Spurrier shakes up Gamecocks’ staff

By Darrell Laurant  |   Monday, February 13, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

South Carolina Gamecocks
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The South Carolina Gamecocks showed impressive progress under new coach Steve Spurrier last season, going 7-5 and winning five in a row at one point (including a victory at Tennessee and an upset of Florida). But the Gamecocks stumbled down the stretch -- falling to arch-rival Clemson 13-9 and being outgunned by Brad Smith and Missouri, 38-31, in the Independence Bowl -- and Spurrier finished 2005 with a frown.

Spurrier was also not completely satisfied with his latest recruiting class, which was heavy on beef but a bit light on four and five-star recruits (three of the former, none of the latter). The No. 1 priority was help along the offensive line, which allowed 25 sacks of quarterback Blake Mitchell last season.

So Spurrier did what he always does when things aren't going to his liking -- he shook things up. Last week, he made 27-year-old David Reaves his recruiting coordinator, one of the youngest in the country in that position.

"I just think Coach wanted to hire somebody that was energetic, (who) loves to get out there and recruit, loves to talk with the high school coaches," said Reaves, a 1996 graduate of Columbia's Spring Valley High School.

“I know a lot of these high school coaches. I've been around the state. So hopefully those guys will trust me and we can communicate and get going."

This would be a good year to open those channels of communication. Rivals.com lists four South Carolina prep players in its top 100 for 2006, including QB Willy Korn of Spartanburg Byrnes High. In recent years, however, Clemson has noticeably out-recruited USC in-state.

Besides the move with Reaves, Spurrier also named Tyrone Nix as defensive coordinator (a role he shared in 2005 with John Thompson, who was jettisoned) and Ron Cooper assistant head coach. Several other staff members changed responsibilities.

To anyone who closely follows college football, especially in the South, the University of South Carolina has always been an enigma.

The Gamecocks have an impressive physical plant, set in a great college town. They sell out their games at Williams-Brice Stadium, more than 82,000 fans screaming themselves hoarse as their team bolts out of the end zone tunnel to the strains of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

2001, incidentally, was the last time the Gamecocks had a really good team -- 9-3 under Lou Holtz. And there weren't many before that.

In fact, the South Carolina Gamecocks have played in bowls just 12 times in the last 59 years, one of the most abysmal records in Division 1-A. As for individual stars, USC has retired just four numbers in its history, and two of them were for players who died young. Running back George Rogers won the Heisman Trophy as a Gamecock in 1980, but his pro career didn't live up to the advance billing.

It's a puzzle, because the state of South Carolina has always been known for good high school football. Like a lot of other southern states, it is still filled with small towns where Friday nights are the focus of the community during the fall. And while USC does share the state with arch-rival Clemson on a Division 1-A level, there should be plenty of talent to go around.

Yet Columbia has proved a graveyard for coaches over the years. Paul "Pepsodent Paul" Dietzel brought his winning smile and gaudy resume from LSU, where he had won a national championship, only to flop at USC. Lou Holtz achieved a remarkable turnaround as Gamecock coach, following a winless 1999 season with records of 8-3 and 9-4 and two bowl appearances, but the program then slid back into mediocrity.

The main problem, say longtime Gamecock watchers, was the 20 years the school spent as an independent before joining the Southeastern Conference in 1991. After pulling out of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1971, the Gamecocks lost their identity and had a hard time pulling together an attractive schedule.

Enter Spurrier, a man with a proven college track record. At Florida, he won six SEC titles and one national championship. In 12 years in Gainesville, he never lost fewer than nine games.

And 2006 could hold better things for the team sometimes known (not always affectionately) as "the Chickens." Mitchell is a rising junior, leading rusher Mike Davis and leading receiver Sidney Rice (who had a coming out party in the Independence Bowl with 12 receptions for 191 yards) will be sophomores. If the Gamecocks can get past two tough early games (they open the college football season Aug. 31, a Thursday night game, at Mississippi State; then face Georgia), the schedule is leavened with cupcakes -- Wofford, Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee.

But it's recruiting that primarily concerns Steve Spurrier at the moment, hence the hiring of Reaves. Apparently, the Old Ball Coach plans to be around awhile.
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