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Five questions for USC in 2009
Steve Spurrier shuffles quarterbacks Stephen Garcia, left, and Chris Smelley, right, against Arkansas on Saturday.
Erik Campos/ecampos@thestate.com
Written by JOSEPH PERSON
jperson@thestate.com
Posted on 01.05.09
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2009 Projected depth chart
Offense
QB Stephen Garcia
FB Patrick DiMarco
TB Jarvis Giles
WR Jason Barnes
WR Joe Hills
TE Weslye Saunders
LT Jarriel King
LG Lemuel Jeanpierre
C Garrett Anderson
RG Terrence Campbell
RT Hutch Eckerson
K Adam Yates
Defense
DE Clifton Geathers
DT Ladi Ajiboye
DT Nathan Pepper
DE Cliff Matthews
LB Reggie Bowens
LB Rodney Paulk
SPUR Darian Stewart
CB Addison Williams
CB Akeem Auguste
SS Antonio Allen
FS Chris Culliver
P Spencer Lanning
Top Recruiting Targets
WR Alshon Jeffrey, Calhoun Co.
Southern Cal is the team to beat for the 6-foot-3 Jeffrey, who has great hands.
RB Lindsey Lamar, Hillsborough (Tampa, Fla.)
After landing Jarvis Giles, can the Gamecocks reel in another Tampa athlete?
DE Sam Montgomery, Greenwood
Athletic Shrine Bowl player will visit five out-of-state schools, including LSU, Oregon and Michigan.
OL Quinton Washington, Timberland
Overpowering lineman also is considering Michigan, Clemson and Tennessee
WR Lamar Scruggs, Fletcher (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Lanky receiver has offers from Mississippi and South Florida.
For a team that desperately needed a lift heading into the offseason, South Carolina suffered another season-ending letdown.
The Gamecocks’ emotionless, 31-10 loss to Iowa in Thursday’s Outback Bowl capped a three-game losing streak to Florida, Clemson and Iowa.
Hired four years ago to bring an SEC title to Columbia, Steve Spurrier is 28-22, 1-3 against Clemson and 1-2 in bowl games at USC. Just as troubling, the man credited with changing SEC offenses in the 1990s with his downfield passing attack doesn’t know who his quarterback is.
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Gamecocks, who look to put the finishing touches on a recruiting class ranked in the top 10 nationally. But Spurrier, who will turn 64 in April, has a number of areas to address before the opener at N.C. State, starting with:
1. IS IT TIME TO OVERHAUL THE OFFENSE?
Statistically speaking, 2008 was the worst offensive year for Spurrier at USC. The Gamecocks, who averaged 20.8 points per game, have become a one-dimensional team with no running game.
In his final game at USC, starting tailback Mike Davis had three carries for 2 yards.
Spurrier, who handed play-calling duties to his son this season, has taken one step to address the offensive woes, firing offensive line coach John Hunt.
Vanderbilt line coach Robbie Caldwell has been mentioned as a possible candidate, although there are indications Caldwell will stay at Vandy. Whoever Spurrier hires must bring a run-blocking scheme and instill toughness to a unit that too often was pushed around.
Spurrier made his name on a timing-based passing scheme, so don’t look for him to blow it up. But he must get the tight ends more involved, roll his quarterbacks out of the pocket to give them more time to throw and make a commitment to the ground game.
“We’ve really got to go back to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball and throw some play-action passes,” he said.
2. WILL MUSICAL CHAIRS AT QB CONTINUE IN 2009?
USC was one of 12 Division I schools that started three quarterbacks this season, but likely the only team that alternated QBs every snap — as Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley did against Arkansas and Florida.
Before the bowl game, Spurrier said Garcia was the program’s quarterback of the future. Though Garcia was awful against Iowa, he still has a stronger arm and quicker feet than Smelley.
This will be Garcia’s third year in the program, and it’s time for him to turn the corner with his commitment level and live up to the hype. If he continues to take a halfhearted approach off the field and improvise in the pocket, it’s going to be difficult for Spurrier to stick with him.
“We were never on the same page throughout the whole season,” Garcia said of the offense. “I guess we’re always switching around. It’s tough to get on the same page with everybody. It was just tough.”
3. CAN ELLIS JOHNSON SUCCEED WITH A DEFENSE GUTTED BY DEPARTURES?
The 57-year-old Johnson has been Spurrier’s best hire at USC. Though the Gamecocks’ defense slipped at the end of the season, a lot of that was caused by the short fields the offense kept giving opponents with 13 turnovers during the final three games.
But Johnson will have his work cut out next season. The Gamecocks lose their leading three tacklers, top three linebackers and four veterans in the secondary, which Johnson called “dangerously thin.”
So where will the production come from to replace tackle-machines Emanuel Cook and Jasper Brinkley?
Getting Darian Stewart back will help: The spur/safety has told coaches he will not follow fellow junior Captain Munnerlyn to the NFL. Linebacker Rodney Paulk, redshirted with a nagging knee injury, will be counted on to make a lot of plays in the middle of Johnson’s 4-2-5 alignment.
4. WHICH NEW FACES WILL SEE IMMEDIATE ACTION?
Start on defense, where South Pointe teammates Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman could help the depth issues in the secondary. Likewise, at least one half of the Georgia Military linebacking duo of Tony Straughter and Josh Dickerson figures to see action.
Matt Coffee, a four-star recruit from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., will get a look at linebacker, and coaches are eager to see 2008 signee Chaz Sutton at defensive end after his year at prep school.
On offense, Tampa running back Jarvis Giles has the skills and confidence to push Brian Maddox and Eric Baker for the starting tailback spot. Giles, Holloman and Gilmore should benefit from spring practice after enrolling in January, although early enrollees have not always worked out well at USC.
5. HOW CAN THE LACK OF DISCIPLINE BE ADDRESSED?
Iowa defensive tackle Mitch King, who criticized the Gamecocks’ sloppy attire at an Outback function, had more to say after the game, telling reporters the Hawkeyes “out-disciplined them and out-prepared them all month long.”
Hard to argue. USC had five turnovers and set school bowl highs with 10 penalties for 100 yards, including six personal fouls (two were negated). Minutes after the game, Munnerlyn and Eric Norwood announced they were leaving. Norwood on Monday said he'd changed his mind and will stay at USC.
Cook is said to have bailed on his classes midway through the semester, yet never missed a practice or game through the regular season.
Before Munnerlyn bolted, he questioned the attitude of some players and called on coaches to get rid of some of the malcontents.
Hiring Duce Staley in a player relations role could help. The former USC and NFL back used his forum on a sports talk radio show Friday to rail on the lack of discipline.
But it has to start with Spurrier, who has reached a critical point in his USC tenure. The fan turnout in Tampa was as bad or worse than expected, and the economy is not solely to blame.
Winning always helps, of course. The hires Spurrier makes to fill the O-line and strength coach positions will be critical. But with Spurrier, it usually comes back to quarterback.
And as he begins his fifth year at USC, Spurrier still is looking for one.
Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.
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