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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Five Questions for the Head Ball Coach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Columbia, S.C.-On Monday I sat down with South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier and tried to take his temperature on several issues: The state of the program, what he expects for this season, and what in the wide, wide world of sports happened to his team last season?
In 2007 South Carolina started 6-1 and was ranked as high as No. 7 before losing its last five games to finish 6-6. There were two bone-crushing losses among those five:
**—At Tennessee on Oct. 27, South Carolina rallied from a 21-0 deficit to take a 24-21 lead with 1:24 left. But the Vols kicked a field goal the buzzer to tie game and then won in overtime, 27-24.
**—Clemson kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired to beat South Carolina 23-21 in Columbia on Nov. 24.
In three seasons here Spurrier is 21-16 and 11-13 in the SEC. You can’t measure how badly he wants to do something special here at South Carolina. Consider: He was the last coach to win an ACC championship at Duke (1989). When he got to Florida in 1990 the Gators had never won an SEC championship. He won six. South Carolina has never played in the SEC championship game. At 63, winning a divisional title and getting to Atlanta would be the perfect ending to his Hall of Fame career.
So here are five quick questions for the Head Ball Coach:
1. This time last year you talked about competing for an SEC championship. How do you feel this year?
“We’re just trying not to talk too much and realize that we’re not that great. But if we go all out and play a lot smarter and with a lot more effort, then we have a chance. We lost some tough games late to Tennessee and Clemson and one or two plays could have made a difference. We could have been 8-4 instead of 6-6. We just needed to play a little better and coach a little better.
“But shoot, we could have lost some of those early ones too. So we don’t need to sit around and say we had a great team but we were unlucky. We didn’t have a great team. We were No. 8 (in the SEC) in total offense and No. 9 in total defense. That’s not very good.
“But it wasn’t all bad. Last year we did something no South Carolina team has ever done. We beat three teams that won their bowl games-Georgia, Kentucky, and Mississippi State.”
2. There has been talk that you’re starting to get frustrated here at South Carolina. Any truth to that? Do you still believe you can win an SEC championship here?
“I’m still having fun. Our goal is always to win the SEC championship and that is not going to change. But we know we’re not there yet. In three years we’ve (only) had five guys drafted: three defensive backs, a running back, and a wide receiver. But our best recruiting class was two years ago. One service had it ranked as high as No. 4. There were 27 of them and they’re still here. They haven’t flunked out or fallen by the wayside like some classes do. We think that the next 3-4 years if we keep recruiting well that we have a chance to do some stuff.”
3. You said you are going to turn parts of the offensive game planning over to Steve Spurrier, Jr. How is that going to work on game day?
“I’m trying to delegate more this year than I have in the past and hopefully that will free me up to look at the big picture of the program. I still oversee the offense but Steve, Jr. will do the scripts in practice and handle some of the play calling. In the scrimmage the other day he sent the plays in but I’m on the headphones telling him ‘don’t forget this one and that one.’ It actually gives me a chance to pick the spots and try to hit some big plays. It’s something different. We’ll see if it helps us. I hope it’s going to make us more organized so that we can get the plays in quicker.
4. With 10 starters returning, plus linebacker Jasper Brinkley coming back from injury, people are saying that this might be the best defense you’ve had at South Carolina. Do you agree?
“Well, I hope (the defense) is better but we’ve said that every year that we’ve been here. People have said that we’re going to be good-blah, blah, blah. All I know is that we’ve finished 10th, ninth, and ninth (in the SEC) the three years that we’ve been here. Most defensive coordinators would tell you that if I’m 10th, ninth, and ninth chances are the head coach is going to be looking for someone else.
“We’ve got Ellis Johnson coming in (as defensive coordinator). He’s got a track record. I think we’ll be more disciplined and play better and play with more effort. But now we’ve got to go out and do it. We do have some players who are capable.”
5. You are trying to build a program and win a championship in what some believe is the toughest division in the toughest conference in football. Did you ever think it would be this difficult?
“When I got here Florida, Georgia and Tennessee were the big three and they are still the big three. We’ve made some inroads against them. We’ve beaten each of them once and lost a heartbreaker to each of them once. So we could be 2-1 against them but instead we are 1-2 against them.
“But when I came here I said that we had everything we needed to win a championship at South Carolina. I still believe that. I’m not coaching just to have a winning record and go to a bowl game every year. One day, one year, when we win the close ones and the ball bounces our way we’re going to have that big year.”
SPURRIER AGAINST GEORGIA, FLORIDA, AND TENNESSEE
2005: L Georgia, 17-15; B Tennessee, 16-15; B Florida, 30-22
2006: L Georgia, 18-0; L Tennessee, 31-24; L Florida 17-16
2007: B Georgia, 16-12; L Tennessee 27-24 (OT); L Florida 51-31
BONUS QUESTION
You named Tommy Beecher as your starting quarterback going into the summer. Can he give you what you need at the position?
“I like coaching Tommy Beecher. He’s a smart kid, a good leader. He goes to all of the workouts and everything. He’s a good student. I think all of the players will rally around him and he can take us a long way. But the truth is that since we’ve been here our offense has not played the way it is capable of playing. Beecher can make all of the throws and he can move around a little bit. He’s going into his fourth year here. He’s been to all of the practices and all of the games. Now it is his turn.”
