HOOVER, Ala. — South Carolina was one win away from playing in Atlanta at the Southeastern Conference’s championship game for the second straight season in 2011. Nobody is more aware of that fact than junior quarterback Connor Shaw, who started nine games for the Gamecocks.
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound Shaw had his ups and downs last season in his first big chance to lead the USC offense. While he completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 1,448 yards and 14 touchdowns, and added another eight scores and 525 yards on the ground, Shaw felt like he could have done more to help the Gamecocks earn a spot in the SEC title game despite the loss of standout tailback Marcus Lattimore.
Losing a player as good as Lattimore — who had 818 yards and 10 scores prior to suffering a severe knee injury against Mississippi State on Oct. 15 — would devastate most any team, but from Shaw’s perspective, it was more about some of things he didn’t do after losing Lattimore that pushed him to become a better signal caller. (July 18, 2012, Page 6)
