Stephen Garcia

[GTmorris1970]

Will be reinstated August 1st or very close to it. Waiting for official confirmation.

[crawfish]

Here's the article . . .

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is hinting that suspended quarterback Stephen Garcia could return earlier than expected.

Spurrier said Tuesday he'd know in the next few days if Garcia would be there when the Gamecocks report for summer practice later this week. The freshman had been suspended by the university from practicing with the team until Aug. 15.

Spurrier says he hoped Garcia would get the green light to rejoin the team, but would stay out of what is the university's decision.

Spurrier has said that junior Tommy Beecher would be South Carolina's starter at quarterback this fall, no matter who else is in camp.

[Tider27]

Interesting...

[uscrules]

wow, hard to believe the first game is less than a month away

[D^3]

Told you so. Garcia will be starting soon.

[Williams-Brice]

Told you so. Garcia will be starting soon.

Define soon. It won't be the first half of the season.

[MBGamecock]

Spurrier was wanting him back on August 1st for some reason. I don't know if he'll start the first couple of games, but I feel sure that he'll be starting at some point in this season. I bet he'll get a few downs against NCState.

[uscrules]

Spurrier was wanting him back on August 1st for some reason. I don't know if he'll start the first couple of games, but I feel sure that he'll be starting at some point in this season. I bet he'll get a few downs against NCState.
I certainly hope so. I hope he is half as anxious to play as I am to see him play. I saw a game of his in his school on espn and he has a cannon arm and loves to mix it up with the run.

[GAMECOCK_FAN]

The big plus in all of this is that if Beecher starts the season and struggles (or suffers any type of injury), we'll have another QB (besides Smelley) who should be ready to come in and play. With Garcia we have three pretty capable QBs IMO, with Garcia obviously having the strongest upside of the three.

[GTmorris1970]

Hopefully Garcia will get his feet wet this season, and be ready for the future. If he can get some snaps on gameday, it will really help him for the future. Spurrier said again yesterday, however, that Beecher is his QB regardless of who else is in camp. I have also read that Spurrier has been Beecher's biggest fan since he arrived here. He is going to give him his shot.

[WayzUp]

I don't know about Garcia starting at any point this season...if he does, it probably means things went terribly wrong in one way or another. I also think we can forget about him seeing snaps in the NC State game. He won't have the rapport with our other players, the tendencies of the other skill position players and (more importantly) the offensive line, he's only ever run the scout team so he probably knows our opponents plays better than he does our own and who knows how much respect the rest of our team has for him compared to Beecher & Smelley.

Tommy & Chris are good students, they haven't a sniff of off-the-field problems, they show up for practice and work hard, they know the playbook probably inside & out by now and (more importantly) have game experience at this level.

IMHO, Garcia's got to work his way back into the good graces of his team, the coaches and the fans. There's no way in hell that's going to happen over the next month and I don't think Spurrier & Co. are going to play musical QBs when his newly-annoited starter is going to need all the game experience he can get going into the UGA game. MAYBE we'll see Garcia for a drive or three late in the Wofford or UAB games but I wouldn't count on it.

Garcia has the ability, I don't think that's the question....the question as I see it is how far behind Beecher & Smelley he is on the mental side, the relationship/familiarity with his teammates and the playbook. He's been suspended as long or longer than he hasn't been suspended since he signed with us....to just dismiss that and hand him the job as soon as possible would be a huge mistake. Let him come along slowly, show he can stay out of trouble for a season and play it by ear.

[MBGamecock]

Good post there, Wayz. That does make a lot of sense.

[GTmorris1970]

Wayz, could not have said it better myself. And, I agree with Kenny McKinnley. Beecher is gonna surprise some folks this year. It's obvious from everything I have heard he has taken over the offense during the summer. I'm rootin for him.

[D^3]

Define soon. It won't be the first half of the season.

If Beecher is struggling through the first 4 games of the season, I would not be surprised at all if Spurs switches it up. We've seen him do it before.

[JerryBeeds]

Scott Hood reported that Garcia reported at 250 lbs.:eek: He should drop about 15 or so in the first week of practice. He's gonna be hating life during 2 a days. Gonna be doing some running for sure.

[lacene]

If Beecher is struggling through the first 4 games of the season, I would not be surprised at all if Spurs switches it up. We've seen him do it before.

Unless Garcia blows everyone away with his knowledge of the plays and his abilities, if Beecher struggles to the point of being replaced, it'll be Smelley, IMO. Smelley is not too far behind Tommy right now....

[scfan5338]

Been a long time since I last posted on here...I'm excited for Tommy Beecher. I hope this guy will shock me and the Gamecock Nation. I have heard and read some good things about him, but as we all know, we have to see it on the field to believe it. I'm excited for the first game, we have to come our firing.

[GTmorris1970]

Garcia is reporting Friday. According to McKinnley, Beecher has taken control of this offense over the summer. He says Beecher will surprise a lot of people. I believe him.

[MBGamecock]

Garcia is reporting Friday. According to McKinnley, Beecher has taken control of this offense over the summer. He says Beecher will surprise a lot of people. I believe him.


When Spurrier announced that Beecher would be the starter it must have motivated him to take control. I would think that it gave him a feeling of responsibility and with that, confidence.

[GeauxTo]

This is really surprising. As I've stated in other threads, I was very impressed with Smelley in Baton Rouge last year. He handled a vicious defensive rush very well.

[shanksta13]

This is really surprising. As I've stated in other threads, I was very impressed with Smelley in Baton Rouge last year. He handled a vicious defensive rush very well.

I agree, I was really impressed with Smelley in that game. Says a lot for Beecher that he was able to beat him out. Also, it's official that Garcia has been reinstated. ESPN is reporting it now, too.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3513036

[Cockfan720]

Garcia released a statement through the university today:

"I thank everyone at the University of South Carolina that was involved with my reinstatement - for giving me another chance to be a student-athlete here.

All I can say is that I will try to be the best student-athlete I can during my career here and make this decision a positive one for our University.

The media attention needs to go to Tommy Beecher and the other players on our team. I will not start talking to the media until I begin playing in the real games here at Carolina."

-Stephen Garcia

[GeauxTo]

Sounds like great news for the Gamecocks. Spurrier is the right coach to assess and utilize multiple QBs with different talents. This makes our trip to Columbia a little more fearful. It won't be a walk in the park, that's for sure.

[Cockfan720]

Sounds like great news for the Gamecocks. Spurrier is the right coach to assess and utilize multiple QBs with different talents. This makes our trip to Columbia a little more fearful. It won't be a walk in the park, that's for sure.

There's talk of Spurrier possibly using Garcia (he's up to 250 lbs right now btw) in certain runing qb type plays. But we'll see, gamecock nation needs to get fully behind tommy beecher though.

According to Tony Morrell (the Rivals gamecockcentral insider), Apparently Spurrier wanted Beecher to start last year, but after talking with him in the preseason Spurrier realized Beecher wasn't ready to start (although Spurs feels he is the most talented). This year Spurrier really believes Beecher can have a REALLY special year. He said at a presser a couple of weeks ago that Spurrier's personal goal this year is to coach Beecher into one of the best QBs in the country. Beecher just needs to get his confidence up. Hopefully he can do this against that Wolfpack team on August 28th.

[MBGamecock]

I'm about to fish all over myself.

[Dr. Pepper]

Spurrier will play whoever he thinks can win the game. I hope Beecher does well, but not for Beecher's sake, but for the Gamecocks sake (and for my sake for that matter). However, if Beecher never plays a down because Garcia comes out on fire, then what do we care. I like the emotion and loyalty stuff, but come on, we do not really care. All we want is touchdowns. Whoever is best on August 28 will be behind center.

[GamecockDieHard]

There's talk of Spurrier possibly using Garcia (he's up to 250 lbs right now btw) in certain runing qb type plays. But we'll see, gamecock nation needs to get fully behind tommy beecher though.

According to Tony Morrell (the Rivals gamecockcentral insider), Apparently Spurrier wanted Beecher to start last year, but after talking with him in the preseason Spurrier realized Beecher wasn't ready to start (although Spurs feels he is the most talented). This year Spurrier really believes Beecher can have a REALLY special year. He said at a presser a couple of weeks ago that Spurrier's personal goal this year is to coach Beecher into one of the best QBs in the country. Beecher just needs to get his confidence up. Hopefully he can do this against that Wolfpack team on August 28th.

I know you've probably heard that Garcia isn't 250 lbs. by now. Just thought I'd correct that misconception. Someone at GCC estimated that number and it took off for fact. He's 6-2 221 lbs.

As for QB. We've had trouble developing QB's since Spurrier has been here due to the problems we've had at OL. It's hard to expect a QB to shine when he has sporadic pass protection and a limited rushing game due to few holes. If our OL ever gels, then one of the three will step up. A great QB starts with a great OL. It's impossible to have one without the other. If Hunt doesn't show a better line this year, he should be fired.

[scunyon]

Speaking only for myself, I'm just ready for the season to get going! The thought of opponents looking out of the ear holes of their helmets and getting their cleats knocked off gives me chills. If Spurrier is excited about a QB, regardless of who it is, we need to be eager to see them on the field.

If KM says he's ready, then who are we keyboard types at home to argue with a guy who will play on Sundays?

[lacene]

Yep, I know that the 1st day of fall practice matters not much more than spring practice or the spring game, but Beecher certainly didn't do himself any harm with the way he played last night. Good combination of arm strength, accuracy, and knowledge. Beecher is looking confident, and hopefully it will simply continue through the fall and into the season.


Smelley didn't look too good....he seems to be digressing with every passing day. Hopefully it was just the rust of the summer months, and tonight he'll perform better. Garcia was hot and cold last night: about 10% hot and 90% cold, but that should be expected. As with Smelley, here's hoping that he also improves, beginning with tonight. Once the pads come on, we'll have a better idea with what we have at both the QB and OL positions.....

[MBGamecock]

Thanks LC. I want a detailed report on tonights practice:D

[GTmorris1970]

Based on practice so far, anyone who is standing waiting for Garcia to play should sit down. He did not have a coach over the summer as previously reported, and about 1 of every three of his passes have been picked. He is ruuuussssssttttyyyyy. Beecher on the other hand was 6-6 in 11 on 11 last night, and not all short balls. I don't know what is wrong with Smelley either. He looked better apparently yesterday, but the first two sessions were dreadful for him. Beecher looks poised out there too.

On another note, sounds like Spurrier expects King to start at left tackle.

Spurrier Jr. will be calling plays from the sideline, with David Reaves in the press box.

Ellis Johnson has installed a 4-2-5 defense which is designed to stop spread offenses.

[Zee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP6nD_Amt70