Aug. 3, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier spoke at the conclusion of the 2008 Football Media Day.
On Tommy Beecher
“Tommy Beecher is doing fine. He’s our quarterback. Everyone realizes he gives us our best shot. It’s important everyone realizes he’s our starting quarterback.”
“He has pretty good leadership qualities. They won the state championship his (senior year). That’s the last time he played at quarterback.”
On running backs
“We have a lot of depth. With Mike Davis, Brian Maddox, Eric Baker and Kenny Milles, we have four good ones there. Bobby Wallace is still here and Taylor Rank. Mike’s a senior and will have every opportunity to gain a bunch of yards. He’s in the best shape of his life. I look for him to have a big year.
“We’re hoping Jarriel King can get in there and play left tackle. I just hope he gets cleared. We’re waiting on a medical test. That will help our line out a lot.”
On depth at wide receiver
“Dion Lecorn started the last four games. I hope Moe Brown catches a few deep balls early. We haven’t hit him a lot. We’re going to keep throwing it down there and hope he catches one early so his confidence grows.”
On a quarterback-run package
“We have a bit of a running wrinkle. We’re more capable now than we were (last year). Tommy’s a good runner.”
On special teams
“Ray has our guys ready to go. It’s preseason and everyone says that, but we’re positive here…Ray’s a solid coach and an interesting guy.”
On Mike Davis
“I think he’s worked hard physically to get in the best shape of his life. I think with Cory Boyd here, he knew they would share the carries. He’s our first team running back and he’s going to get his share of carries.”
On the importance of multiple running backs
“Some schools have two or three running backs. I think you need one that’s your top guy, but Brian Maddox is ready to go if (Mike) gets tired.”
On freshman T.J. Johnson
“T.J. Johnson is one of the top 10 offensive lineman right now. We’ll see how he progresses once we have pads on and do scrimmages. He’s a freshman that has a chance to play this year.”
On the quarterback situation
“Aramis and Reid will redshirt in all likelihood. We have Tommy and Chris ready to go. Stephen Garcia is the third guy. He’s a solid third teamer right now.”
On Tommy Beecher’s running ability
“He’s built a little like the Missouri quarterback. We’re not a spread team. Mike, Brian and those other running backs can run it pretty well. (Tommy’s) about the same size as Danny Wuerffel. Danny had good size but he only ran it two or three times a game.”
On play calling
“I will oversee play calling. I’m still the offensive coordinator. I’m in charge of the gameplan. We will meet a bunch of times about how to get plays in and attack people. Hopefully (Spurrier Jr.) will be ready to get them in quickly. The best teams we had at Florida, the first play in is just a good suggestion. If something better is there, go to it. Hopefully our cadence is better. Maybe that’s part of the reason our offensive line jumped a lot (last year).”
On playing smarter
“Our big three opponents – Florida, Georgia and Tennessee – we’re 1-2 against all of them. We’re one dumb play away from being 2-1 against all of them. We need to play smarter.”
