TheState.com: GoGamecocks: Ron Morris

Morris: Spurrier calling an audible

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:08 EST

STEVE SPURRIER FIRST talks about how South Carolina's woes on offense this season have little to do with play-calling. He says the problems are related more to execution and blocking.

Then Spurrier offers that he and his coaching staff likely will change play-calling duties beginning next season. It makes senses, he says, for quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus to call plays.

So what to make of all this? My guess is Spurrier will not go the way of his predecessor, who threw his son in front of an 18-wheeler. Spurrier is doing the right thing by protecting his son Steve Spurrier Jr. from the heat fans have been applying during USC's recent slide.

That is why Spurrier often shoulders the blame when a botched play comes into question. When he first named his son the play-caller before the 2008 season, Spurrier said he would take responsibility for bad play-calls and Junior would get credit for good play-calls.

For the most part, Spurrier has stuck to that philosophy, saying Monday, "I don't need any credit if it's a good play."

Morris: Mocking USC doesn’t pay off for Rutgers

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:15 EST

Rutgers ruffled the wrong feathers Sunday before facing South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Rutgers’ players mockingly sang what has become USC’s theme music during a season that has carried the Gamecocks to a top-10 national ranking and its first SEC tournament title.

“Teams are going down, down, down. Teams are going down, down, down.”

Little did Rutgers know, its words were music to the ears of coach Shelley Smith’s team.

“I think teams should realize by now, they shouldn’t make fun of us, shouldn’t laugh at us, shouldn’t joke about us because that just drives us even more,” said Blakely Mattern, USC’s outstanding defensive player. “We don’t say much to the other team. We don’t say anything. We take what they’re going to do and use it as motivation.

Morris: Laval knew how to win, no matter the sport

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:15 EST

Billy Laval stood 5-foot-8. He weighed about 135 pounds, maybe 145 late in his coaching career. In his early days, he was known to most as "The Fox," which morphed into the "Ole Fox," and the "Ole Man," and finally "The Wiley Old Fox."

Despite his size, few in the coaching profession ever looked down on Laval. Nor did they call him any kind of name except out of respect. That's because over a 35-year period ending in 1950, Laval earned the right to be called the greatest collegiate coach in South Carolina athletics history.

Mind you, we're not talking just about USC history. We're talking about the entire state to include all the best coaches over the years at any level, from Erskine to Clemson, from Charleston Southern to College of Charleston.

Laval had no peer when he walked the sideline, whether it be football, basketball or his first love, baseball. He arguably was the best there ever was at Furman, USC and Newberry. At USC, he produced a record seven consecutive winning seasons in football, a game in which he never played a down. He still carries the highest winning percentage of any USC baseball coach. In his one season of coaching basketball, USC won the prestigious Southern Conference championship.

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Morris: Spurrier shows his positive side

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:03 EST

HE ONCE WAS the Ol' Ball Coach. Then he was the Head Ball Coach. Now, meet the New Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier. Over the past two weeks, Spurrier has transformed from a coach who routinely called out his players and staff to one who now recognizes the value of positive reinforcement.

"I needed to do that," Spurrier conceded this week.

Gone, at least for the time being, are snide remarks about lack of progress by quarterback Stephen Garcia. Gone, at least for the time being, is the public flogging of South Carolina's offensive line.

Of late, Spurrier has praised Garcia for developing into a pretty decent quarterback, and he defended the offensive line for not playing as badly as everyone believes.

His positive spin on the program by accentuating its accomplishments over the past five seasons makes you wonder if Spurrier happened upon a magic glass of happy juice. At meetings with the media, he has started to sound a lot more like Lou Holtz, who managed to put a positive spin on the 0-11 season of 1999.

Morris: Soccer championship all in the family

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:34 EST

From a handshake with an athletics director in a Rhode Island airport to a hug from an athletics director on a soccer field in Alabama, the road to a championship has been long and arduous for Shelley Smith.

In between taking the South Carolina women's soccer coaching job nine years ago and winning the Southeastern Conference title Sunday, Smith also had a meeting with the athletics director about the future of her program and whether she would be part of it.

Let's start in the middle of the journey. Eric Hyman arrived at USC in the summer of 2005 and began evaluating his head coaches. He knew little about Smith other than that she had an unusual relationship with her assistant coach - her husband, Jamie Smith.

All Hyman had to go on in evaluating Smith was her record in four seasons at USC, and that was nothing to boast about. Her teams were 39-31-10, including an 11-20-7 record in SEC play. Two of her teams qualified for the SEC tournament, and both bowed out in the first round.

"She was struggling." Hyman says. "She had made progress, and she needed to continue to make progress. Sometimes those conversations can be tough. ... As a coach, you've got to create hope in the program. Up to that point, it was real sketchy, at best. I can put up with a lot, but you've got to have hope."

Morris: Spurrier washed up? That's nuts

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:03 EST

The whispers are growing louder. A couple of more losses and they will become deafening. The talk is about how Steve Spurrier should step aside as South Carolina's football coach.

I am here to tell you folks that you are nuts.

First of all, Spurrier is going nowhere. He remains as driven as ever to push USC to new heights. He also has the support of Eric Hyman, his athletics director, even though Hyman defers to his policy of not commenting on such matters during the season.

So why all the talk about Spurrier resigning? Why all the chatter about how he needs to turn the reins over to a younger, more energetic coach? Why all the buzz about how the legendary coach can't coach anymore?

Here is what all that clamoring is about: USC and its fans long have failed to recognize a good thing when they see it. Having suffered through generations of hit-and-mostly-miss football, they naturally believe every new coach can be the instant solution to all of the program's problems. They naturally are disappointed.

Morris: Lack of progress maddening for USC

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:05 EST

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. | THERE IS A SURE-FIRE WAY to judge teams this late in the college football season. Some appear to get better from week to week. Others seem to regress.

Put South Carolina in the latter category after Saturday's demoralizing 33-16 loss to Arkansas. It followed a disheartening 31-13 loss at Tennessee.

What makes both losses difficult for USC faithful to swallow is that while the Gamecocks appear to be heading south, Tennessee and Arkansas looked to be much improved from early in the season.

"We're just not real good right now," Steve Spurrier said. "I don't know how to say it. Coaches are coaching their butts off. We're just not getting results right now."

Garrett Anderson is a senior who has made 26 starts in his four seasons at USC. He knows all about frustration. Yet even he was at a loss for the precise words to describe just how maddening the past two games have been to him, the USC offense and the team as a whole.

Morris: Game scars will endure with Rogers

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:21 EST

GEORGE ROGERS IS hurting these days. All over.

During an 11-year period covering his careers at South Carolina and in the NFL, Rogers carried the football 2,646 times. His body was beaten to a pulp with injuries ranging from a thumb that once was bent behind his pinky finger to a dislocated shoulder that prevents him from effectively swinging a golf club.

Today, Rogers is a 50-year-old operating in a 65- to 70-year-old body. He is Exhibit A for what ultimately happens to a bruising running back that used his body with a total lack of restraint. He represents the brutal aftereffects of the sport.

"Some days I hate to wake up," Rogers says, "because I know I can't stand on my feet. I have trouble walking some days."

Rogers remains employed by the USC athletics department, serving as a goodwill ambassador for the school where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1980. A year later he was the NFL rookie of the year with the New Orleans Saints. His professional career lasted seven bruising seasons.

Morris: Season's worth of breaks catches up to USC

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:30 EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. | ALL THE GOOD FORTUNE, the good luck and the good breaks South Carolina experienced in building its national ranking this football season all turned into misfortune, bad luck and bad breaks at Neyland Stadium.

We should have seen this coming. We should have listened more closely to the words Steve Spurrier spoke about his team, about how it had been getting by on less-than-stellar performances.

Sooner or later, USC's play was bound to catch up. Later became sooner in a 31-13 drubbing by Tennessee on a dreary Saturday night.

"We've been playing near like this, a lot like this, and winning some close games," Spurrier said of his team's performance. "You play some good teams, you're not going to win them (playing like that)."

Almost before the 96,263 in attendance could settle into their seats, USC had dug a hole it could not possibly crawl out of. The first half was as telling as it was disastrous for the Gamecocks.

Morris: Referee vitriol needs a timeout

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:28 EDT

A FEW POINTS THAT I believe to be true following the recent spate of gaffs by SEC football officials:

1. The league has the best officials in college football, and here is a surprise, they occasionally make mistakes.

2. No official's call has ever determined the outcome of a game.

3. Questioning the integrity of an official - and essentially the game - should draw the offending coach an automatic suspension from the league.

"It's interesting to me that we will tolerate mistakes by players, coaches, by the media, by fans," says Rogers Redding, the coordinator of football officials for the SEC. "But let an official truly make a mistake, boy, that's just not acceptable."

Morris: Time is now for offense to take off

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:38 EDT

Steve Spurrier likes to talk about how God has smiled on the Gamecocks this season. Well, it is now time for South Carolina to stop relying on Divine intervention.

It is time for Spurrier's offense to get out of neutral and kick into a higher gear. Otherwise, this season is going to end the same as so many over the past couple of decades.

"We've got to play better," Spurrier said of his offense. "We're not going to beat these teams unless we really play well, play without stupid mistakes and things like that."

One problem in evaluating a Spurrier offense is the preconceived notion that it will be efficient and high-powered. Unfortunately, Spurrier built that reputation when he coached at Duke and Florida.

Since his arrival in Columbia, his offenses have been as much miss as they have been hit. They have possessed a perpetual stutter in their step. This season's unit is representative of the five Spurrier has fielded at USC. Occasionally, fans get a glimpse of what might be. Otherwise, the offense produces a lot of frustration.

Morris: Cock 'n' Fire gang still can't shoot straight

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:31 EDT

OK, EIGHT WEEKS is enough. The verdict is in: This South Carolina offense continues to be a major work in progress.

Forget the fact that USC defeated Vanderbilt 14-10 Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. What was glaringly obvious is that the Gamecocks won because of their defense and suffered through yet another hit-and-mostly miss performance from their offense.

Do not be fooled by USC's 431 yards of total offense, or Stephen Garcia's 312 yards passing or Kenny Miles 102 yards rushing or even Alshon Jeffrey's 161 yards receiving.

These numbers tell the true story: USC had the ball 13 times. It moved the ball for significant yardage three times. Bottom line, it scored two touchdowns. That is why Steve Spurrier shook his head when asked afterward if he was pleased with his offense.

"Goodness no, goodness no," Spurrier said. "We had to punt eight times. We did have (431) yards? That's amazing. It didn't feel like it. It felt like we were getting stuffed and stuffed. We couldn't make many third downs."

Morris: With stadium noise, give me silent treatment

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:34 EST

IN THE WAKE of the Southeastern Conference's brouhaha over rooster crows and AC/DC clamoring, I have a solution for all sports at all levels: NO MORE ARTIFICIAL NOISE! EVER!

The old joke about going to a fight and a hockey game breaking out, well, it has changed. Now you go to a rock concert, and a football, basketball, baseball or hockey game plays out in the background. The constant attacks on eardrums at sporting events have gotten out of hand.

Speech therapists across the country should be manning stadium exits and handing out business cards. The more sporting events one attends these days, the more likely one is to have hearing problems down the road. Trust me, you're going to need that business card.

If it is not the never-ending attempt to interject LOUD music into every possible moment of silence, it is the senseless and ceaseless imploring of fans to clap, Cheer, MAKE SOME NOISE! that drives me nuts.

Even public address announcers have gotten into the act. What once was a service to keep fans informed has been reduced to another form of cheerleading. "That's another Carolina . . . FIRST DOWN!" "Here comes a big THIRD DOWN!" Please. Tell me something I do not know, and whisper it.

Morris: CCR takes the stage for SEC football

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:21 EDT

WE TAKE A break from the college football season to bring you the seventh annual musical look at the SEC.

Creedence Clearwater Revival gets the call this year.

"Tearing Up the Country," Alabama. What more could Alabama have done so far this season? The Crimson Tide have bowled over six consecutive opponents and climbed to the No. 1 national ranking, according to The Associated Press.

Alabama looks as if it could cruise into the SEC championship game, but you have to wonder if junior quarterback Greg McElroy is capable of guiding the Tide to the national crown.

"Up Around the Bend," Arkansas. The Razorbacks are 1-3 in the SEC West, but what they face up around the bend makes me believe Arkansas could be the second-best team in the division behind Alabama.

Morris: USC needs offense to match defense

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:34 EST

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. | That was not so bad.

Thanks to a defense that forced four turnovers and kept Alabama out of the end zone for most of the game, South Carolina showed well to a national television audience against the nation's No. 2-ranked team. In the end it was a shame USC could not pull off the upset.

It was a shame because USC's defense put the Gamecocks in position to win, despite making Mark Ingram look like Darren McFadden, the Arkansas running back who went for 321 yards against USC two seasons ago.

Ingram rolled up 246 yards rushing, including all 68 in Alabama's only touchdown drive in the game's waning minutes. Otherwise, the USC defense produced a winning performance. To beat a nationally ranked opponent like Alabama, it takes a defense that might bend and bend and bend, but one that holds when it needs to most.

That was USC's defense on Saturday.

Morris: Norwood a Heisman hopeful?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:34 EST

Eric Norwood received a pleasant surprise a couple of weeks ago when he went to pay his rent at a Columbia apartment complex. The woman at the front desk had something to show the South Carolina linebacker on the Internet.

A USC fan site has been soliciting Heisman Trophy votes for Norwood through Nissan, the presenting sponsor for the award. With one vote, Nissan opted to give it to the fans.

Norwood admits it is pretty exciting stuff.

As of Tuesday, Norwood was sixth in the Nissan voting, with 8 percent of the vote. He trails the leader, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, as well as quarterbacks Tim Tebow of Florida, Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame, Jacory Harris of Miami and Colt McCoy of Texas.

Since it is a fan vote, Norwood stands a chance to finish among the top three, which would put him on Nissan's official Heisman ballot. To do so, he needs the continued backing of USC fans as well as relatives such as Morgan Blanchard, a cousin of Norwood's in Atlanta who casts the maximum number of votes allowed daily.

Morris: ESPN-SEC TV deal is hurting attendance

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:34 EST

Plenty of blame can be passed around for the thousands of empty seats at South Carolina home football games this season. You know about the economy and its effect. USC's first-year seat-licensing program has not helped, either, and outrageous parking fees probably have shooed a few fans away.

Let's add another reason for the embarrassingly low attendance figure for Saturday's game against Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium: the first-year, $2 billion deal between ESPN and the SEC, which ensures every football game involving a league team will be televised.

It might not have mattered to the SEC bean counters at the time of the deal, but you have to wonder if league officials considered the effect of televising every game on the average fan.

More and more, I am hearing from USC fans that the comfort of watching the game at home beats the hassle of traffic, crowds and general discomfort of going to the game. The savings to the bank account can't hurt, either.

"This is a transitional period for what we're going into with the new TV package," said Eric Hyman, USC's athletics director. "There are a lot of positives. On the other side of it, there are some down sides."

Morris: Jeffery proves he is quite a catch

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:34 EST

STEVE SPURRIER WAS getting antsy. He paced in his office at Williams-Brice Stadium this past Feb. 4, National Signing Day.

"Have you got it yet?" Spurrier kept asking Shane Beamer, USC's recruiting coordinator. "Have you got it yet? Have you got it yet."

"It" was Alshon Jeffery's signature on a national letter of intent. A year earlier, Jeffery had committed to play football at Southern California. But Spurrier, and in particular Beamer, believed all along that the star receiver out of Calhoun County was theirs.

When the fax of Jeffery's letter of intent arrived, Spurrier and Beamer both recognized the magnitude of the signing. This state had produced USC products Sidney Rice and Kenny McKinley, but the Gamecocks watched helplessly as A.J. Green took his game to Georgia.

"I stood by that fax machine all morning," Beamer said. "I can assure you, when that fax came through, I knew we were going to have days like this once he got in and figured out what was going on and learned the system."

Morris: Ex-Gamecock fits in at White House

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:54 EDT

WASHINGTON

Fran Person strikes an imposing figure no matter the setting. He stands 6-foot-6, so it is difficult for him to hide. Person peers over the gathering in the hallway as he and his three guests wait to be seated for lunch in the West Wing of the White House on a recent Friday.

Person begins pointing out the dignitaries. There is David Alexrod over there. He is the senior adviser to President Obama. That is Chrstine Romer. She is the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors to Obama.

One by one as staff personnel file in and out of the White House Mess, located below the Oval Office and adjacent to the Situation Room, they stop to greet the man known to all as "Frannie," Vice President Joe Biden's personal aide.

Person appears as comfortable at the White House as he once was working over an opposing lineman as a football player at South Carolina under coaches Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier.

Morris: USC looking in the mirror at UK

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:02 EDT

South Carolina and Kentucky could swap uniforms before Saturday's game at Williams-Brice Stadium, and most fans would not be able to tell the difference.

A case could be made within each camp for being superior. Yet outside of South Carolina and Kentucky, from a national perspective, the programs are mirror images.

Comparing USC to Kentucky in football is like comparing oranges to tangerines, a Ford Taurus to a Mercury Sable, South Dakota to North Dakota

Both programs are led by veteran coaches who staked claims to fame elsewhere in their respective careers. Both programs have experienced spotty success. Both have hit rock bottom along the way. USC's all-time record rests at .500. Kentucky is eight games above water level.

Most importantly, both USC and Kentucky have fought what seems like a never-ending battle to crack the big three schools of the SECs Eastern Division.