Spurrier On Shaw: “Wait And See”

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Connor Shaw’s father is much more optimistic than Steve Spurrier about the junior quarterback playing this Saturday in the Gamecocks’ home opener against East Carolina. Via SEC teleconference Sunday, Spurrier said Shaw has trouble lifting his arm right now. Shaw did not practice Saturday and is not expected to practice Monday. “Connor‘s condition is wait and see,” Spurrier said. “We‘ll see how he is probably Wednesday or so, if he‘ll practice any before then.” Saturday, in a text message to The State newspaper, Connor Shaw’s father, Lee, a high school coach in Georgia, said Connor was doing good and will play against East Carolina. Spurrier elaborated on his quarterback in Sunday’s SEC teleconference. “He got sort of a deep bruise on the bone on the back of the shoulder there,” Spurrier said. “It‘s not in the joint. It‘s just painful for him. He has trouble lifting his arm right now. It‘s pretty hard to play quarterback at the condition he‘s in right now. They say it may loosen up probably in three or four days, so we‘ll wait and see about that. If he‘s hurt, we‘ll get Dylan (Thompson) or Seth (Strickland) or Andrew Clifford ready. Dylan is probably first in line. After that, we‘ll see. “If he‘s not healthy, we‘re not going to play him. We‘re going to struggle against East Carolina the way it is. It‘s going to be a tight ballgame, like just about all of our games are going to be, I think. “(Shaw playing) depends on if he can throw the ball and he‘s not in pain. We‘ll know more about him come Wednesday. I think Dylan is probably ahead of the other guys a little bit. Seth Strickland is a good, reliable player also. We have confidence that Seth can take care of the ball and hand it off. (True freshman) Brendan Nosovitch, he‘s probably a year or two away. He hasn‘t had hardly any snaps (in practice). I don‘t see him getting ready to play.” Shaw left the season opening game at Vanderbilt just before the half. After missing a few series, he returned to lead his team on a game-clinching 4th quarter touchdown drive. He ran for 93 yards in the game and threw for 67 yards.