Tonight, Perrilloux took each snap with Vance Walker, Michael Johnson and Derrick Morgan coming in for bear hugs of an unfriendly and violent nature almost at the snap. Zero time to run, zero time to pass and seemingly no one open downfield, Perrilloux actually did score in the third quarter -- a small miracle -- before committing his third turnover of the night. His other highlight? Dodging seven Tech defenders on every play and delivering incomprehensible hand signals to his receivers before scrambling out of bounds for a 2-yard gain ... the Jacksonville State offensive linemen [got] spun like pinwheels by the Tech defensive line ... On a fourth-and-2 in the second quarter, the Gamecocks attempted to convert on fourth-and-2 from the Tech 39. The ball was snapped, and Perrilloux looked up to find his offensive line had evaporated into the night ... Perrilloux somehow avoided the rush, looked up and found his receivers vaporized and then threw an incomplete pass to turn the ball over on downs (
link).
Perrilloux finished his first test with mixed results. The outcome underscored the Herculean task Perrilloux has in front of him. The lack of a supporting cast caused Perrilloux to throw the ball or carry it himself on 32 of the Gamecocks' first 37 snaps, including all seven plays in Jacksonville State's first touchdown drive. ... But he also never let his frustrations boil over while trying to lead an overmatched offense against one of the nation's top defensive lines.
Although his teammates got involved in some after-the-whistle shenanigans in the fourth quarter, Perrilloux maintained his composure. He didn't start shoving or trash-talking after Georgia Tech linebacker
Brad Jefferson hit him well out of bounds late in the third period.
"I'm
proud of Ryan Perrilloux," Crowe said. "I always wondered when I got on the field with him, what I would find out. I didn't know. … What I know now is he's a
very poised player who had some bad things happen to him and around him and
handled it with class, in my opinion."
Perrilloux's ability to keep his emotions in check didn't surprise his new teammates, who described a player far different from [a "troublemaker"].
"
His leadership really showed through once he got here," Jacksonville State nose tackle Brandt Thomas said. "He took a lot of the younger guys, especially the young quarterbacks, under his wing and guided them a lot." Thomas said [of] Perrilloux's history of off-field incidents at LSU ... "With a lot of situations sometimes,
things get blown out of proportion," Thomas said. "...He hasn't done one thing wrong. He's walked a straight and narrow line. We're pleased with him so far." (
link)