If he knows who he plans to start at quarterback Saturday at Tennessee, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is keeping it a secret.
Spurrier said after practice Wednesday he was not ready to announce his starter, adding he might do so Friday. Blake Mitchell, Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher continue to share reps at practice.
Meanwhile, Spurrier is feeling the third-year blues with his top-25 team.
Spurrier says the third season is usually when coaches experience a gap between the solid upperclassmen they inherited and the highly touted newcomers they’ve brought in.
And that may be a reason South Carolina’s offense has struggled this year, Spurrier said.
“We do not have many seniors here,” Spurrier said. “Usually, the third year there’s not a whole bunch.”
The Gamecocks start three seniors on offense: tailback Cory Boyd, tight end Andy Boyd and center William Brown. On defense, linebacker Casper Brinkley and cornerback Brandon Isaac are the only seniors.
“Sometimes that third year is sometimes your worst year,” Spurrier said.
Look at Notre Dame in coach Charlie Weis’ third season, Spurrier said, and remember Spurrier’s third year at Florida in 1992.
“I know when I took over at Florida, for an example, the least talented team was the third year down there of all of them,” Spurrier recalled. “But we scraped around and actually ended up winning the (SEC Eastern) division that year after losing a couple of games early.”
Spurrier’s trying to accomplish the same thing with the 15th-ranked Gamecocks. South Carolina is among three teams tied for the SEC East lead at 3-2.
After UT, the Gamecocks will play Arkansas and Florida.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Memorable moments in Pat Summitt's…
Phillip Fulmer through the years
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 3
BigVolinCarolina writes:
The Vols are gonna have to fight like heck to win this game Saturday night...there's a lot at stake for both teams--on & off the field!
SFOrange writes:
USC 27 UT 21
gmccown007#392764 writes:
What if I were to GUARANTEE you that I can give all of you the name of the ONE and ONLY coach in the whole of America that can return Tennessee to ALL of its heartbreakingly long lost days of glory? Now, if I could "do" such a miraculous, seemingly impossible thing, would you immediately "sign up" and --- with all of your heart --- "get on board"? Or would you --- with the NEGATIVITY that has now engulfed the VOL NATION --- and indeed, is now threatening to DESTROY it --- INSTEAD join --- GLEEFULLY, no doubt --- in the FLOOD OF NEGATIVITY that would almost certainly follow an idea so "wild" and, no doubt, certain to be PERFECT? Perfect, that is, once all EMOTION is completely wiped away.
I have --- literally --- been sitting in that once hallowed stadium for OVER 55 YEARS!!! NO ONE'S blood runs any more orange than mine! NO ONE'S!!! Consequently, there is NO PRICE (other than my immortal soul) that I would not pay for a return to those once halcyon days of glory.
Want to return to such days of triumphant joy? Admittedly, now, only for a mere handful of remaining years? Or do all of you prefer to merely continue to endlessly, fruitlessly bicker? There is only the tiniest window of opportunity now left. But that window DOES exist. With no blasphemy whatsoever intended, there is a "savior" available to us. Incredibly, he is even a native son. Tennessee born and bred. Further, he is, regardless of one’s prejudices, the GREATEST football "genius" alive. WITHOUT QUESTION!
Now, mind you, we do not always see eye-to-eye. Collectively, or otherwise. But who cares? Particularly, for such a magnificent ultimate "prize"? I have sat around a hundred tables and heard it repeated a thousand times.
"Native son or not he would never take the job. Besides, there is no one alive who hates Tennessee any more than he does”.
I promise you, folks. Neither statement is true. Now, it IS true that out of high school, he “refused” our recruitment. But only because he was determined to remain a quarterback.(Tennessee still ran exclusively single wing and not being a Tim Tebow “type” (of that day or any other), he knew his running skills simply were not adaptable to U-T's offensive sets. And, mind you, he was more than "right".
Once he became a coach, though, he has been ready --- more than once --- to come back to Tennessee. Justifiably, though, he has never judged it "right" or "proper" to do the asking. And, indeed, why should he have?
Of whom are we speaking? Well, the one and only one man who can save the "train-wreck" that is now Tennessee football. Steve Spurrier.
By the way, time is running out. Like Lou Pinella with the Cubs, this would, guaranteed, be Spurrier’s last hurrah.
At this stage, it would probably call for one dollar more than Lou Saban. In case you have forgotten, the man who just handed us our a$$.
I don’t know about you but I will never forget that pain. Never.
I’m good for the first $100,000.00. Anybody got a dollar?
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.