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Spurrier again turns to Smelley
Head Ball Coach values experience over Garcia's versatility
South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley will make his fifth start of the season against Mississippi.
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com /The State
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 10.03.08
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Chris Smelley is South Carolina’s starting quarterback for the fifth week in a row. And for the second week in a row, that’s a surprise.
After indicating earlier in the week that Stephen Garcia would start Saturday at Mississippi, coach Steve Spurrier went with Smelley on Thursday.
“Chris Smelley’s going to start the game because we simply feel he’s mentally better prepared than Stephen, and we’ll go from there,” Spurrier said after practice.
Garcia, a redshirt freshman, played most of Saturday’s win against Alabama-Birmingham, throwing for 131 yards and rushing for a team-high 86. But Spurrier, who had also said both quarterbacks would play at Ole Miss, wouldn’t even commit to that on Thursday.
While Garcia gives the team a dual-threat quarterback, Spurrier apparently still feels more comfortable with Smelley’s experience and decision-making. Garcia may still be too quick to choose the run option, and Spurrier said Garcia needed to learn that “this ain’t high school ball anymore.”
“You’ve got to take your steps and get rid of it. Or else you’ve got to have somewhere to throw it or else then you take off running,” Spurrier said. “I think the other night he took his steps and then looked for a place to run a bunch of times. But that was his first time out.”
Spurrier kept the quarterbacks around after practice for an extra passing drill, with the 1966 Heisman Trophy winner throwing a few balls himself to demonstrate. Spurrier said the quarterbacks “were a little sluggish” in Thursday’s practice.
Garcia and Smelley were not made available to the media this week.
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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