Carolina Calls: Spurrier Talks Vanderbilt, Warns Mike Davis

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier held his weekly call-in show Thursday night in Columbia to talk about the Gamecocks’ Saturday night showdown with Vanderbilt.

Notes:

-Spurrier said the Gamecocks have been fortunate to come out with a win over Vanderbilt the past few years.

-He said they did a lousy job of coaching last weekend against UGA.

-Knows historically the South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt series has been a low-scoring one.

-Noted the youth of the Gamecocks and how they should improve throughout the season.

-Thinks he’ll know more about cornerback Victor Hampton during pregame warm-ups on Saturday night. (Hampton hurt his ankle in practice this week.)

-Spurrier shortly addressed a question about Jadeveon Clowney wearing a boot all week (bone spurs in foot), “He wore that boot when he was a freshman, too.”

-Said starting center Cody Waldrop is on crutches and wearing a boot (sprained foot), but should be able to return to practice next week. 

-Spurrier was asked about a “confused” secondary during the Georgia game, “You’re right. We we’re confused. I don’t know how to describe it. Offense, defense, heck we even let them do an onside kick. It’s called coaching. We did a lousy job of that,” said Spurrier.

-“An interesting thing happened twice in the game. A defensive lineman’s helmet came off. And we’re running another guy in there to take his place and the ball was snapped before he was able to get in position. The referees say they know they messed up,” said Spurrier. 

-Spurrier said he’s going to make the players wait to come off the field (When their helmet comes off) until the referee acknowledges them.

– He addressed the fact that UGA’s offensive coordinator had quarterback Aaron Murray audible to run plays to the opposite side of Gamecock defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The coordinator would wait until he could see the way the defense would line up before calling the play.

-Spurrier was asked why he plays quarterback Connor Shaw over back-up quarterback Dylan Thompson. Spurrier said that Shaw had a good game against Georgia but did have some tough spots, “I wish when he scrambles he would look down the field,” said Spurrier. He said they worked on that during practice this week. He said he thinks Dylan Thompson will play a little on Saturday, but will, “See how it goes.” Spurrier said he thinks Dylan will be a great quarterback next year. He also said Connor Shaw is a great passer but runs too much.

-Several callers asked Spurrier why the team was unprepared for the Georgia game, “It’s not like we turned into horrible coaches over night. Sometimes I make calls that I look back and wonder why I did it. We have excellent coaches here at South Carolna,” said Spurrier.

-“I’m mad at the offense, I’m mad at the defense, and I’m made at me. But I’m glad at the chance we have a chance to try and fix all of this stuff on Saturday,” said Spurrier. 

-Spurrier ended the show with a warning to running back Mike Davis, said he’ll be watching out for complacency after all the publicity he has received. “Gotta keep an eye on Mike, he was late to the meeting this afternoon.”