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Spurrier Q&A: 'I think we've got a team on the verge'
In an exclusive interview, coach Steve Spurrier talks about quarterback Stephen Garcia, his new staff, what happened last season and his future at USC.
Steve Spurrier shuffles quarterbacks Stephen Garcia, left, and Chris Smelley, right, against Arkansas last season.
Erik Campos/ecampos@thestate.com
Written by Joseph Person
jperson@thestate.com
Posted on 06.14.09
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The five-year plan
A coach’s fifth year at a school is regarded an indication of how the program has done and where it needs to go. As Steve Spurrier enters his fifth season at USC, a look at how some previous Gamecocks coaches have done:
| Coach | Fifth year | Record |
| Lou Holtz | 2003 | 5-7 |
| Brad Scott | 1998 | 1-10 |
| Sparky Woods | 1993 | 4-7 |
| Joe Morrison | 1988 | 8-4 |
| Jim Carlen | 1979 | 8-4 |
| Paul Dietzel | 1970 | 4-6-1 |
| Marvin Bass | 1965 | 5-5 |
| Rex Enright | 1950 | 3-4-2 |
USC coach Steve Spurrier, who turned 64 in April, still enjoys what he is doing. He likes his new staff and gets along with the current group of players — including the quarterback he hopes will lead the Gamecocks to their first appearance in the SEC championship game. Spurrier spoke with The State’s Joseph Person at the recent SEC meetings in Destin, Fla.
QUESTION: Do you think you’re close to achieving what you came to South Carolina to do?
ANSWER: We’ve only got seven seniors. That’s something to remember. So we’ve got a lot of really good players, I think, for the next several years. Hopefully, Stephen Garcia — he’s going to be a (redshirt) sophomore — hopefully he can come around and learn how to play the game. That would really be crucial. We’ve not had really a quarterback we can hang our hat on for the whole year. So if he could do that, that would really be helpful.
Q: He’s the guy you brought in to do this, right?
A: He was the most highly recruited quarterback. But we like to give everyone a chance and feel like we did give all those other guys a chance. Now this is how it’s worked out. It’s down to Stephen and Reid McCollum right now.
Q: Do you feel like in some ways your success is hitched to Garcia?
A: Dependent on Stephen, and all the coaches? Yeah, it’s dependent on all these guys. But like I’ve said, we just haven’t quite put the total team together yet. We’ve been competitive, but we haven’t put the total team together. We still obviously think we can do it, and (it’s) very encouraging that we had such a good recruiting class. All those guys stuck with us. And like I said, we all like each other right now. Hopefully, it’ll stay that way.
Q: That hasn’t always been the case?
A: Not always the case.
Q: You’ve said several times you had some guys last year that had one eye on the door.
A: Well, we had some of those guys and had some guys we’d always take on the trips. We knew they weren’t going to play. I don’t know how much they wanted to play. You know, you want to take the whole team that wants to come and compete. And if they don’t play, they’re cheering for their teammates and things like that. We just haven’t quite had that, so hopefully we can get it going that way.
Q: When did you look at Garcia and say, ‘You know what, I think he’s starting to take this more seriously?’
A: Well, he hasn’t really proved a whole lot yet. Obviously, the spring game he was much better than our quarterbacks last year. If he does what we ask him to do this summer — and he’s gotta do it on his own; we can’t make him — then we’ll say, ‘Hey, he has made a solid commitment to really be a top-notch quarterback.’ And maybe make his way to being a leader on the team. It depends on what kind of summer he has.
Q: Were there any times last year when you woke up — you hear coaches talk about this — and going to the office wasn’t fun anymore?
A: Not too bad. Obviously, the fans know we had some guys that didn’t play with as much effort as they should. We had some players do a lot of stupid things out there. And that comes back to coaching, too. That’s my fault, and maybe the assistants. We didn’t have a great year, either. Anyway, we’re believing that we’ve got a much better attitude on the team, and we’re going to get better effort and hopefully better offensive line (and) quarterback play. And if we do those things, we’ll have a better chance than we used to have.
Q: You still like doing what you’re doing?
A: Oh, yeah. We’re looking forward to getting cranked up in about a month and a half.
Q: The four- to five-year plan, obviously that’s also the length of time recruits would be here. I think you told me last year, if you could get to Atlanta that might be a good way to go out?
A: Well, yeah, but I don’t need to talk about that right now. I talked to Shane Beamer about his dad. I said, ‘How long’s he going to coach?’ He said, ‘He’s about like you — four or five more. Three to five, four to five.’ And really, three or four years goes by so fast, and if you’re in good health (and) you feel like you’ve got a team that’s on the verge. You know, I think we’ve got a team on the verge, I really do. And we’ve got excellent coaches with Ellis Johnson and Eric Wolford, Lorenzo Ward — all those guys. Brad Lawing.
Q: Has that been energizing, having some new guys in the room?
A: Yeah. But again, talk to me at the end of the summer, and I hope I can say this was the best participation in summer workouts we’ve ever had.
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