Malcolm Long would rather focus on the present and future with South Carolina State rather than the past.

Yet to Upstate football fans, he remains well-known as the quarterback who led Gaffney High School to back-to-back state titles in 2005 and 2006 and victories in three of four high-profile games against state powerhouse J.F. Byrnes and former starting quarterback Willy Korn.

The rivalry between the two championship rich programs, as well the high-profile coverage given to the games (the 2006 regular-season game was aired nationally by Fox Sports) would forever link the “Mr. South Carolina Football” and Parade All-American. It also forged a level of mutual respect and friendship between Korn and Long which continues to this day.

“Out of all the guys that I played against in high school, he’s definitely by far the best quarterback I went against,” Korn said.

“We talk,” Long said. “We might call each other now and again. Will’s a good kid and there’s no grudge between us.”

This Saturday in Death Valley, Long and Korn will cross paths again when S.C. State faces Clemson University for the first time. It’s a matchup both players look forward to for reasons other than renewing a rivalry.

“I’m real excited to be playing before the home fans,” Long said. “They’ll be a lot of people there from my hometown. From the Upstate, people don’t get to see me play. Hopefully, I can open some eyes.”

“It’s always fun going against him because it’s always going to be a tight, close ballgame and he’s going to make plays,” Korn said. “And I’ve got a pretty good relationship with him too. We’ve always been able to talk during summer camps and passing leagues and stuff like that. He’s a great guy and it’s going to be fun watching him again.”

Entering his fourth game as a starting quarterback, Long has provided the consistent vertical threat missing from the Bulldogs’ offense. He’s currently ranked third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in passing yards and has posted career-highs in passing yards in two straight games.

Most important, Long said he’s becoming more comfortable with the Bulldog offense.

“I just go out and look at this game as a game of football,” Long said. “When you stand on the sidelines, you’ve got 22 players out there and I’ve been playing football all my life and I don’t look at it no different.”

The key to Long’s transition to college was putting his illustrious past behind him.

“Coming into my freshman year in college, it was kind of hard to let that go,” Long said. “As I went through (last) season, I had to let some of the past and try to build a future at (South Carolina) State.”

Much like Long did last season playing behind Cleveland McCoy as a freshman, Korn is in a similar role as a redshirt freshman backing up Cullen Harper. A contest against a foe Clemson is an overwhelming favorite against would seem like an opportunity for Korn to gain extensive playing time.

However, Korn insists they are not taking S.C. State lightly.

“The thing that the coaches have stressed to us all week is that most of the guys on the S.C. State roster were recruited by Clemson,” Korn said. “They were recruited by the University of South Carolina. These guys are incredible athletes, some of the best athletes in the Southeast. They just didn’t quite make it academically to enroll at a school like Clemson.”

Korn’s main focus right now is making sure that when the call comes, he’ll be ready to play.

“As a backup quarterback, you’ve got to prepare every week like you’re going to be a starter because you never know what can happen to Cullen,” Korn said. “You’re one injury away from being a starter, so I’ve always got to be prepared.”

Bring the noise

The sounds of “Tiger Rag” emanating from Oliver C. Dawson Stadium was not a figment of the imagination.

In an effort to prepare themselves better for the high noise level they expect to confront at Clemson Memorial Stadium, the Bulldogs held a portion of Thursday’s practice while blasting the Tigers’ fight song from the stadium speakers.

Last year at the University of South Carolina, S.C. State’s offense was discombobulated by the loud crowd. Although the Bulldogs’ offense was anemic against Central Florida, they seemed to better handle the noise.

Long said the experiences at USC and Central Florida will keep the Bulldogs from getting caught off-guard.

“It’ll be kind of different as far as the crowd,” Long said. “But we’re use to the atmosphere as far as the noise goes on offense. We’re practicing silent counts all week and hopefully, we’ll be prepared for that.”

-- T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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