Bowl embarrassment drives Spurrier, Gamecocks

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia endured 37 sacks last season. (Icon SMI)

By Travis Haney

Steve Spurrier, like a lot of coaches, has a rule when it comes to dealing with wins and losses. No matter how great the victory, or horrendous the defeat, the team has 24 hours to celebrate or mourn. Then it’s time to move on.

Spurrier is in serious violation of his own policy.

Months have come and gone, and South Carolina’s sixth-year coach is still all torn up about the Gamecocks laying a giant egg in the Papajohns.com Bowl against Connecticut. Spurrier thought the team was prepared. A thorough 20-7 defeat — one that felt much, much worse — indicated South Carolina was not.

“Maybe you guys got over it,” Spurrier said in April. “I can’t get over it. That was an embarrassment. We’re trying to hope that never happens again here at South Carolina.”

So, with so many pundits signaling that it might finally be Spurrier’s time to break through at South Carolina because of returning talent and the division’s relative weakness, Spurrier is recommending a brake check.

See it before believing it, he cautions.

“We’re certainly not a very good team yet,” Spurrier said. “Don’t sing many praises about us yet. We do have a lot of good players, though. We do have a chance. But not until we earn it. You don’t need to talk too kindly about the Gamecocks until we do something.

“Wait and see on the Gamecocks, OK?”

He makes it sound as if South Carolina is back at the drawing board. But the Gamecocks aren’t working with a blank canvas. They have a lot of experience and star power.

The key to unlocking success is the team’s offensive line. South Carolina has plodded in that territory in Spurrier’s stint, with little progress and few results. The Gamecocks have hovered near the bottom of the league in sacks allowed the past couple of seasons. They yielded 37 last season, a figure that makes you shudder for the kind of abuse quarterback Stephen Garcia has taken. Those sacks amounted to 254 lost rushing yards.

South Carolina has been last in the SEC in rushing in each of the past three years, near the bottom of the national ranks in the category. When the run game goes wrong, Spurrier hits eject and the Gamecocks get pass-happy. Without proper balance, they’ve struggled to maintain any offensive consistency. Fans are hopeful top running back recruit Marcus Lattimore can help the rushing attack.

On cue, here comes Shawn Elliott, the team’s third offensive line coach in as many years. John Hunt was fired and his replacement, Eric Wolford, left for a head coaching gig at Youngstown State.

OFFENSE

Elliott, the new offensive line coach, spent the better part of two decades as a player and coach at Appalachian State, where he was part of three consecutive Football Championship Subdivision national titles. He brings an intensity that immediately grabbed his players’ attentions.

“He really does raise the expectations we have for this team and this O-line,” said Jarriel King, a senior who has played on the left side of the line. “He forces us to do more than we’re expected to do.”

King is an interesting case study. Many are curious to see if Elliott can draw more than his predecessors from King, a 6-5, 310-pound specimen that has the frame of an NFL left tackle.

Look for the possibility of incoming freshmen such as A.J. Cann and Du’Von Millsap getting opportunities, especially late in the season. Look, too, for the emergence of Rokevious Watkins, a junior college product who redshirted last season and could grab one of the guard spots.

As much as the line might be a work in progress, Elliott said there’s no time to wait for prosperity.

“I want to see them play well, right away,” said Elliott, who also holds the title of run game coordinator. “Isn’t that what we’re all here for? That’s certainly my goal, their goal, this team’s goal.”

In fairness, those sacks aren’t entirely the line’s fault. Stephen Garcia has admitted he needs to do a better job of getting rid of the ball. Spurrier concurs. That was one focal point of the spring. The other was Garcia’s accuracy.

As a redshirt sophomore, in his first extended playing experience, Garcia threw for 2,862 yards. Nothing wrong with that, but he completed only 55 percent of his throws. That needs to improve.

He’ll have help. South Carolina isn’t hurting for offensive weaponry. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery could be a big help in improving Garcia’s completion percentage. The sophomore burst onto the scene halfway through last season, making all but five of his 46 catches after the fifth game. Jeffery is a monster at 6-4, 237, even if he isn’t the fastest player on the field. He catches whatever is thrown in his vicinity.

Freshman Ace Sanders could fill the offense’s need for a smaller, quicker receiver. Tori Gurley, another big receiver like Jeffery, is learning the slot so he and Jeffery can be on the field at the same time.

Sophomore running back Jarvis Giles didn’t do much as a freshman, but no one has given up on his impact ability. He is versatile enough to make catches out of the backfield and ankle-breaking cuts after he gets loose.

And then there’s Lattimore. No one’s quite sure what his immediate impact will be, but he seems to like the spotlight.

DEFENSE

The Gamecocks spent the spring with what assistant head coach Ellis Johnson called a shell of his usual group.

“We’re not really a unit right now,” Johnson said in April.

All-SEC-caliber players such as defensive end Cliff Matthews and safety-turned-cornerback Chris Culliver sat out the spring, recovering from offseason surgery. Without those guys and others, the Gamecocks used the spring to build depth that might help them when the season arrives. Among those who should have benefitted: Safety D.J. Swearinger, cornerback Jimmy Legree, tackle Kenny Davis and safety Corey Addison.

Depth has been one major weakness of the Gamecocks defense, but it’s been improving. That’s key when injuries inevitably surface in the brutal SEC season.

Take last year, for example. When Rodney Paulk, poised for a big year at middle linebacker, tore up his knee in the season opener, Shaq Wilson was thrust into the position and had enough experience and talent to hack it. Wilson led the Gamecocks with 85 tackles, logging more than All-American Eric Norwood. Now Wilson slides to Norwood’s outside linebacker spot and Paulk is back and healthy in the middle. Junior college transfers Josh Dickerson, Qua Gilchrist and Tony Straughter provide good depth at both spots.

The Gamecocks have a possible SEC Defensive Player of the Year candidate in sophomore cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He walked on campus ready to play in the toughest conference in America. Now, he’s smart enough and physical enough to make an NFL roster. At 6-1, 188 pounds, Gilmore is bigger than your average corner. He has good ball instincts and hitting power. He’s a special talent in the league.

Gilmore’s high school teammate, DeVonte Holloman, could be ready for a similar breakout season at strong safety. Chris Culliver and Akeem Auguste, both veterans, are flip-flopping their spots, with Culliver heading to corner and Auguste moving to safety. Swearinger, though, is pushing Auguste at that spot.

All told, even without Norwood, it’s a defense that should be better than the one that finished third in the SEC a year ago. What the defense is truly searching for, though, is a pass rush beyond just the ultra-talented and NFL-ready Matthews.

Wilson is a bit undersized, so that hurts his rush ability. End Devin Taylor is still growing into his lanky frame. The tackles need to pick up their pressure. Ladi Ajiboye and the beef in the middle are good at stopping the run, but could stand to figure out how to better get to the quarterback.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Spencer Lanning’s first field-goal try last year was far from memorable — he blew a 27-yarder well left in a tight 7-3 win at North Carolina State — but Lanning picked it up from there. The junior only missed two more kicks the entire season — one was blocked and the other was from 50-plus yards, to finish 17-for-20. Lanning, filling the dual role of kicker and punter, also averaged nearly 42 yards a punt. His coaches would like to rest him this year on kickoffs. Joey Scribner-Howard, a transfer, might break through there.

The return game has been relatively quiet, but Stephon Gilmore has given a spark to punt returns. A wild card could be former track All-American Marty Markett, a walk-on with world-class speed and decent size.

SCHEDULE ANALYSIS

Does it ever get any easier in the SEC? This is South Carolina’s most opportune schedule in recent memory. The Gamecocks get Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas at home. An early season trip to Auburn, one of the rotational West opponents, will be tricky. But it’s perhaps better to see the Tigers early than late. Trips to Florida and Clemson lurk, but at least the team should have itself in order by late November. North Carolina bailed on its 2010 game with the Gamecocks to play LSU. They instead got Southern Miss in their opener — probably a good thing considering the Tar Heels are on the uptick.

2010 Schedule

Date Opponent (2009 record)

Sept. 2 SOUTHERN MISS (7-6)

Sept. 11 GEORGIA (8-5)

Sept. 18 FURMAN (6-5)

Sept. 25 at Auburn (8-5)

Oct. 9 ALABAMA (14-0)

Oct. 16 at Kentucky (7-6)

Oct. 23 at Vanderbilt (2-10)

Oct. 30 TENNESSEE (7-6)

Nov. 6 ARKANSAS (8-5)

Nov. 13 at Florida (13-1)

Nov. 20 TROY (9-4)

Nov. 27 at Clemson (9-5)

TOP NEWCOMER

RB Marcus Lattimore: South Carolina needs a running game, and it has new hope in Lattimore. The in-state product looks as though he’ll be a durable, between-the-tackles sort of guy. Pair him with a dangerously versatile player such as sophomore Jarvis Giles, and the Gamecocks could turn the corner in balancing out their offensive game plan. Lattimore was South Carolina’s Mr. Football and one of the top recruits in the nation after rushing for 6,375 yards and scoring 104 touchdowns in his high school career.

OVERVIEW

The Gamecocks are still trying to get over the hump. Beating Clemson lifted everyone sky high to close the 2009 regular season, but a toe-stubbing bowl loss to Connecticut sent everyone hurtling back to earth. This team has a chance to be Top 25 worthy if it can get solid line play and some unexpected contributors. One thing’s for sure: This division is as wide open as it’s ever going to be.

For more on the South Carolina Gamecocks and the SEC, you can order Lindy’s 2010 Southeastern Football Preview by clicking here: http://www.lindyssports.com/product.php?cn=367.