Five questions with ESPN's Erin Andrews

ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews first met Steve Spurrier when she was a student at Florida in the late 1990s. The two have remained friends since Spurrier came to USC, occasionally exchanging text messages. Andrews will work tonight’s game and next week’s visit to Vanderbilt.

Q: So are you fired up, do you have your game face on?

A: It’s funny. I work all year through. I go right from college football to college basketball to major league baseball. Yesterday, I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. College football is a whole different breed. It’s a whole different level of preparation, it’s another level of meetings, production. I’m a little stressed out, but that comes with the territory. College football is a huge event at ESPN.

Q: You also are going to be at Vanderbilt next week. Is that potentially too much Gamecocks?

A: No! It’s funny. Jesse Palmer’s with us this year, he’s a former Gator quarterback. This is kind of like Florida Part II. This is kind of like Florida’s step-child. There’s a lot of family here, from coach Spurrier and his family to a lot of people on his staff.

Q: You mentioned he was special to you. What was your relationship with him at Florida?

A: I just got finished telling him this story: The first time I saw him, I was really nervous because this is Steve Spurrier, and I remember I was the only female there at the time. I asked him a question, and he didn’t even answer the question. He said, ‘What’s your name?’ And I said Erin. And he said, ‘Erin? We’ve got a lot of Aarons on our team.’ And he just kept talking and not answering my question, and that’s kind of how coach Spurrier is with me.

Q: Having said all that, do you think he’s changed over the years?

A: Yeah. I mean today he was talking about how he wanted to re-invent the program here at South Carolina. It was funny, he was talking about how they’re doing, I guess it’s the Gamecock Walk before the game. He said everybody does these walks before games. I said, ‘Well you never did it at Florida, why are you doing it here?’ And he said, ‘Well I’m re-inventing myself.’ He talked also about the guys doing Pilates this year. And he made it mandatory. ... I think that’s one of the cool things about him, is he’s always kept up with the times.

Q: This is his fourth year here, he’s 63. From talking to him, how do you think he’s handling this?

A: Coach is no dummy. He knows that people are expecting a lot. I think he’s his own worst critic. Even a national championship isn’t perfection to him. He expects a lot out of himself, he expects a lot out of his team.

— Seth Emerson