So much for the "kid glove" approach toward guiding South Carolina State quarterback and rising sophomore Malcolm Long into the starter's role.

The heir apparent to Cleveland McCoy got an earful during Friday's practice from head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough. As spring practice has progressed, Pough has sought to instill a sense of urgency and self-correction into Long and backup DeWain Clark.

"They need to have more of a feel of despair when things don't go right," he said. "I think they kind of get it, but I wanted to be sure that they do."

"(The training wheels) have to be off because those two guys have to play now," SCSU assistant head coach and defensive line coach David Blanchard said. "There's no more Cleve and they're doing a tremendous job of leading the team. They don't act like they're freshmen and sophomores. I won't say they're seasoned vets, but they're close to working and getting things correct."

Overall, the two quarterbacks have had their share of impressive moments as seen in the last scrimmage when both had their way with the first- and second-team defenses. Blanchard has been as impressed with Long and Clark's natural leadership skills as with their arm strength and accuracy.

"Both of those guys are doing an outstanding job of throwing the football this spring and also leading the team, which I think is more important than anything," Blanchard said. "They're doing a great job of being leaders."

The duo will look for a repeat strong performance in the team's third scrimmage of the spring at 9:30 a.m. today at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. While the defense will be missing linebacker Julius Wilkerson (finger) and defensive lineman Cedric Lloyd (sprained M.C.L.), who's expected to miss the rest of the spring, wideout Terrance Smith made his return at Friday's practice, catching a long touchdown pass from Long.

"His legs were a lot livelier than some of the other guys since it was his first day," Plough said.

The offense will face a more experienced secondary with BANDIT Marshall McFadden, safety Markee Hamlin and cornerback Terrance Allen back in the lineup. All three were unavailable during Sunday's scrimmage, which saw Clark lead the second-team offense to three scoring drives.

"All of those guys will get a chance to show exactly what it means to have them back in the game," Pough said. "The rough thing about it is that we're starting to get low on the defensive front, so that's getting to be a little bit of a scary situation. But I think we'll get almost all of those guys back and once we get them all back and healthy, we'll have enough to make ends meet."

Down to just four scholarship defensive linemen available, Blanchard said a silver lining is that it's allowed some of the younger players to prove themselves.

"We've got some guys like Matt Key who are really stepping up and playing real good this spring," Blanchard said.

The Bulldogs will hold three more practices next week prior to closing out spring practice with the annual Garnet and Blue game April 19 at 1 p.m.

n T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached via e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547.

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