The Spurrier Open

Lee and I had a great time at the Media Golf outing at the Woodcreek Farms Country club. It's always interesting to meet new people and hear different opinions about the Gamecocks. Here are a few things I walked away with from the tournament:

Quarterback

Tommy Beacher is the quarterback, however I would expect Stephen Garcia to be in uniform come Friday. One name that was barely mentioned was Chris Smelley (however there was a reference to another quarterback that had a tendancy to take long sacks. I don't believe the number 12 is going to be retired any time soon in Columbia). Coach Spurrier is hitting the reset button on the QB position and starting with fresh faces this year.

Play Calling

Coach Spurrier Sr. is still in command, however the administrative work will be put on Steve Jr. This entales weekly meetings, and organization. It's still Dad's show on Saturday though.

Offensive Line

This unit keeps coach up at night. He feels he has the talent, but feels that they can be coached better (along with a few other positions on the field). This is concern number 1 for USC.

Confidence

Coach Spurrier was back to his old self last year and set the bar high. In retrospect, he had every reason to. The Gamecocks were closer than what their record indicated to being in contention in the East. No such confidence/brashness this season. The schedule strength was brought up, along with his conclusion that they aren't a great team. No predictions of championship contention as Spurrier knows that if the Gamecocks slip once this season, it could be the team's first losing season since 2003. Spurrier would rather stay under the radar, win the games the Gamecocks are supposed to, catch an upset against LSU or Tennessee at home, and surprise everyone with a decent 8-4 season.