Joe Person on Football

USC athletics director Eric Hyman recently met with suspended cornerback C.C. Whitlock, but Whitlock’s status has not changed.

Whitlock, who was under academic suspension during the spring, was briefly reinstated before a May arrest on a trespassing charge at a nightclub near his hometown of Chester earned him an automatic suspension, per athletics department policy.

Hyman said little about Whitlock’s situation, only that officials are “processing it all.”

As has been pointed out in this space previously, Whitlock still has a lot of work to do academically this summer to be eligible in the fall. It seems reasonable to wonder if Hyman might be keeping the suspension in place until Whitlock proves he is committed in the classroom.

Stay tuned.

On another matter, my colleague Steve Wiseman just spoke to Columbia High safety and USC signee Chris Payne, who is Canton, Ohio, preparing to play in an all-star football tournament.

Though details have not been finalized, Payne said he expects to attend Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy in the fall.

Last week, Columbia High coach Kemper Amick said concerns about Payne’s transcript – he has taken classes at three different schools – led USC’s compliance office to recommend a semester at prep school for Payne.

“That’s my mistake. I should have done better in the classroom,” Payne said. “I’ll face the consequences. But I will be ready when it’s my time.”

If all goes according to plan, Payne would enroll at USC in January and have all four years of eligibility remaining.

USC’s weight room has a wall where coaches post the top marks by position in lifts such as the bench, squat and power clean. (FYI, defensive tackle Melvin Ingram had the top bench in the spring at 440 pounds.)

There is not yet a category for “most flips of a ridiculously large, 800-pound tire.” But give Craig Fitzgerald time.

The Gamecocks’ first-year strength and conditioning coach is going medieval in the USC’s bright, 5-year-old training facility. Machines are out – tires and sledgehammers are in.

There is too much natural light in the weight room for it to have a true dungeon effect, but visitors get the impression that’s the theme Fitzgerald is shooting for.

The Gamecocks are not the only team using the Strongman methods.

As assistant strength coach Dan Austin put it, “East Carolina’s been flipping tires for years.”

Anyway, there were a few leftovers that didn’t make the story I figured I’d share.

Fitzgerald and his staff members are each responsible for a different position group. Fitzgerald has the offensive line, in addition to his overall responsibilities.

“So blame me if things don’t go well,” he said.

Fitzgerald praised the efforts this summer of several upperclassmen, including OL Lem Jeanpierre, LB Eric Norwood, WR Moe Brown, DE Cliff Matthews and DE Clifton Geathers.

The 6-foot-7 Geathers has always had a monster frame, now he’s beginning to fill it out.

“His potential is huge,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s really stepped up his training. If he keeps going like this, he’s going to be a great player this year.”

Fitzgerald said Norwood “brings a ton of intensity to every workout,” and said it’s “no surprise” that the team captained by Matthews is winning the summer lifting/conditioning competition.

Another note: The strength staff has not seen CB C.C. Whitlock, who has yet to be reinstated since being found not guilty on a trespassing charge last week in Fairfield County.

Another former USC tailback has gone to Canada looking for a second chance.

Derek Watson, whose Gamecocks’ career was derailed by a series of off-the-field issues, has joined Demetris Summers on the preseason roster of the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.

Watson, who has been out of football since getting cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers three years ago, got a call from the Stampeders about a week ago when the defending Grey Cup champions had a running back get injured.

The 28-year-old Watson rushed for 78 yards on 13 attempts Tuesday in Calgary’s final preseason game, but fumbled on his third carry. The Calgary Herald described Watson’s performance as “extremely impressive.”

In an Edmonton Sun article over the weekend, Watson said he had learned from his mistakes and planned to take advantage of his last shot.

That was the approach Summers took last summer and ended up earning a spot with the “Stamps,” serving as a backup RB and kick returner as they made their march to the Grey Cup.

Summers missed Tuesday’s final preseason tune-up with a hamstring injury.

Calgary is expected to announce its opening-game roster on Thursday.

South Carolina has updated its depth chart, which looks much like it did before spring practice.

A couple of notables: Byron McKnight has returned to defensive end after a spring cameo at tight end. I think that’s a good move. McKnight is an energetic pass rusher who can help the Gamecocks more on defense – even in a situational role – than offense.

The play of walk-on TE Andrew Power during the spring made it easy for coaches to send McKnight back to defense. Power, a redshirt freshman from Myrtle Beach, was not on the pre-spring depth chart. Now he’s listed as the backup to starter Weslye Saunders.

Still, I think Steve Spurrier will look for spots to get starting DE Cliff Matthews a few snaps at tight end this fall. Spurrier is committed to getting his best athletes more involved in every aspect of the game, which is why he has continued to talk about using starting CB Stephon Gilmore in spot duty at quarterback.

Gilmore and Akeem Auguste are the starting corners. Senior Darian Stewart is No. 1 at strong safety, but that situation remains fluid.

Ellis Johnson believes Stewart’s best position is ‘Spur,’ and will spend August evaluating whether the Gamecocks are best with Alonzo Winfield at Spur and Stewart at strong, or with Stewart at Spur and freshman DeVonte Holloman at strong.

Not surprisingly, the players who were suspended for spring practice dropped on the depth chart. But DT Ladi Ajiboye, listed on the second team behind Travian Robertson, figures to be in the starting lineup at N.C. State.

The status of CB C.C. Whitlock remains in limbo. But assuming Whitlock is reinstated and academically eligible, he likely will not be a third-teamer for long.

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Most of you probably read or heard the news last week that former USC strength coach Mark Smith received $400,000 to walk away from the same post at Tennessee after less than six months on Lane Kiffin’s staff.

Smith, who reportedly did not like assistant coach Ed Orgeron’s meddling in the weight room, might have the best of both worlds: a payout and a new job.

I’m told Smith is talking with the Carolina Panthers about a position on their strength and conditioning staff. If that works out, Smith might be able to keep his home in Blythewood and commute to Charlotte.

C.C. Whitlock is hoping for another chance.

USC’s sophomore cornerback, who was found not guilty of a trespassing charge Wednesday morning, has run up a fairly long list of incidents during his two-plus years on campus. (Whitlock arrived at USC in January 2008 — apologies for the brain freeze.)

Though the trespassing was the first time Whitlock has been formally charged, he was in the middle of the ugly brawl last fall on campus when non-students came into the food court at the Russell House apparently looking for Whitlock and others.

Whitlock also missed several practices last fall dealing with what Steve Spurrier called “issues” in his hometown of Chester, and was on academic suspension this spring.

Whitlock’s high school coach – and some at USC – believe Whitlock’s problems can be traced to Chester, where he had a rough childhood and did not always surround himself with positive influences.

After his hearing Wednesday, Whitlock said he can’t quit going home because he has three young children there whom he likes to visit. But he did say maybe he could try to restrict his Chester visits to family time – although it’s not easy for a 20-year-old to turn his back on lifelong friends.

Whitlock’s co-defendants in the May incident at the Blackstock nightclub – buddies of his from Chester who were with him Wednesday at the Fairfield County magistrate – did not seem like bad guys. Magistrate E.G. Palmer told Whitlock a couple of his younger friends seemed like they were just trying to act big and hang with the older crowd on the night of the incident.

But it’s time for Whitlock to decide what is most important to him. Is it his family and football (and by extension, school)? Or is it clubbing and hanging out?

If he decides it’s the former, he can start by getting serious in school this summer. And if he doesn’t, this debate won’t matter anyway: Sources say Whitlock needs all As and Bs during summer school to be eligible in the fall.

Given their lack of secondary depth, the Gamecocks need Whitlock from a football standpoint. But do they need the headaches that could go along with it?

That’s the question Eric Hyman and Steve Spurrier have to answer.