Sporting News's team previews: No. 39 South Carolina
He has been humbled, you know. Yep, the Ball Coach with all the answers is suddenly passing it off to his son to figure it all out.
Steve Spurrier, everyone, is stepping away from the South Carolina offense and handing over the play-calling duties to his son, Steve Jr.
And if you believe that, well, you'll believe the Gamecocks' quarterback situation is a nice, neat package, too. The reality is, the two dynamics go hand-in-hand in what has become a crossroads season of sorts in Columbia.
"It's the right time for him to call the plays," Spurrier says of his son.
Frankly, there couldn't be a worse time.
The Spurrier offense -- be it Steve or his son calling the plays (and both are more than capable) -- is built around smart, efficient quarterback play. And South Carolina is nowhere near having that going into fall camp.
In the spring game, projected starter Tommy Beecher and starter 1-A Chris Smelley combined to throw eight interceptions. If the sheer number isn't bad enough, consider this: Spurrier's spring games are always played against base defenses full of second-teamers, if for no other reason than to give his offense some success and a mental boost heading into offseason conditioning.
In other words, Beecher and Smelley threw eight picks against what will likely be the easiest scheme they will face this coming season. That's not a good sign heading into Season No. 4 of the Spurrier Experiment in Columbia.
Just when it looked as though the Gamecocks had turned the corner under Spurrier last fall, the team lost its last five games (the longest losing streak in Spurrier's college coaching history), and it begins this season with a multitude of questions.
New defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has 10 starters returning, but the unit was ninth in the SEC in total defense and one of the worst in the nation (110th) against the run. This is also the same group that played through numerous injuries and blew more than its share of second-half leads.
Moreover, its best player, middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley, is coming off major reconstructive knee surgery.
"There's no other way to say it," Johnson says. "We have to stop people."
That, of course, will give the ball to Spurrier's offense. This spring, Spurrier sent a few assistants to Wake Forest to watch how the Deacons zone block -- and how they run the read option.
It's no secret that Spurrier's best offense at South Carolina was the group led by dual-threat quarterback Syvelle Newton in 2006. If Beecher and Smelley continue to struggle, Spurrier will turn to freshman Aramis Hillary, a dual-threat QB package Spurrier has raved about since national signing day.
If he's giving up play-calling, he may as well go all in and change his pass-happy offense for good, too.
