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Morris: A work in progress
South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley looks for a receiver in the third quarter during the Gamecocks game against Georgia at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC, Saturday, September 13, 2008.
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com /The State
Posted on 09.17.08
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A QUARTERBACK MUST have some mighty thick skin to play for Steve Spurrier.
One would think Spurrier had settled on Chris Smelley for the remainder of the season, based solely on the quarterback’s 23-of-39 passing for 271 yards and a touchdown against Georgia. Yet Spurrier gave anything but a ringing endorsement of Smelley at Tuesday’s weekly media gathering.
Spurrier’s way of evaluating quarterbacks apparently is to find the starter’s weaknesses and prepare a backup to jump in when those weaknesses are exposed. Such is the case with Smelley, who has a few strengths and plenty of weaknesses, according to Spurrier.
“He threw some real good ones the other day,” Spurrier said in what appeared to be a way of getting the kind words for Smelley out of the way. “He needs the decision-making, where to go, when to go. That’s what he needs to improve on right there.
“He’s a nice passer. He can make just about all the throws. So, decision-making is where he needs to get better.”
Spurrier then addressed Smelley’s inability to change plays at the line of scrimmage. Of course, Spurrier admitted, Blake Mitchell never got to the point where he could audible at the line of scrimmage through three seasons of the coach’s tutelage.
“We think Chris is definitely our best player, and we’re still hoping that he can take charge at some point,” Spurrier said. “I’m hoping he can go up there and make an audible without me yelling it in. But, thus far, none of that’s happened.
“We’re going to keep coaching the heck out of him. He did make a lot of nice throws the other day. But he needs to run the offense and take charge better. We’ve talked about it and talked about it, and hopefully that will start happening.”
Finally, Spurrier talked about Smelley’s inability to escape a collapsing pocket and run for yardage.
“We don’t scramble much,” Spurrier said. “Chris Smelley’s not much of a scrambler. I wish he would every now and then, occasionally. But, anyway, that’s not what he does.”
Smelley has managed only two runs for positive yardage in three games. Both came in the loss at Vanderbilt, including a nifty 24-yarder that kept a drive alive and set up a touchdown.
So, while Spurrier continues to coach Smelley in all three areas, he apparently is attempting to find someone who can improve on Smelley in those same areas. Stephen Garcia is the latest candidate.
Garcia is getting the same number of practice snaps as Smelley these days. Ideally, USC will build a nice cushion on Saturday against Wofford, and Garcia can get significant playing time.
This much we know about Garcia, so far: He was not prepared to make any meaningful contribution against Georgia. In fact, Garcia looked lost on two of the three snaps he took from center.
Garcia’s decision-making will be a work in progress, probably into next season. Spurrier also admitted that Garcia is nowhere near being able to make changes at the line of scrimmage. “I don’t think he could audible if he had to right now,” Spurrier said.
Where Garcia might be more advanced than Smelley is his ability to scramble. Garcia’s first play from scrimmage resulted in a 7-yard gain. Upon his arrival, two long years ago, Spurrier said Garcia offered a different look to the offense with his ability to run the ball.
What Garcia most offers the offense is a change of pace. If Smelley can direct the ship, Garcia can be called on to occasionally take a shotgun snap from center and look for running lanes.
Of course, all that could change during any given week. Spurrier has a history of changing his mind from game to game. A poor performance by Smelley against Wofford could mean the return of Tommy Beecher. You might remember Beecher as the starting quarterback through the entire offseason and into the season-opener against North Carolina State.
Beecher injured his shoulder in the opener, then suffered through an intestinal disorder that saw him lose weight — 22 pounds — faster than Oprah. He is back to being “semi-healthy” according to Spurrier, but has dropped to third string and pretty much off the USC quarterback radar.
“If we thought he was our best guy to go out there, we’d get him in some,” Spurrier said of Beecher. “We’ll see how he practices this week.”
Nine games and 10 weeks remain in this USC season. That is plenty of time for Beecher or Garcia to supplant Smelley as the starter. Or, for Smelley, in turn to supplant one of the others as the starter.
About the only certainty surrounding the starting quarterback position under Spurrier is that whoever holds the title each week had better have an awfully thick skin.
Listen to Morris Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. on ESPN Radio 93.1 FM.
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