USC fans enjoy the Visor's shade
As South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier stood looking at a gymnasium floor full of Gamecock faithful at USC Aiken's Courthouse Tuesday night, it was clear that his focus was not all on the present.
The legendary coach said all of the right things to keep the crowd on his side, but in his eyes it was easy to tell that at least part of his mind was somewhere else.
The divided attention was not a sign of a lack of respect for the fans that came out to show their financial and physical support of the program that they eat and breath, but instead the look of a coach who has seen the top and wants to live in that place once again.
"The Ol' Ball Coach" won a National Championship on the Florida sidelines in 1996, but since coming to South Carolina in 2005 after a brief stint with the Washington Redskins, the former Gator quarterback has finished no better than 8-5. Winning eight games against one of the toughest schedules in America would be enough for many coaches, but for Spurrier it is simply unacceptable.
There does, however, seem to be some light finding its way under the bill of Spurrier's trademark visor. The Gamecocks were in danger of finishing below .500 with just two games left on the 2006 schedule, but a late flurry helped lift USC past rival Clemson and onto the Liberty Bowl, where it downed Houston to end the season with an 8-5 mark.
For fans of South Carolina, that run was something to remember, but for the head Gamecock it was simply a start.
"I think somebody said that it was the first time in the last 33 years or longer that South Carolina had won its last three games," said Spurrier of the 2006 finish. "I started thinking back to my 12 years at Florida, and we only won our last three games one time. So not many teams do that. That was the momentum that propelled us into recruiting season, and we had a pretty good year. The kids saw everybody in the stands yelling, and we proved that we can play with anybody. Those high school kids know that they can win big-time at South Carolina."
According to Spurrier, who certainly knows the ingredient list for victory having amassed more than 150 wins in his career, making it to the "big time" all starts with players.
"When I went to Florida I inherited a heck of a team," the coach remembered. "I am not saying we didn't have players here, but when you watch the NFL draft that will tell you where the players were. We have had three defensive backs and a receiver drafted since we have been there."
Those top-level athletes, though, seem to be slowly finding their way to Columbia.
"ESPN.com ranked us fourth in the nation in recruiting," said Spurrier, outlining the accomplishments of his coaching staff. "To see our name listed with Southern Cal., Texas, Florida, Notre Dame, LSU and those guys was great. I like it better than when we are mentioned around 27 or 28. That gives us hope. It is not the final answer, but it gives us a chance. We have a good bunch of guys coming in, but we have to coach them better. If we lose a game, we didn't coach them well enough. We have to coach better, but we have better players."
One of those "blue chip" athletes that is expected to take South Carolina to new heights is heralded recruit Stephen Garcia. The Tampa, Fla., native committed to USC as one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation, but his off-the-field troubles have received even more ink than his accomplishments under center. Stephen Garcia was accused of vandalizing a car in a USC parking lot in March, an incident that landed him a suspension for the Gamecocks' spring drills.
"I am excited about Stephen," said Spurrier, trying to put the legal troubles in the past. "When the spring game was over, he called me on my cell phone and said, 'Coach, am I back on the team?' I said, 'Yes, Stephen, spring ball is over, and you are back on the team. You can come to the meeting Monday afternoon.
"Once you are removed from a team it is no fun. Hopefully he has learned his lesson. He is a talented kid that made some mistakes and caused a lot of embarrassment for all of us. But he is a player that could lead us to a championship. We will just wait and see how he does in preseason this year."
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