Lewis Blake Mitchell (born September 23, 1984) is a former college football quarterback for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He was previously on the roster of the South Carolina Force. [1]
Mitchell attended LaGrange High School in LaGrange, Georgia, where he was a letterman in football. As a junior, he led his team to a Class AAA State Championship and was a Class AAA All-State selection. He finished his senior season with 81 completions out of 133 pass attempts for 1,553 yards and 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions, and he was named as an EA Sports Elite 11 Quarterback. Rivals.com rated him as the 55th Best Prospect in the Nation. Blake Mitchell graduated from LaGrange High School in 2003.
He led the Gamecocks to the Independence Bowl against the Missouri Tigers, and though South Carolina took a 21–0 lead, Missouri whistled back to win 38–31. On September 13, 2006, his junior year, Mitchell was suspended from playing after being arrested for punching a bouncer in the face at a bar in the Five Points area of Columbia, South Carolina. [2] That season, he led the Gamecocks to a victory over the University of Houston in the Liberty Bowl by a score of 44–36. He is one out of three quarterbacks in Gamecock history to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, and the Clemson Tigers in a career, the others being Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw.
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, "the Head Ball Coach". He played college football as a quarterback for the Florida Gators, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL), mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Daniel Edward Reeves was an American professional football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for an individual. He was a head coach for 23 seasons, a position he held with the Denver Broncos from 1981 to 1992, the New York Giants from 1993 to 1996, and the Atlanta Falcons from 1997 to 2003. As a player, he spent his eight-season career with the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 1965.
The Clemson–South Carolina rivalry is an American collegiate athletic rivalry between the Clemson University Tigers and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, the two largest universities in the state of South Carolina. Since 2015, the two compete in the Palmetto Series, which consists of more than a dozen athletic, head-to-head matchups each school year. South Carolina leads the all-sport series 5–1, after Clemson won the 2023–24 series. Both institutions are public universities supported by the state, and their campuses are separated by only 132 miles. South Carolina and Clemson have been bitter rivals since 1896, and a heated rivalry continues to this day for a variety of reasons, including the historic tensions regarding their respective charters and the passions surrounding their athletic programs. It has often been listed as one of the best rivalries in college sports.
Jerry O'Dell Butler is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 to 1986. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers. He was selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft with the fifth overall pick. Butler was a Pro Bowl selection in 1980. In his career, he caught 278 receptions for 4,301 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Charlie Taaffe was an American gridiron football coach who was the head football coach at The Citadel from 1987 to 1996. He is the winningest head coach in the school's history. He was also the head coach of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference. The team's head coach is Shane Beamer. They play their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium.
William Lawrence Muschamp is an American football coach and former player who is a defensive analyst at the University of Georgia. He previously served as the Bulldogs' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2022 to 2024. Before his time at Georgia, he served as head football coach at the University of Florida from 2011 to 2014 and at the University of South Carolina from 2016 to 2020.
Eric Norwood is a former American football defensive end. He was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from 2013 to 2015. He formerly played for the University of South Carolina. During his collegiate career, he set school career records in tackles for loss (54.5) and quarterback sacks (29). With numerous conference and national honors, Norwood is one of the most decorated defensive players in SEC history and has drawn comparisons to James Harrison. Norwood was considered a top linebacker prospect for the 2010 NFL draft; he was selected in the fourth round, 124 overall by the Carolina Panthers.
The 2010 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers, led by second-year head coach Gene Chizik were members of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference and played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium. The Tigers completed a 12–0 regular season record and defeated South Carolina in the 2010 SEC Championship Game.
Stephen Glenn Garcia is a former collegiate American football quarterback for the University of South Carolina. Garcia had a 20–14 record as a starter for the Gamecocks. He completed 7,597 passing yards including 47 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. He also rushed for 777 yards and 15 touchdowns. Garcia was suspended five times during his college career and ultimately dismissed from the football program midway through his final season of eligibility. He currently works as an independent quarterback coach in Tampa.
Shane Beamer is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at the University of South Carolina. He is the son of former Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer.
Connor Shaw is a former American football quarterback and coach. He played college football at South Carolina, where he was the starting quarterback from 2011 through 2013. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He was also a member of the Chicago Bears.
The Georgia–South Carolina football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Georgia Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks. The rivalry started in 1894, and has been played annually since the Gamecocks joined the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1992, although as a result of SEC expansion, it will cease to be an annual matchup in 2024. Georgia leads the series 55–19–2 through the 2023 season.
Mathew Richard Mauk is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. He previously played for the Missouri Tigers. He is the younger brother of quarterback Ben Mauk.
Treon Harris is an American college football player. He began his college football career at the University of Florida as a quarterback, before transferring from the school in 2017 to Tennessee State University (TSU) where he started out as a quarterback before finishing his college career as a wide receiver.
The 2015 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2015 season. This was the 119th overall season, 82nd as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and its 24th within the SEC Eastern Division. The team was coached by Butch Jones, in his third season with UT, and plays their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. This season was also the debut season of Mike DeBord as UT's offensive coordinator.
Jacob Lane Bentley is an American football coach and former player who is currently the quarterbacks coach, co-offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator at Rock Hill High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Bentley played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Utah Utes, and the South Alabama Jaguars.
South Carolina Gamecocks football under Steve Spurrier covers the history of the South Carolina Gamecocks football program under Steve Spurrier from 2005 to 2015.
Spencer Michael Rattler is an American professional football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and South Carolina Gamecocks. Rattler was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Zebuliah Noland is an American college football coach and former quarterback. He is the quarterbacks coach for Murray State University, a position he has held since 2024. He played college football for Iowa State and North Dakota State, before drawing media attention upon being added to the South Carolina Gamecock roster, where he was named their starting quarterback, despite being a graduate assistant with the team.