Went to the SC Spring Game yesterday....

[thesnowman8]

You should have seen these guys glowing at their 25000 or so they had at the spring game. The team looked like absolute garbage. They had EIGHT int's during the game. A friend of mine says, and I quote "The recruits had to be more impressed with our 25000 than Alabama's 78000. We have true fans here, and only the die hard fans show up for the spring game." I did not even intend to argue with this comment because it made no sense to me. I think there is strength in numbers. Anyways, RTR!!

 

[CaliforniaTide]

I guess that means they have a better overall program and better traditions since they don't have more NC or SEC titles than us...

 

[bamabryan]

You should have seen these guys glowing at their 25000 or so they had at the spring game. The team looked like absolute garbage. They had EIGHT int's during the game. A friend of mine says, and I quote "The recruits had to be more impressed with our 25000 than Alabama's 78000. We have true fans here, and only the die hard fans show up for the spring game." I did not even intend to argue with this comment because it made no sense to me. I think there is strength in numbers. Anyways, RTR!!

:biggrin: :conf2: :biggrin: :conf2: :biggrin: :conf2: :biggrin: :conf2: :biggrin: :conf2: :biggrin:

 

[Bamafan P.T.]

How did Smelly look?

 

[BamaSC]

How did Smelly look?

At one point, Smelley had 3 completions and 5 interceptions. This was going up against a defense that ran 3 coverages all day and never blitzed. He had a chance to secure the starting spot and basically blew it.

 

[Giant Squid]

A friend of mine says, and I quote "The recruits had to be more impressed with our 25000 than Alabama's 78000. We have true fans here, and only the die hard fans show up for the spring game."

Translation: "We must have some seriously dedicated fans if 25,000 people will show up to watch this garbage."

 

[CaliforniaTide]

Question: if Stephen Garcia wasn't such an idiot off the field, would he be the foregone starter for South Carolina?

If so, how much better would the offense be and I realize that is an entirely hypothetical question.

 

[BamaSC]

Question: if Stephen Garcia wasn't such an idiot off the field, would he be the foregone starter for South Carolina?

If so, how much better would the offense be and I realize that is an entirely hypothetical question.

That's the problem...nobody really knows. He was out all of last spring and this spring. Never really heard what he did last fall in practice while being red shirted, but as far as I know, SC was going into the spring looking for a starting QB. Probably wouldn't have been to hard for him to beat out Smelley and Beecher, but Garcia never gave himself the chance.

He swears he'll be back this fall...we'll see.

 

[CaliforniaTide]

That's the problem...nobody really knows. He was out all of last spring and this spring. Never really heard what he did last fall in practice while being red shirted, but as far as I know, SC was going into the spring looking for a starting QB. Probably wouldn't have been to hard for him to beat out Smelley and Beecher, but Garcia never gave himself the chance.

He swears he'll be back this fall...we'll see.

I'm just trying to see if putting Garcia (when he deserves it obviously) in as QB would do anything positive to the offense and I do see that it's just impossible to say. SOS gotta be kicking himself in the bum to see what kind of a disaster Garcia has ended up to be so far. I wonder why he can't just grab another QB?

 

[Crimson Hawk]

I'm just trying to see if putting Garcia (when he deserves it obviously) in as QB would do anything positive to the offense and I do see that it's just impossible to say. SOS gotta be kicking himself in the bum to see what kind of a disaster Garcia has ended up to be so far. I wonder why he can't just grab another QB?

You'd think CSS would have very little trouble recruiting QB's.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I'm just trying to see if putting Garcia (when he deserves it obviously) in as QB would do anything positive to the offense and I do see that it's just impossible to say. SOS gotta be kicking himself in the bum to see what kind of a disaster Garcia has ended up to be so far. I wonder why he can't just grab another QB?

Probably because it's South Carolina. As much as I can't stand Lee Corso I have to give the old man credit. When Spurrier was hired at SC Corso was one of the very few that said Spurrier WOULD NOT only NOT win a NC but wouldn't win an SEC title because SC couldn't draw the talent no matter who the coach was and it seems so far Corso has been right.

 

[THE BAMA IRISHMAN]

You should have seen these guys glowing at their 25000 or so they had at the spring game. The team looked like absolute garbage. They had EIGHT int's during the game. A friend of mine says, and I quote "The recruits had to be more impressed with our 25000 than Alabama's 78000. We have true fans here, and only the die hard fans show up for the spring game." I did not even intend to argue with this comment because it made no sense to me. I think there is strength in numbers. Anyways, RTR!!

I watched the game. USC looked better than MSU (MSU's A-day game) on offense even with the INTs. But on defense, well Coach Ellis has some serious work before him. It was a hard game to grade with all the miscues. Overall C- on defense and a C+ on offense. Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher did not win any confidence from Coach Spurrier. Could be a long 2008 season for the GCocks.

 

[bamabryan]

Probably because it's South Carolina. As much as I can't stand Lee Corso I have to give the old man credit. When Spurrier was hired at SC Corso was one of the very few that said Spurrier WOULD NOT only NOT win a NC but wouldn't win an SEC title because SC couldn't draw the talent no matter who the coach was and it seems so far Corso has been right.

And I don't think South Carolina will ever attract a better football coach than Spurrier. I don't see South Carolina ever amounting to anything in SEC football.

 

[BigEasyTider]

Question: if Stephen Garcia wasn't such an idiot off the field, would he be the foregone starter for South Carolina?

That's the problem...nobody really knows. He was out all of last spring and this spring. Never really heard what he did last fall in practice while being red shirted, but as far as I know, SC was going into the spring looking for a starting QB. Probably wouldn't have been to hard for him to beat out Smelley and Beecher, but Garcia never gave himself the chance.

I think SC basically nailed it.

Truth is, no one knows whether or not Garcia is any good or not. He's a fairly talented guy, but he's an idiot, and he's never played. Even Spurrier and company probably don't know, I mean you can only learn so much about a guy by watching him run the scout team offense. At some point in time, you've got to strap it on and get the job done in real situations, and Garcia hasn't even gotten close to doing that.

We'll see this Fall. Given all that he has missed due to suspension, though, it's a bit hard to see Garcia beating out Smelley. Now granted later on Smelley may p*ss off Spurrier and get benched, but that's a slightly different story.

 

[BigEasyTider]

And I don't think South Carolina will ever attract a better football coach than Spurrier.

Ah, I don't know, I could see them getting a good coach one day.

I never thought that they would do better than Holtz, and then SOS came along. The truth is, South Carolina isn't a bad job. It's not great, but not bad either. It's the state school, it's in the SEC, they have pretty good facilities, are willing to pay a competitive salary, and the fans have really low expectations. If you are a coach looking for a decent job, that's fairly attractive.

I figure Spurrier will continue to be pretty mediocre. If he can keep South Carolina between 7-5 and 9-3 the next three or four years, they may be in position to get another good, quality coach when SOS steps down... Unless SOS goes nuts over wanting to get SOS Jr. the head job, but South Carolina resisted that urge with Lou and Skip Holtz a few years ago, and I think they will again.

I think they can get a better coach than Spurrier one day, honestly. The truth of the matter is that SOS is an elite coach in name brand only these days. In reality, he's well past his prime and it shows. Some people act like South Carolina suddenly has Spurrier circa 1994, and that's not the case. Considering South Carolina Spurrier is well past his prime, I could see them getting a better one later on down the road.

 

[GrayTide]

And I don't think South Carolina will ever attract a better football coach than Spurrier. I don't see South Carolina ever amounting to anything in SEC football.

I agree bryan and actually said before Corso that SOS would never win a NC at USC and it is looking like he will never win an SEC title either. IMO USC fits into the category with Kentucky, better than Ole Miss, Vandy and MSU but a perennial 7-5 or 8-4 at best. As for SOS I believe his days are numbered by choice since I do not think USC would ever fire him. As innovative as he was in the early 90's maybe the game has passed him by. I have been an SOS fan and hope he would leave with some degree of respect rather than doing what Holtz did and what Bowden is doing.

 

[bamabryan]

I agree bryan and actually said before Corso that SOS would never win a NC at USC and it is looking like he will never win an SEC title either. IMO USC fits into the category with Kentucky, better than Ole Miss, Vandy and MSU but a perennial 7-5 or 8-4 at best. As for SOS I believe his days are numbered by choice since I do not think USC would ever fire him. As innovative as he was in the early 90's maybe the game has passed him by. I have been an SOS fan and hope he would leave with some degree of respect rather than doing what Holtz did and what Bowden is doing.

I agree with you on all your points.

 

[Crimson Speed]

I believe SOS still has what it takes to be a very good coach. No way the game has passed him by. But, at this point in his life, he is not willing to recruit and coach with the intensity of the past. That in itself is the problem. It does not help his cause to be at South Carolina, making his recruiting efforts much more difficult. At Florida, he could attract the elite players with almost no effort. Not true at South Carolina.

Nevertheless, I really enjoy his ability to get inside Phat Fulmer's mind and mess him up almost every year.

Steve is content to ride the waves, resulting in lower tier SEC results for a few more years. He has a better chance at winning the PGA than and SEC championship.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I agree bryan and actually said before Corso that SOS would never win a NC at USC and it is looking like he will never win an SEC title either. IMO USC fits into the category with Kentucky, better than Ole Miss, Vandy and MSU but a perennial 7-5 or 8-4 at best. As for SOS I believe his days are numbered by choice since I do not think USC would ever fire him. As innovative as he was in the early 90's maybe the game has passed him by. I have been an SOS fan and hope he would leave with some degree of respect rather than doing what Holtz did and what Bowden is doing.

I don't think the game has passed him by but rather the talent he's dealing with has declined (as it did in his latter days at Florida) and the "game" has caught up with him. Now everyone is running a "wide open" pass friendly offense that is conducent to scoring a lot of points.

 

[GrayTide]

I believe SOS still has what it takes to be a very good coach. No way the game has passed him by. But, at this point in his life, he is not willing to recruit and coach with the intensity of the past. That in itself is the problem. It does not help his cause to be at South Carolina, making his recruiting efforts much more difficult. At Florida, he could attract the elite players with almost no effort. Not true at South Carolina.

Nevertheless, I really enjoy his ability to get inside Phat Fulmer's mind and mess him up almost every year.

Steve is content to ride the waves, resulting in lower tier SEC results for a few more years. He has a better chance at winning the PGA than and SEC championship.

Exactly the intent of what I was attempting to say. He is a very physically fit 63 year old but is 63 years old. He has to be somewhat discouraged with not being able to lure the top recruits to USC. His hires as DC have been somewhat suspect and now with Ellis Johnson on his staff I don't expect an great improvement in his defense. And lastly, he simply doesn't have the the drive he had when he arrived at UF in 1990. As competitive as he is I just don't see him hanging around year after year going 6-6 or 7-5.