GoGamecocks.com
Spring game could tell tale at QB
This is the third spring Stephen Garcia has been on USC's campus, but his first spring game.
Rich Glickstein/rglickstein@thestate.com
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 04.11.09
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Some will say it’s just a spring game, a glorified scrimmage, no reason to go crazy.
The naysayers will say so if Stephen Garcia goes out today and shines at USC’s spring football game. His supporters will say the same if he struggles.
History, however, says that how Garcia and his fellow quarterbacks fare today will matter greatly.
This will be Steve Spurrier’s fifth spring game as Gamecocks coach. He enters it still seeking his quarterback, the one who will grab the job and hold it for a season. Garcia is the latest candidate.
“We’ll see how the game is,” Spurrier said. “That’ll be indicative if Stephen Garcia has made any progress or not.”
Will it be progress or a heavy indication of the future? The past few years, this game has foreshadowed how quarterbacks performed in the fall.
Consider last year, when Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher combined to throw eight interceptions. The quarterback situation remained unsettled throughout the fall, and both have since transferred, leaving the job to Garcia.
Two years ago, Blake Mitchell went 13-of-39 for 150 yards, with two interceptions. Afterwards, Spurrier admitted “today was not encouraging,” while Mitchell vowed that he would “definitely play better during the season.”
Mitchell did, but only late in the season, after he had lost his starting spot for six games to Smelley.
In the 2006 spring game, Mitchell was 10-of-27 for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Backup Cade Thompson had a better game — 10-of-13 with a pair of touchdowns. But Thompson played little that season and would transfer. Mitchell had an up-and-down junior season.
Then there was Spurrier’s first spring game at USC in 2005. Mitchell was 12-of-23 for 175 yards and a touchdown. It was an uneven performance for him and backup Antonio Heffner, while Syvelle Newton didn’t even throw a pass.
When the season got underway, Mitchell played like a sophomore, Heffner got buried on the depth chart and eventually transferred and Newton received serious playing time at quarterback.
Newton is one of the few recent quarterbacks to have a good spring game. In 2004 he played half the snaps, going back and forth between the Garnet and Black teams, completing 16-of-27 for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 71 yards.
Dondrial Pinkins, who spent all spring as the No. 1 quarterback, was 4-of-14 passes for 35 yards that year. Pinkins would struggle that season, and Newton would spend the brunt of the season at quarterback.
Every year is different and so is 2009. The quarterbacks will be Garcia and three backups who have never thrown a college pass.
“They should be excited to play, both Stephen and Reid (McCollum),” Spurrier said. “They got most of the snaps through spring practice. So they should be really excited and ready to go. What you like to see is how they perform with 20-30,000 people in the stands, putting on the game uniform, things like that.”
And if they play well today, it will be one of the best signs the program has had in some time.
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USC QUARTERBACK OPTIONS
-- Stephen Garcia (R-Soph., 6-2, 219) | The anointed starter, all eyes will be on Garcia today, every pass dissected.
-- Reid McCollum (R-Fr., 6-3, 218) | Once an afterthought, the Summerville native has made a strong push in the spring and is the clear No. 2.
-- Zac Brindise (R-Soph., 6-1, 216 | The walk-on, who briefly quit the team last year, has slowly edged his way up the depth chart and will get snaps today.
-- Aramis Hillary (R-Fr., 6-0, 197) | The North Augusta native has fallen behind, but his speed is still a factor, and today could lift him back into contention.
-- Stephon Gilmore/Dion LeCorn (Fr./Jr., 6-1/5-11, 188/220) | Gilmore, a cornerback, and LeCorn, a receiver, will see action in so-called "Cocky" formations, where they take direct snaps out of the shotgun.
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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