Usually spring is the season of unbridled (and in many cases, unrealistic) optimism for college football fans. Not so in Columbia, South Carolina.An unspectacular recruiting season combined with disarray at the quarterback position (redshirt frosh Stephen Garcia was cited for underage drinking last month, his fourth offense in his short tenure at South Carolina) set the stage for the Gamecocks' spring scrimmage. After Spurrier's last spring game put fans to sleep (it was a low-scoring, 14-7 affair) the Ol' Ball Coach enacted new rules for '08: no pass rushing, no blitzing, and the defense was forced to play one of three base coverages.
Sounds like a recipe for an offensive extravaganza, right? Nope: QBs Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher combined for 8 interceptions versus the declawed 'Cock defense.
Add to this the fact that Spurrier has designated his son, Steve Spurrier Jr., as the new playcaller. And, yes, Junior was calling the plays. For both offenses.
Does Spurrier have one foot out the door already at South Carolina? If Spurrier fails to produce a competitive team in this, his fourth year in Columbia, you've just gotta wonder. The OBC is grooming his son for the head coaching job, hasn't been lighting it up on the recruiting trail, and has already been in public scrapes with the university over admissions issues. Gamecock fans are nervous about what ROI might come from their pricey head coach in his remaining time in the Palmetto State, and rightfully so.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Nice misrepresentation. Overall reports are very good coming out of Spring practice this year. Most observers say we look better and deeper at every position other than QB. And the Spring Game is a practice, not a preview of the upcoming season. And maybe it was a bad practice, but it wasn't a bad game, because it wasn't a game in a true sense. And it wasn't all bad. Sure, Smelley played poorly, but Beecher played fairly well. And the game wasn't set for an offensive extravaganza. Sure, there were no blitzes. That's what we call a prevent defense, and throwing the ball into a prevent defense often results in interceptions.
You're always laying in wait to bash the Gamecocks when something bad happens. I just don't see why. Spurrier left Gainesville a long time ago, and things are going fine for you now. You should get over it and move on.
Posted at 5:35PM on Apr 22nd 2008 by Gamecock Man
2. And no, reasonable Gamecock fans are not "wringing their hands after a lousy Spring scrimage." Nobody is predicting an SEC Championship, but there was a lot of positive noise regarding Spring Training this year.
Posted at 5:35PM on Apr 22nd 2008 by Gamecock Man
3. GC Man: You know, I'm a fan of yours. I enjoy objective fans who can find merit in viewpoints other than their own. I know we disagree from time to time, but I enjoy our online conversations.
That being said, I feel nothing here has been misrepresented. Ryan Succop (you know... your kicker) was named the spring practice MVP, which is very telling. And my favorite USC blog, GarnetandBlackAttack.com, is most definitely wringing their hands over the byproducts of the recruiting season and spring practice.
I read all the Rivals and Scout message boards. I certainly don't get a positive fan vibe from reading the South Carolina flavors of those. If I had, it would have been reported.
Posted at 8:43PM on Apr 22nd 2008 by Ryan Ferguson
4. Yeah, Cock'n'Fire is also my favorite Gamecock blogger. I read his Spring Game column, and I made a similar comment on his board. I just don't think that Spring Games are valuable measures of a team's performance in the upcoming season. They're practices, albeit practices in front of fans. Coaches don't utilize the kinds of gameplans you'll see in the fall. Instead, they test new ideas, put players in difficult situations for purposes of observation, etc.
Am I nervous about the upcoming season? Yeah, sure. But it has more to do with how we looked against elite competition during the five game losing streak last season than with the Spring Game. We may not have looked good in the Spring Game, but (1) I don't think the Spring Game says a lot, and (2) if you're going to put stock in Spring performances, I think you should look at the entire run of practices and scrimmages, and most reports I heard about Spring Training and other scrimmiges was very positive. All in all, the only thing that worries me after Spring practice is who our QB will be, which I'll admit is a big worry. I really don't think Smelley is going to be able to take us far, Garcia may never play for us, and while Beecher played well in the Spring, I don't really think he's got the potential to be more than average and he probably wouldn't be in the conversation if Smelley could get it together.
Don't take it the wrong way that I said you misrepresented the facts. Like I said, I don't think Spring Games are a very big deal, and I don't think you really do either. Of course, you probably haven't been following the daily Spring Practice reports as closely as I have. And while I'm sure there are plenty of distressed Gamecock fans, every team has its naysayers and I know a lot of fans who are excited about the way Spring Practice turned out as a whole. If you go take a look at CockyTalk or one of the subscriber sites, I think you'll see that many of the more intelligent commenters aren't yet predicting Doomsday or calling for Spurrier's dismissal.
I'm glad you don't find my comments tedious. I really enjoy your stuff, and your's is the only Gator site I read. I'll just never understand your desire to see Spurrier fail. Most Gator fans I come across want to see him succeed, as long as that doesn't include beating the Gators and/or keeping them out of the SEC Title. And while I think we may be capable of winning a solid eight or nine games this year, I doubt we'll be keeping you out of the Title Game if you beat UGA.
Posted at 11:00PM on Apr 22nd 2008 by Gamecock Man
5. Yes and no.
I think there is some uneasiness among South Carolina fans, particularly about the QB spot. Then again, 2005 and 2006 should have proven to us that you can go to a bowl without a competent QB, but that's another issue.
The defense is what I think a lot of smart South Carolina fans are most excited about. It should be good. And there is some depth developing at positions like WR. But that doesn't do you any good if the QB can't get them the ball.
As far as Spurrier having "one foot out the door" -- I'm not really too terribly worried. Sure, having his son call the plays does sound eerily like his last season in Washington, but he gives good reasons for why he's doing it now in college. I find it amusing that all these people that knocked Spurrier's recruiting work ethic when he came to South Carolina now point to it as a reason he might be on the decline. And everyone in the world seems to have taken note of Spurrier's dust-up with the administration without noticing at all that he said shortly thereafter that his concerns had been addressed.
Overall, am I concerned? Yes. But given that I root for the Gamecocks (and the Cubs in baseball to boot), that's my default position.
Thanks to both of you for the compliments.
Posted at 6:24PM on Apr 23rd 2008 by cocknfire
6. By the way, Ryan, why do you always refer to Spurrier as overpayed? He was something like the 9th highest paid coach in the SEC last year, which seems about right. He's def. a bargain compared to Nick Saban.
Posted at 10:45PM on Apr 24th 2008 by Gamecock Man
7. SABAN WILL ROCK-N-ROLL THIS YEAR !!!!
STEVE
Posted at 9:02PM on Apr 26th 2008 by I BLEED CRIMSON !!!!