Posted: June 7, 2009
After turning the stodgy SEC sideways in the 1990s at Florida, Steve Spurrier is entering his fifth season at South Carolina and still trying to find the magic from those Gainesville glory days. Sporting News' Matt Hayes recently caught up with Spurrier, who discussed his time in Columbia, S.C., and the coming season.
Q: Do you feel now, after four years, that it might be a lot harder to get South Carolina to the top of the SEC than you first thought?
A: We've won 28 games the last four seasons here. That's the best four-year run in our school's history. We've got some players here now; we feel like we can compete for championships. We all have to do a better job -- coaches and players.
Q: What drives you right now?
A: The challenge is to have that big year at South Carolina because it hasn't happened. That's what intrigues and gets me excited each day -- to do it there. To win that first one (championship) would be something special if we can do it. We still have hopes and believe that we can.
Q: A couple of years ago, you talked about staying four or five more years at South Carolina. Do you have a timetable now?
A: I'm back to four or five more (years). I think I said that same thing at Florida toward the end. I'm in good health, I feel great, I'm excited about where we're headed.
Q: You won championships at Duke and Florida. Is there a time where, if it doesn't happen at South Carolina, it could start impacting your legacy?
A: I can't worry about how people remember me. Whatever I did at Duke is history, at Florida is history. We're still trying to make history at South Carolina.
Q: You've always had smart play from the quarterback position: from Dave Brown at Duke to Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Rex Grossman at Florida. The position drives your offense. Why is it you haven't found a quarterback that can handle the system at South Carolina?
A: We just haven't had consistent play from that position. We had a couple of guys who threw it and another who ran it. We had some success and some not-so-good games. But we feel Stephen Garcia has a chance to go play well.
Q: Is Garcia ready to handle all that you expect from your quarterbacks, both on and off the field?
A: Hopefully he has learned that he needs to learn a lot about college football and playing quarterback. The first thing he needs to recognize is, 'I'm not ready to play.' Hopefully, since the bowl game (a 31-10 loss to Iowa) he understands that. If he'll invest his time wisely this summer, he should be much improved and ready to play.
Q: A couple of experienced quarterbacks transferred after last season, leaving you with Garcia and two freshmen. Considering Garcia's past off-field problems, are you concerned you're putting everything into a guy who still has to prove himself?
A: He has to be smarter, no question. He has been pretty good on his own; you've got to leave him alone. He knows one more mistake and he's history. After the second incident, he was basically booted out of school. He had to do some things -- he has done 175 hours of community service. Everything they put on him, he has done. Some of our coaches said he'd never be able to do all that. He's in good standing. He made a 2.9 (GPA) this semester.
Q: What are Garcia's biggest obstacles on the field?
A: He needs a lot of training. His habits from high school were so bad. Every play was a scramble play. In high school, you can get away with that. He has to learn the game, learn how to play. Make himself a thinker. His decision-making has not been the best, that's for sure.
Q: What happens, worst-case scenario, if Garcia doesn't make it?
A: Well, we've got a redshirt freshman, Reid McCollum, who did some nice things in the spring. He's got a lot to learn, though. We've also got a freshman, Stephon Gilmore, who will probably start at cornerback for us but was an all-state quarterback in high school. Worst comes to worst, we'll put him back there and run all over the place.
Q: You said you like the makeup of this team. How are things different this time around?
A: Right now, everybody likes each other. Players like players, coaches like players. Hopefully we'll maintain that attitude. The last two years, our whole team kind of pooped out in the end.
Q: Summers were always a big deal for your teams at Florida, where chemistry was built and players worked on their own to get better. Has this team grasped that concept?
A: What's exciting is how our guys have embraced our new strength and conditioning coach, Craig Fitzgerald. He's a terrific motivator, and the players love working for him. We can't wait to see the strides they make over the summer. How players work over the summer is usually a good indicator of how they will work in the fall, and how the team will play
