played 43 straight games. ``One day, I might wake up and be able to run around.'' South Carolina offensive coordinator Skip Holtz says he's planning to be without Brewer, his leading receiver. ``I say that, yes, but it's Ryan Brewer,'' Skip Holtz said. If Brewer can't go, the younger Holtz says, Michael Ages, Thez Robinson or Andrea Gause would take his place. With Tennessee on a two-game losing streak and looking lost in falling 34-14 to Alabama last Saturday, some Gamecocks fans are finally dreaming of ending their decade-long string of futility against the Vols. The Gamecocks last victory in the series came in 1992. Not so fast, says the gloom-and-doom Holtz. He thinks the Vols are as quick and talented and tenacious as ever, despite falling out of the SEC East race before November. ``Let me tell you, you don't want to play a team that's used to winning when they're wounded,'' Holtz said Or when you're without the player responsible for some of the brightest moments of South Carolina's turnaround the past three years. Brewer came to South Carolina as Ohio's ``Mr. Football.'' His high school coach called him the most intense football player he'd ever seen. Brewer wasn't expected to make much impact behind more highly recruited runners like Derek Watson and Andrew Pinnock. However, when 1,000-yard rusher Watson was suspended for the 2001 Outback Bowl, Brewer gained 219 yards, three touchdowns and was the game's MVP. Only three weeks ago, Brewer had a 6-yard TD run to cap South Carolina's second-half rally from 10-0 down to beat Kentucky 16-10. It hasn't been the senior season the Troy, Ohio, native had hoped for. He said throughout fall camp that his ankle - repaired by noted sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews would be fine and he'd be the same old sparkplug as always. Holtz knew differently. It normally takes a year to regain your speed and effectiveness from such a surgery. Holtz said he saw this week from watching films of past games with Tennessee that featured Brewer's speed and quickness how much he wished he'd been wrong. One play that stood out was Brewer catching a simple pass and raced away from defenders 78 yards for a touchdown in South Carolina's 17-14 loss to the Vols two years ago. ``You say, 'Wow. Who's that?' It was Ryan Brewer,'' Holtz said. Brewer says that while slowed by the ankle injury, he's not done of the field yet. ``There are four more games, I'll be back out there,'' he said. Brewer won't only be missed on the field. Cedric Williams, at 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, doesn't have too many 5-10 guys get in his face. Brewer did. ``He's just got that drive and that desire he has that keeps everybody up,'' Williams said. Without Brewer, Williams says he and quarterback Corey Jenkins both seniors will work that much harder to fire up the Gamecocks. No one, though, could do it as well as Brewer. ``He's just a warrior, man,'' nose tackle Langston Moore said. ``Nobody can ever say anything bad about Ryan Brewer if he never plays another game in his life.'' Holtz and the Gamecocks just hope Brewer's ankle cooperates over the rest of the season.