Neo
01-19-2005, 09:34 AM
Visor's impact felt in Blount
2005-01-19
by Leonard Butts
Steve Spurrier's reputation precedes him, no matter how you feel about his attitude or his approach to college football.
That reputation has now been felt in Blount County, putting a dent into North Carolina's football recruiting class with the decision by Maryville quarterback Cade Thompson to swap Carolinas and play for Spurrier.
Despite the rap that he left the Florida football program in the midst of a recruiting downturn, Spurrier's decision to accept an offer from South Carolina at the end of last season had head coaches in the Southeastern Conference rounding up the wagons.
When the shadow of ``the ol' ball coach'' was cast again, many coaches -- Georgia's Mark Richt for one -- made a point of calling recruits to keep them from being too heavily influenced by the Spurrier mystique.
Phone calls alone, however, aren't going to stop the trickle of high school players who may change their minds about the schools to which they've committed if Spurrier comes knocking on their doors.
With new coaches at Ole Miss, LSU and Florida, there's a certain instability that leaves programs susceptible to high school players simply changing their minds. Spurrier is a new coach, too, but his track record speaks louder than that of anyone else who is taking over a program in the coming season.
And that record will also influence players who may have committed to non-SEC programs but now have a chance to play for the master of offense in what is often called the best football conference in the country.
Recent figures show South Carolina has received commitments from 22 prospective players so far, and with 15 or more having visited this past weekend, the numbers are likely to be changing by the minute.
As of last week, the only quarterback listed by Rivals.com as committed to the Gamecocks was Tommy Beecher of Concord, N.C., who previously had received only a single scholarship offer, which came from Division I-AA Richmond. Beecher ``grew up'' in the Spurrier system, however, because his high school coach had adopted it as his own.
Thompson's decision will give Spurrier another classic passer to work with, and one who has a lot of experience with spread formations and a dynamic offense.
Rivals is also reporting that Spurrier's presence may have caused another prep quarterback to have doubts as well.
Chris Todd, from Elizabethton, Ky., has committed to Texas Tech, but may reconsider. Todd passed for more than 10,000 yards in high school and would be competing with two other passing phenoms already in the Tech stable.
There are returning quarterbacks at South Carolina, of course, but no matter how many quarterbacks there are at South Carolina this fall, each will have a shot at playing.
The quarterback shuffle, after all, is as much a part of the Spurrier legend as the flying visor and Florida's championship run in the 1990s that changed the way the college game is played.
Leonard Butts is assistant sports editor. Write to him at: The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, Tenn., 37802-9740, or e-mail to: leonard.butts@thedailytimes.com
http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/183667
2005-01-19
by Leonard Butts
Steve Spurrier's reputation precedes him, no matter how you feel about his attitude or his approach to college football.
That reputation has now been felt in Blount County, putting a dent into North Carolina's football recruiting class with the decision by Maryville quarterback Cade Thompson to swap Carolinas and play for Spurrier.
Despite the rap that he left the Florida football program in the midst of a recruiting downturn, Spurrier's decision to accept an offer from South Carolina at the end of last season had head coaches in the Southeastern Conference rounding up the wagons.
When the shadow of ``the ol' ball coach'' was cast again, many coaches -- Georgia's Mark Richt for one -- made a point of calling recruits to keep them from being too heavily influenced by the Spurrier mystique.
Phone calls alone, however, aren't going to stop the trickle of high school players who may change their minds about the schools to which they've committed if Spurrier comes knocking on their doors.
With new coaches at Ole Miss, LSU and Florida, there's a certain instability that leaves programs susceptible to high school players simply changing their minds. Spurrier is a new coach, too, but his track record speaks louder than that of anyone else who is taking over a program in the coming season.
And that record will also influence players who may have committed to non-SEC programs but now have a chance to play for the master of offense in what is often called the best football conference in the country.
Recent figures show South Carolina has received commitments from 22 prospective players so far, and with 15 or more having visited this past weekend, the numbers are likely to be changing by the minute.
As of last week, the only quarterback listed by Rivals.com as committed to the Gamecocks was Tommy Beecher of Concord, N.C., who previously had received only a single scholarship offer, which came from Division I-AA Richmond. Beecher ``grew up'' in the Spurrier system, however, because his high school coach had adopted it as his own.
Thompson's decision will give Spurrier another classic passer to work with, and one who has a lot of experience with spread formations and a dynamic offense.
Rivals is also reporting that Spurrier's presence may have caused another prep quarterback to have doubts as well.
Chris Todd, from Elizabethton, Ky., has committed to Texas Tech, but may reconsider. Todd passed for more than 10,000 yards in high school and would be competing with two other passing phenoms already in the Tech stable.
There are returning quarterbacks at South Carolina, of course, but no matter how many quarterbacks there are at South Carolina this fall, each will have a shot at playing.
The quarterback shuffle, after all, is as much a part of the Spurrier legend as the flying visor and Florida's championship run in the 1990s that changed the way the college game is played.
Leonard Butts is assistant sports editor. Write to him at: The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, Tenn., 37802-9740, or e-mail to: leonard.butts@thedailytimes.com
http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/183667