TDArkansasOhmy
08-02-2008, 02:03 PM
This is the 10th of a 12 part series from the Arkansas Democrat/Gazette on breaking down the SEC teams for 2008. Thought you would like to see another perspective.
SEC PREVIEW:
Gamecocks aim to improve on last season’s ‘mediocrity’
By Bob Holt
HOOVER, Ala. - South Carolina was bowl-eligible last season but spent the holidays at home.
The Gamecocks, 6-6, watched nine other SEC teams go bowling.
Alabama also was 6-6, but it got the SEC’s last postseason bid and defeated Colorado in the Independence Bowl.
“They had a little more pull than South Carolina did,” South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said, speaking in Alabama at SEC media days.
“That’s the way it is, and we understand it. We need to dobetter than 6-6.”
It appeared the Gamecocks were positioning themselves for a high-tier bowl when they started 6-1 and rose to No. 6 in The Associated Press poll.
But a 17-6 home loss toVanderbilt started a free fall for South Carolina, which wound up losing its last five games.
It was the longest losing streak in Spurrier’s 18 seasonsas a college head coach and second-worst record, surpassed by a 5-6 mark in 1987 at Duke.
Spurrier noted that 6-6 “is mediocrity at its best,” and that losses at Tennessee (27-24 in overtime) and to Clemson (23-21) were heartbreakers.
“There’s a huge difference between 8-4 and 6-6,” Spurrier said. “But at 6-6, maybe it was good for us in a way, because as a head coach I’ve got to look and say, ‘Hey, how can we get better?’ ”
Kenny McKinley, South Carolina’s All-SEC senior receiver, said the Gamecocks didn’t do a good job of handling success after theirimpressive start.
“I think we just weren’t ready for it yet,” said McKinley, who is among 16 returning starters. “We were young and we hadn’t been there, but you see what happened and you learn from your mistakes.
“This is a new year, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we finish strong.”
Spurrier said the Gamecocks have their best talent in his four seasons on the job and hopefully now have their best coaching staff, too.
Ellis Johnson is South Carolina’s new defensive coordinator after previously holding the same job at Alabama and Mississippi State, and for a couple of weeks in January at Arkansas.
“We feel like with Ellis and better players, we’re going to play better on defense,” Spurrier said.
The Gamecocks’ defense was hit hard by injuries last year, most notably losing middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley to a season-ending knee injury in the seventh game against LSU.
“Watching our team go into a slump and not being able to play, I wanted to pull my hair out,” said Brinkley, who is healthy going into this season. “It was a very tough situation, but I think we’ll be able to rebound.
“What happened makes us a lot more hungry.”
McKinley said the team struggled to put together complete games last year.
“We couldn’t get all phases going together,” McKinley said. ‘We didn’t get the offense and the defense and the special teams clicking at one time.
“That’s the main thing right there, to have all three phases of the game playing well every week.”
Spurrier agreed last season was a team breakdown.
“We’ve got ballplayers. We’ve got absolutely no excuses about ballplayers.” he said. “We need to coach better, and they’ve got to play like good players.
“But when you see South Carolina run out on the field for warm-ups, you’re going to say, ‘Those guys look like an SEC team now.’ ”
The Gamecocks don’t have an established starting quarterback,but junior Tommy Beecher is Spurrier’s top choice going into fall camp.
Beecher completed 14 of 23 passes for 175 yards and 1 touchdown with 1 interception last season.
“We need to give him every opportunity to see if he can take us a long way,” Spurrier said. “He’s very smart. He can run. He can make all the throws. He just hasn’t played that much yet.”
Spurrier, who coached Florida to six SEC titles and the 1996 national championship, led the Gamecocks to a second-place tie in the SEC East in 2005 at 5-3, but they slipped to 3-5 each of the past two seasons.
“Yeah, we lack a little bit of confidence,” Spurrier said inanswer to a question. “But we haven’t done enough to gain a whole bunch of confidence.
“We haven’t quite done enough yet. I’ve always been a big believer you’ve got to expect some big things to happen before you can achieve it.”
Spurrier said the goal remains to win South Carolina’s first SEC title, but that the coaches and players don’t need to do a lot of talking about it.
“But if we’re lucky enough to be in position, don’t be afraid to think we’re as good as the other guy,” Spurrier said. “So that’s sort of maybe where we are.
“If we get in position, let’s believe we can play with any team in our conference.”
SEC PREVIEW:
Gamecocks aim to improve on last season’s ‘mediocrity’
By Bob Holt
HOOVER, Ala. - South Carolina was bowl-eligible last season but spent the holidays at home.
The Gamecocks, 6-6, watched nine other SEC teams go bowling.
Alabama also was 6-6, but it got the SEC’s last postseason bid and defeated Colorado in the Independence Bowl.
“They had a little more pull than South Carolina did,” South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said, speaking in Alabama at SEC media days.
“That’s the way it is, and we understand it. We need to dobetter than 6-6.”
It appeared the Gamecocks were positioning themselves for a high-tier bowl when they started 6-1 and rose to No. 6 in The Associated Press poll.
But a 17-6 home loss toVanderbilt started a free fall for South Carolina, which wound up losing its last five games.
It was the longest losing streak in Spurrier’s 18 seasonsas a college head coach and second-worst record, surpassed by a 5-6 mark in 1987 at Duke.
Spurrier noted that 6-6 “is mediocrity at its best,” and that losses at Tennessee (27-24 in overtime) and to Clemson (23-21) were heartbreakers.
“There’s a huge difference between 8-4 and 6-6,” Spurrier said. “But at 6-6, maybe it was good for us in a way, because as a head coach I’ve got to look and say, ‘Hey, how can we get better?’ ”
Kenny McKinley, South Carolina’s All-SEC senior receiver, said the Gamecocks didn’t do a good job of handling success after theirimpressive start.
“I think we just weren’t ready for it yet,” said McKinley, who is among 16 returning starters. “We were young and we hadn’t been there, but you see what happened and you learn from your mistakes.
“This is a new year, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we finish strong.”
Spurrier said the Gamecocks have their best talent in his four seasons on the job and hopefully now have their best coaching staff, too.
Ellis Johnson is South Carolina’s new defensive coordinator after previously holding the same job at Alabama and Mississippi State, and for a couple of weeks in January at Arkansas.
“We feel like with Ellis and better players, we’re going to play better on defense,” Spurrier said.
The Gamecocks’ defense was hit hard by injuries last year, most notably losing middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley to a season-ending knee injury in the seventh game against LSU.
“Watching our team go into a slump and not being able to play, I wanted to pull my hair out,” said Brinkley, who is healthy going into this season. “It was a very tough situation, but I think we’ll be able to rebound.
“What happened makes us a lot more hungry.”
McKinley said the team struggled to put together complete games last year.
“We couldn’t get all phases going together,” McKinley said. ‘We didn’t get the offense and the defense and the special teams clicking at one time.
“That’s the main thing right there, to have all three phases of the game playing well every week.”
Spurrier agreed last season was a team breakdown.
“We’ve got ballplayers. We’ve got absolutely no excuses about ballplayers.” he said. “We need to coach better, and they’ve got to play like good players.
“But when you see South Carolina run out on the field for warm-ups, you’re going to say, ‘Those guys look like an SEC team now.’ ”
The Gamecocks don’t have an established starting quarterback,but junior Tommy Beecher is Spurrier’s top choice going into fall camp.
Beecher completed 14 of 23 passes for 175 yards and 1 touchdown with 1 interception last season.
“We need to give him every opportunity to see if he can take us a long way,” Spurrier said. “He’s very smart. He can run. He can make all the throws. He just hasn’t played that much yet.”
Spurrier, who coached Florida to six SEC titles and the 1996 national championship, led the Gamecocks to a second-place tie in the SEC East in 2005 at 5-3, but they slipped to 3-5 each of the past two seasons.
“Yeah, we lack a little bit of confidence,” Spurrier said inanswer to a question. “But we haven’t done enough to gain a whole bunch of confidence.
“We haven’t quite done enough yet. I’ve always been a big believer you’ve got to expect some big things to happen before you can achieve it.”
Spurrier said the goal remains to win South Carolina’s first SEC title, but that the coaches and players don’t need to do a lot of talking about it.
“But if we’re lucky enough to be in position, don’t be afraid to think we’re as good as the other guy,” Spurrier said. “So that’s sort of maybe where we are.
“If we get in position, let’s believe we can play with any team in our conference.”