Steve Spurrier South Carolina

SEC Football Media Days Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Steve Spurrier South Carolina KEVIN TRAINOR: At this time, we're joined by the has gone very smoothly during spring ball and head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Coach preseason, but we've got to do it on the field. So we're Steve Spurrier. We'll ask Coach to make an opening anxious and eagerly awaiting preseason practice. comment, and then we'll take your questions. Coach? Players report August 3rd, and we play September 3rd, the Thursday night ESPN game in Charlotte against COACH SPURRIER: Thanks, Kevin. A lot of familiar North Carolina Tar Heels. So we're looking forward to faces out there after a lot of years coming to this event. doing that. We've got some new defensive players. I figured a bunch of you guys would have retired by We'll have a new quarterback. Got a lot of new players now. [ Laughter ]. Just kidding. Good to be here. across the board. But we're hoping to return to where Good to be back. We've got a good team at South we were the prior three years, a top ten team. We Carolina ready to go this year. We had a little bit of a believe we have a fighting chance to do that. I know the struggle in the middle of last season. As most of you critics are out there, and that's why they're called know, we lost four out of five in the middle of the year, critics. They criticize every chance they get, and we and it looked like we were definitely heading for a gave them some chances to criticize us last year, losing season, but really proud of the team, the players, which is okay. That's part of our sport. But we're really everyone involved with the team. We won three of the looking forward to this year. We're sort of anxious and last four. Somehow or another, won a game down in eager to see what we can do. We brought three players The Swamp, very fortunate, and then beat Miami in a up here with us, I guess will be in here eventually. Bowl game. So we got rejuvenated. We got new life. Pharoh Cooper. We call him the South Carolina We were 7-6, same as Tennessee and the same as Pharoh, not the American Pharaoh, South Carolina Arkansas, and I think they're sort of celebrating big Pharoh. But he's a really good player. He can play seasons last year. So we were celebrating also. We receiver, shotgun, quarterback, throw, run. He's really were doing some cartwheels and high fiving after that an All-American type player. Skai Moore, our Independence Bowl game because it was a year that linebacker, is here. Most valuable player in the could have gone real south, and guys hung in there Independence Bowl. He'll be a three-year starter at and somehow or another found a way to win the game. linebacker for us. And our kicker, Elliott Fry. Maybe one Got a new coach, John Hoke. John was with me in of the best kickers we've ever had in South Carolina. Florida in 2001, 14 years ago. We led the SEC in total Maybe the best. He's a clutch kid. He's kicked many a defense and in scoring defense that year. That year good field goal to help us win some ball games. So was really one of the best teams we had in the 12 you'll hear from them later. Okay. Any questions? years I was there. Only played two close games and lost both of them, lost to Auburn and Tennessee, Q. Good morning, Coach. How has the specific finished third in the nation, won the Orange Bowl. And cost of attendance offered by your school affected that was a disappointing year because that team could your program and your recruiting? have done a little bit better. Anyway, after that year, I COACH SPURRIER: I guess we'll find out in February decided to go pro. I went to the NFL, and John Hoke when they sign. Commitment-wise, we've got a few, went to the NFL. I lasted two years, and John Hoke probably normal around the country. But we're a little lasted 13. So he's a lot smarter, better coach than I bit above the average, I think. We're right around am. Yeah, he lasted 13 years. He's been with some $4,200 and so forth. So we've learned that whatever it really, really sharp defensive coaches, Lovie Smith, is, it is. We're not going to argue or cry about it. If head coach of the Bucs, Rod Marinelli, the coordinator some schools can give a little bit more, so be it. of the Dallas Cowboys, and we know what Cowboys Supposedly, the federal government regulates this. turned their defense around in one year. Arkansas The chief financial officer at each school sets the turned theirs around in one year. You can get a lot number, and that's just the way it is. Let's go play ball. better on defense. We've got good coaches at South We're not going to worry about it. We're going to get Carolina, but for whatever reason last year, we did not our athletes that $4,209, I think is what it was. So we'll play well defensively. Probably more my fault than live with it. anybody's. So we made a few changes in bringing in John Hoke to coordinate, along with Lorenzo Ward, Q. How do you feel about your quarterback page 1 of 5 situation going into fall camp? Do you feel like it's lot of good ones in your time, especially Rex resolved as far as the starter? Grossman, Doug Johnson, of course, Jesse COACH SPURRIER: No, it hasn't been resolved. Palmer. Great was, of course, South Carolina's We've had three quarterbacks that rotated around Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson. But in the last during spring practice, and statistically in the spring couple of seasons, you've started to become more game, they're very even. Percentage-wise, about the balanced. What's made that happen? same, yards, touchdowns, all that. So we're going to COACH SPURRIER: About running the ball more? keep competing during preseason practice. We've got a month before the first game. So we should be able to Q. Yes, about running the ball more, about being figure out who can play the best. Connor Mitch, good balanced totally. player. Perry Orth, Michael Scarnecchia. And we've COACH SPURRIER: Well, we have excellent runners. got a freshman kid, Lorenzo Nunez, excellent runner, We've got a pretty good running scheme, offensive line pretty good passer also. I know you can't get four and so forth. We need to stay on the field. I think we ready to play, but we'll have maybe some plays for all know the offense that can stay on the field a long Lorenzo Nunez and the other guys. I've been a coach time really helps your defense and helps you win the to play two quarterbacks. I think you all know that. game. I was asked recently at a booster club, how And you can win with two. There's nothing in the rule come you seem to run all the time on first down now? book that says you have to have one. So if we do play My answer was we need to stay on the field. If we're more than one, it will be because both of them are going to win, we've got to stay out there and not only about the same ability-wise. drive for touchdowns, but we've got to consume some clock. I was watching a replay on the SEC Network, Q. Steve, how close do you come to walking away they showed our game with Clemson of I think it was at the end of last year? And how much did the 2013. Clemson only had seven plays, I think, right Miami game rejuvenate you? toward the end of the first half. So we were able to stay COACH SPURRIER: It rejuvenated us. I don't know out there and made seven out of eight third-down how close I came to walking away, but when you lose conversions. When you can do those things, that's as four out of five, and three of them we had a two- good as three quick touchdowns if you can keep the touchdown lead with four minutes to play, 13 points other team on the sideline. So that's sort of our best against Missouri with about 4:30 or 5:00; and Kentucky way to try to win. If you've got a defense that can get and Tennessee, 14-point leads. We didn't stay on the the ball right back immediately, you can go out there field offensively, and then, of course, we didn't stop and fire three passes. If you don't hit anything, so them on defense. Those were some tough losses. I what, you'll get it back in a minute. But we weren't was watching Dustin Johnson interviewed on the Golf quite like that. Channel the other day, and they said, Dustin, after you three-putted at Chambers Bay, you didn't come to the Q.

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