March 29, 2006

Sophomore wide receiver Sidney Rice will be sidelined for the remainder of spring drills with a broken left thumb, South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier announced today.

“Sidney broke his thumb,” said Spurrier. “He will not participate in the spring game, but should be at full speed for summer workouts.” The All-American candidate is schedule to undergo surgery on the thumb on Thursday afternoon.

Rice, a sophomore from Gaffney, S.C., caught 70 passes for 1,143 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2005 as a redshirt freshman for the Gamecocks. He was a consensus first-team All-SEC selection after ranking first in the league and fifth in the country with 103.9 receiver yards per game. He set the Carolina single-season records for receiving yards and touchdown catches, and caught a touchdown pass in a school-record eight-straight games. He culminated his season with a 12-catch, 191-yard receiving day against Missouri in the Independence Bowl.

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Thursday and are scheduled to scrimmage in Williams-Brice Stadium on Friday. Practice times are set from 4:15 – 6:15 p.m. and open to the public.